Early European History

by Hutton Webster

9. THE BABYLONIANS AND THE EGYPTIANS

INHABITANTS OF BABYLONIA

The earliest inhabitants of Babylonia of whom we know anything were a people called Sumerians. They entered the Babylonian plain through the passes of the eastern mountains, three or four thousand years before the Christian era. Here they formed a number of independent states, each with its capital city, its patron god, and its king. After them came Semitic tribes from the deserts of northern Arabia. The Semites mingled with the Sumerians and adopted Sumerian civilization.

HAMMURABI, KING OF BABYLONIA, ABOUT 2000 B.C.

Of all the early Babylonian kings the most famous was Hammurabi. Some inscriptions still remain to tell how he freed his country from foreign invaders and made his native Babylon the capital of the entire land. This city became henceforth the real center of the Euphrates valley, to which, indeed, it gave its name. Hammurabi was also an able statesman, who sought to develop the territories his sword had won. He dug great canals to distribute the waters of the Euphrates and built huge granaries to store the wheat against a time of famine. In Babylon he raised splendid temples and palaces. For all his kingdom he published a code of laws, the oldest in the world. [9] Thus Hammurabi, by making Babylonia so strong and flourishing, was able to extend her influence in every direction. Her only important rival was Egypt.

[Illustration: TOP OF MONUMENT CONTAINING THE CODE OF HAMMURABI (British Museum, London) A block of black diorite nearly 8 feet high, on which the code is chiseled in 44 columns and over 3600 lines. The relief at the top of the monument shows the Babylonian king receiving the laws from the sun god who is seated at the right.]

The origin of the Egyptians is not known with certainty. In physical characteristics they resembled the native tribes of northern and inhabitants eastern Africa. Their language, however, shows of Egypt close kinship to the Semitic tongues of western Asia and Arabia. It is probable that the Egyptians, like the Babylonians, arose from the mingling of several peoples.

MENES, KING OF EGYPT, ABOUT 3400 B.C.

The history of Egypt commences with the union of the two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt under Menes. An ancient tradition made him the builder of Memphis, near the head of the Delta, and the founder of the Egyptian monarchy. Scholars once doubted these exploits and even regarded Menes himself as mythical. Recently, however, his tomb has been discovered. In the gray dawn of history Menes appears as a real personage, the first of that line of kings, or "Pharaohs," who for nearly three thousand years ruled over Egypt.

[Illustration: Map, EGYPTIAN EMPIRE About 1450 B.C.]

THE PYRAMID KINGS, ABOUT 3000-2500 B.C.

Several centuries after Menes we reach the age of the kings who raised the pyramids. Probably no other rulers have ever stamped their memory so indelibly on the pages of history as the builders of these mighty structures. The most celebrated monarch of this line was the Pharaoh whom the Greeks called Cheops. The Great Pyramid near Memphis, erected for his tomb, remains a lasting witness to his power.

[Illustration: TWO FAMOUS PHARAOHS
Khufu (Cheops) builder of the Great Pyramid
Menephtah the supposed Pharaoh of the Exodus]

[Illustration: THE GREAT PYRAMID The pyramid when completed had a height of 481 feet. It is now 451 feet high. Its base covers about thirteen acres. Some of the blocks of white limestone used in construction weigh fifty tons. The facing of polished stone was gradually removed for building purposes by the Arabs. On the northern side of the pyramid a narrow entrance once carefully concealed, opens into tortuous passages which lead to the central vault. Here the sarcophagus of the king was placed. This chamber was long since entered and its contents rifled.]

[Illustration: THE GREAT SPHINX This colossal figure, human headed and lion bodied, is hewn from the natural rock. The body is about 150 feet long, the paws 50 feet, the head 30 feet. The height from the base to the top of the head is 70 feet. Except for its head and shoulders the figure has been buried for centuries in the desert sand. The eyes, nose and beard have been mutilated by the Arabs. The face is probably that of one of the pyramid kings.]

AFTER THE PYRAMID KINGS

For a long time after the epoch of the pyramid kings the annals of Egypt furnish a record of quiet and peaceful progress. The old city of Memphis gradually declined in importance and Thebes in Upper Egypt became the capital. The vigorous civilization growing up in Egypt was destined, however, to suffer a sudden eclipse. About 1800 B.C. barbarous tribes from western Asia burst into the country, through the isthmus of Suez, and settled in the Delta. The Hyksos, as they are usually called, extended their sway over all Egypt. At first they ruled harshly, plundering the cities and enslaving the inhabitants, but in course of time the invaders adopted Egyptian culture and their kings reigned like native Pharaohs. The Hyksos are said to have introduced the horse and military chariot into Egypt. A successful revolt at length expelled the intruders and set a new line of Theban monarchs on the throne.

THE EGYPTIAN EMPIRE

The overthrow of the Hyksos marked a new era in the history of Egypt. From a home-loving and peaceful people the Egyptians became a warlike race, ambitious for glory. The Pharaohs raised powerful armies and by extensive conquests created an Egyptian Empire, reaching from the Nile to the Euphrates.

IMPERIAL SPLENDOR OF EGYPT

This period of the imperial greatness of Egypt is the most splendid in its history. An extensive trade with Cyprus, Crete, and other Mediterranean Islands introduced many foreign luxuries. The conquered territories in Syria paid a heavy tribute of the precious metals, merchandise, and slaves. The forced labor of thousands of war captives enabled the Pharaohs to build public works in every part on their realm. Even the ruins of these stupendous structures are enough to indicate the majesty and power of ancient Egypt.

RAMESES II, ABOUT 1292-1225 B.C.

Of all the conquering Pharaohs none won more fame than Rameses II, who ruled for nearly seventy years. His campaigns in Syria were mainly against the Hittites, a warlike people who had moved southward from their home in Asia Minor and sought to establish themselves in the Syrian lands. Rameses does not appear to have been entirely successful against his foes. We find him at length entering into an alliance with "the great king of the Hittites," by which their dominion over northern Syria was recognized. In the arts of peace Rameses achieved a more enduring renown. He erected many statues and temples in various parts of Egypt and made Thebes, his capital, the most magnificent city of the age.

[Illustration: HEAD OF MUMMY OF RAMESES II (Museum of Gizeh) The mummy was discovered in 1881 AD in an underground chamber near the site of Thebes. With it were the coffins and bodies of more than a score of royal personages. Rameses II was over ninety years of age at the time of his death. In spite of the somewhat grotesque disguise of mummification, the face of this famous Pharaoh still wears an aspect of majesty and pride.]

DECLINE OF THE EGYPTIAN POWER

Rameses II was the last of the great Pharaohs. After his death the empire steadily declined in strength. The Asiatic possessions fell away, never to be recovered. By 1100 B.C. Egypt had been restricted to her former boundaries in the Nile valley. The Persians, in the sixth century, brought the country within their own vast empire.