Drawing near the Mediterranean Sea, he found that commerce occupied the people in that region to the exclusion of war. Indeed, they would pay heavily to avoid war, which seriously interfered with their trade. The king of the Hittites—once a nation of importance but at this time retaining little of its former strength—stated his position very frankly. His policy was direct and simple. He was willing to pay down the sum of twenty talents of silver, one hundred talents of copper, two hundred and fifty talents of iron, along with chains and beads of gold and much other treasure, if he were simply let alone.... National pride counted for nothing. The primary desire was to get the Assyrians out of the country as soon as possible; and well might they pay a heavy tribute to gain such a boon as that.[3]
It was apparent that there would be no particular opportunity for military skill against people of such convictions as these. The Assyrian army moved on and at length drew near the green slopes of the Lebanon, in sight of the Mediterranean waters, dotted over by Phoenician ships, busily plying their trade. While no city was besieged, no blood shed, the effect was marked upon the entire region. All acknowledged Asshur-natsirpal as conqueror. In some cases, Assyrian officials were stationed to keep the home government in touch with these distant parts; in other places, Assyrian colonists were induced to settle, far from their native homes. Cities were walled by the labor of Assyrian soldiers, and were temporarily protected by Assyrian fortifications. While such demonstrations had a lasting effect on the western states, the Assyrian king, on his part, was deeply impressed by one thing, and this omened ill for their future; the people of this region cared more to protect their commerce than their country. They valued the protection of their wares above the honor and independence of their respective states. We shall see that this one fact as understood by the Assyrian king developed a definite western policy.
Unable to supply military action for his troops, the king set them to cutting down trees—cedar, cypress, and juniper. These were taken to Assyria. The army returned home without approaching Damascus, where opposition was certain to be strong. Too much glory had been won to have it overshadowed by any chance issue.
While the western conquest had been in progress, officers at home had been carrying out the king's plans by rebuilding Calah, and constructing a large canal. The king now returned to personally supervise the construction of a royal palace.
"A palace for my royal dwelling-place, for the glorious seat of my royalty, I founded forever and splendidly planned it. I surrounded it with a cornice of copper. Sculptures of the creatures of land and sea carved in alabaster, I made and placed them at the doors. Lofty doorposts of ... wood I made, and sheathed them with copper and set them up in the gates. Thrones of costly woods, dishes of ivory containing silver, gold, lead, copper, and iron, the spoil of my hand, taken from conquered lands I deposited therein."
In 860 B.C. Asshur-natsirpal died, leaving the future to regard him as the most ferocious king in all Assyrian history; yet he had accomplished more for his country than any of his predecessors, and left it more united and in a more prosperous condition. His son, Shalmaneser II., like the father, found himself obliged to keep an army active, collecting tributes and making fresh conquests. He repeated the westward march, and met an alliance formed against him at Damascus. To that city's forces were joined those of Israel and of Phoenicia. While their armies were defeated, no tribute was exacted, and this fact in itself shows that the victory was not complete.
This first coalition formed against Assyria, made up of Mediterranean peoples, is important. Such a union might have effectually stayed the great military power of the age had not jealousies among the states themselves hindered permanent union. By 846 B.C. the alliance had been broken, and Jehu of Israel sent gifts to the Assyrian ruler. This furnished him his first hold on the independence of the Hebrews.
The next hundred years saw a union of Babylonia and Assyria, and an attempt, on the part of one king at least, to blot out all differences between the two peoples by showing among other things that their religions were the same. To give weight to the claim, he constructed temples in Nineveh, after the model of those of Babylon.
In the following chapter we shall note the height of Assyrian dominance and the proudest years of her history.
