Even Ummanaldash was also destined to fall into the Assyrians’ hands. His own subjects rose against him, perhaps at the instigation of a certain Ummanigash, a son of Ametirra, and he sought refuge in the mountains. The Assyrians made use of these disturbances to march into Elam, fan the fire of rebellion, and lead Ummanaldash in triumph to their own country. The ancient monarchy, which had so often threatened Assyria, was now entirely broken. For a time Elam still prolonged a melancholy existence. She was not annexed to the Assyrian Empire. But when, within a few years, the latter’s power had disappeared, Elam fell an easy prey to the Persians, when Prince Sispis, or Teispes, of the race of the Achæmenidæ, placed himself on the throne of Shushan.
Little dreaming that the hour of Asshur’s downfall was so soon to strike, Asshurbanapal revelled in the joy of victory. In memory of all these triumphs, and in order to show his gratitude for the help of the gods, he built a new sanctuary for the great goddess of Nineveh, the spouse of Asshur, and when it was ready and he presented himself in it in order to consecrate it with ceremonial sacrifices, he had his royal chariot dragged to the gate of the temple by four captive kings,—Tammaritu, Pa’e, Ummanaldash, and Yauta. This barbarous triumph was his last, and the last also of the renowned Assyrian army.[b]
FOOTNOTES
[25] [The word is Sib’e, who is possibly Sewe or So, but many scholars differ as to his identity. See Winckler,
f]
[26] [Rogers,[g] whose more recent translation differs in some respects, reads this last line, “like a falcon which dwells in the clefts they fled alone to inaccessible places.” In Column II he reads the names Alhzibu, Akko, Tubahal, and Hittites as respectively Ekdippa, Arko, Ethobal, and West Lands.]
