The sixth part of six thousand three hundred is one thousand and fifty; consequently six thousand three hundred Babylonish talents of gold are equivalent to seven thousand three hundred and fifty Attic talents of gold.
Now seven thousand three hundred and fifty Attic talents of silver are worth upwards of two millions and one hundred thousand pounds sterling. The proportion between gold and silver among the ancients we reckon as ten to one; therefore seven thousand three hundred and fifty Attic talents of gold amount to above one and twenty millions sterling.
This temple stood till the time of Xerxes;[994] but he, on his [pg 326] return from his Grecian expedition, demolished it entirely, after having first plundered it of all its immense riches. Alexander, on his return to Babylon from his Indian expedition, purposed to have rebuilt it; and in order thereto, set ten thousand men to work, to rid the place of its rubbish; but, after they had laboured herein two months, Alexander died, and that put an end to the undertaking.
Such were the chief works which rendered Babylon so famous; the greater part of them are ascribed by profane authors to Semiramis, to whose history it is now time to return.
When she had finished all these great undertakings, she thought fit to make a progress through the several parts of her empire;[995] and, wherever she came, left monuments of her magnificence by many noble structures which she erected, either for the conveniency or ornament of her cities; she was particularly careful to have water brought by aqueducts to such places as wanted it, and to make the highways easy, by cutting through mountains, and filling up valleys. In the time of Diodorus, there were still monuments to be seen in many places, with her name inscribed upon them.
The authority this queen had over her people seems very extraordinary, since we find her presence alone capable of appeasing a sedition.[996] One day, as she was dressing herself, word was brought her of a tumult in the city. Whereupon she went out immediately, with her head half dressed, and did not return till the disturbance was entirely appeased. A statue was erected in remembrance of this action, representing her in that very attitude and undress, which had not hindered her from flying to her duty.
Not satisfied with the vast extent of dominions left her by her husband, she enlarged them by the conquest of a great part of Æthiopia. Whilst she was in that country, she had the curiosity to visit the temple of Jupiter Ammon, to inquire of the oracle how long she had to live. According to Diodorus, the answer she received was, that she should not die till her son Ninyas conspired against her, and that after her death one part of Asia would pay her divine honours.
Her greatest and last expedition was against India; on this [pg 327] occasion she raised an innumerable army out of all the provinces of her empire, and appointed Bactra for the rendezvous. As the strength of the Indians consisted chiefly in their great number of elephants, she caused a multitude of camels to be accoutred in the form of elephants, in hopes of deceiving the enemy. It is said that Perseus long after used the same stratagem against the Romans; but neither of them succeeded in this artifice. The Indian king having notice of her approach, sent ambassadors to ask her who she was, and with what right, having never received any injury from him, she came out of wantonness to attack his dominions; adding, that her boldness should soon meet with the punishment it deserved. Tell your master (replied the queen) that in a little time I myself will let him know who I am. She advanced immediately towards the river[997] from which the country takes its name; and having prepared a sufficient number of boats, she attempted to pass it with her army. Their passage was a long time disputed, but after a bloody battle she put her enemies to flight. Above a thousand of their boats were sunk, and above a hundred thousand of their men taken prisoners. Encouraged by this success, she advanced directly into the country, leaving sixty thousand men behind to guard the bridge of boats, which she had built over the river. This was just what the king desired, who fled on purpose to bring her to an engagement in the heart of his country. As soon as he thought her far enough advanced, he faced about, and a second engagement ensued, more bloody than the first. The counterfeit elephants could not long sustain the shock of the real ones: these routed her army, crushing whatever came in their way. Semiramis did all that lay in her power to rally and encourage her troops, but in vain. The king, perceiving her engaged in the fight, advanced towards her, and wounded her in two places, but not mortally. The swiftness of her horse soon carried her beyond the reach of her enemies. As her men crowded to the bridge, to repass the river, great numbers of them perished, through the disorder and confusion unavoidable on such occasions. When those that could save themselves were safely over, she destroyed the [pg 328] bridge, and by that means stopt the enemy; and the king likewise, in obedience to an oracle, had given orders to his troops not to pass the river, nor pursue Semiramis any farther. The queen, having made an exchange of prisoners at Bactra, returned to her own dominions with scarce one-third of her army, which (according to Ctesias) consisted of three million foot, and five hundred thousand horse, besides the camels and chariots armed for war, of which she had a very considerable number. I have no doubt that this account is highly exaggerated, or that there is some mistake in the numeral characters. She, and Alexander after her, were the only persons that ever ventured to carry the war beyond the river Indus.
I must own, I am somewhat puzzled with a difficulty which may be raised against the extraordinary things related of Ninus and Semiramis, as they do not seem to agree with the times so near the deluge: I mean, such vast armies, such a numerous cavalry, so many chariots armed with scythes, and such immense treasures of gold and silver; all which seem to be of a later date. The same thing may likewise be said of the magnificence of the buildings, ascribed to them. It is probable, the Greek historians, who came so many ages afterwards, deceived by the similarity of names, by their ignorance in chronology, and the resemblance of one event with another, may have ascribed such things to more ancient princes, as belonged to those of a later date; or may have attributed a number of exploits and enterprises to one, which ought to be divided amongst a series of them, succeeding one another.
Semiramis, some time after her return, discovered that her son was plotting against her, and one of her principal officers had offered him his assistance. She then called to mind the oracle of Jupiter Ammon; and believing that her end approached, without inflicting any punishment on the officer, who was taken into custody, she voluntarily abdicated the throne, put the government into the hands of her son, and withdrew from the sight of men, hoping speedily to have divine honours paid to her according to the promise of the oracle. And indeed we are told, she was worshipped by the Assyrians, under the form of a dove. She lived sixty-two years, of which she reigned forty-two.