Dead Men Tell Tales

by Harry Rimmer

In the Nineveh Gallery of the Assyrian section of the British Museum may be seen great sculptured slabs from the walls of Assur-bani-pal’s palace, which are numbered 45 to 50. At our last visit they were to be seen on the Eastern side of the gallery. These relics completely illustrate his conquest of Elam. Exhibits 45 to 47 further show the crushing of the Elamite forces, and the action is so dramatically depicted that the careful student may sense the excitement which seems to prevail. A voluminous text accompanies the pictured action so that there is no possibility of mistaking the meaning of the illustrations.

At this time Shamis-shum-ukim joined in the great revolt to which we have referred in a foregoing paragraph of this chapter. There are two accounts in the archeological records as to the end of Shamis-shum-ukim. Although a twin brother of Assur-bani-pal, he was some hours the younger, and thus was nominally subject to him under Assyrian law. One account says that he was taken prisoner and that Assur-bani-pal had him burned at the stake. The other account says that Shamis-shum-ukim, seeing he was about to be defeated, locked himself in a small section of the palace, which he set afire and burned himself rather than surrender. There was at this time a revolt in the Egyptian section of the empire which resulted in some long conflicts, which are also given in these records. It was also at this period that Assur-bani-pal left the record above cited, of the pacification of Babylon and the submission of Josiah.

The British Museum has a very large collection of letters from the library of Assur-bani-pal at Nineveh, many of which are of high significance in the study of these historical episodes. These letters cover a broad scope as they include the reports, requisitions, and communications of dignitaries. Some of these came from the crown prince, others from local governors and still more from various military captains. They deal in specific detail with military operations, uprisings, rebellions, and their suppression. They tell of the dispatch of troops to the provinces, with lists of expenses and expenditures. Such intimate details of Assyrian science as the reports of astronomers for regulating the calendar of the year are found there, and illuminating comments upon the political trend of the days. There are many references to these episodes, as would naturally be expected.

One of the great monuments to be found in the Babylonian Room of the British Museum, and numbered 90,864, is a stone stele with a rounded top, that is a treasure indeed. The upright full-length figure of Assur-bani-pal is shown in his capacity of high priest. This stele contains a lengthy chronicle recording the names, honors, and genealogy of the monarch and tells of his godly conduct and fidelity to his religion. There is a note of sadness and an index to the character of this great Assyrian in the line where Assur-bani-pal declares that he himself had appointed his twin brother Shamis-shum-ukim “to the sovereignty over Babylon so that the strong may not oppress the weak.”

Passing over a great many of these sources, we come now to the Assyrian Room where, in Table Case “E,” we find two ten-sided prisms of Assur-bani-pal which bear the Museum numbers 91,026, and 91,086. These lengthy records are inscribed with the outstanding incidents in the earlier years of his busy life. Beginning with an epitomized statement concerning his birth and education, as all good biographies should begin, he took occasion to recognize the great prosperity of Assyria that immediately followed his elevation to the throne. Then quickly the warrior king launched into some graphic descriptions of his principal military expeditions. Here he tells of the two expeditions against Tirhakah in Egypt, to which we have referred above. Among the allies who accompanied him to fight under his banner, who were already subject to him, he mentions levies from Cypress, Asia Minor, Syria, and Palestine. After citing the events and victories of five campaigns, the record then introduces the sad tragedy of Shamis-shum-ukim, a portion of which we have cited in a preceding paragraph. In all, there are nine campaigns covered in these prisms, and the student of historical accuracy may find great substantiation for his confidence in the truth and fidelity of the Word of God from these fascinating records.

In the same case is an eight-sided clay prism of Assur-bani-pal, numbered 93,008. This also contains a shorter reference to these same events. To convey an adequate and detailed account of the materials available from the time of Assur-bani-pal and his unfortunate brother would require a large volume by itself. We have come to that point, however, where Assur-bani-pal’s record concludes as it touches the Scripture. So we satisfy ourselves temporarily with this brief introduction of an epitomized section of those evidences.

Three years after the battle of Charchemish, where Assur-bani-pal was temporarily defeated, a new and forceful conqueror appeared in the person of Nebuchadnezzar the Second. Assur-bani-pal was succeeded by Nabopolassar, who will be ignored in this record because of the fact that he is not named by name in the text of the Bible. Nabopolassar, however, had a gifted son who succeeded him as Nebuchadnezzar the Second, and who began his training for the crown by assuming command of the army as the chief general under his father and with his parent’s consent.

The first great campaign that Nebuchadnezzar fought, brought Egypt back under the dominion of Babylon. To see the background of this event, it must be noted that after the death of Assur-bani-pal, the Medes invaded Nineveh and captured that stronghold. Whereupon Nabopolassar reasserted the independence of Babylon and conducted a number of brilliant campaigns to secure the ascendency of his kingdom and to establish his supremacy over the entire ancient world.

When Nineveh fell, the Pharaoh Necho, with whom we are now dealing, entered the story again. Necho invaded Syria and Palestine and successfully campaigned up to the banks of the Euphrates. At Charchemish he met the host of Nebuchadnezzar for what is known as the Second Battle of Charchemish. Necho entered this conflict with considerable confidence, due to his previous victory on this same field. This time, however, a different experience awaited him. Nebuchadnezzar crushed the Egyptians with an overwhelming defeat and drove them back to their own border. As a result of this battle, all Palestine, with the exception of Judah, acknowledged the authority of Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonian general took Jehoiakim captive and slew the Pharaoh Necho.

All of these events are recorded by the Pharaoh Necho, by Assur-bani-pal, and by certain humbler captains and leaders. The Pharaoh’s record is complete up to the time of the second battle. But as Necho did not survive this campaign, there is a dramatic break in his record. However, what is wanting from the Egyptian sources, is happily supplied from those of Babylon.