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ANCffiNT SEMITIC CIVILIZATIONS
By the same author:
Le califat
d al-Hadi, Helsinki 1946
L epigrafia ebraica antica 1935-1950, Rome 1951
UQriente antko, Milan 1952
Orients in nu&va luce, Florence 1954
I mmosritti ebraid del deserto di Giuda, Rome 1955
II
profile dcU Oriente mediientmeo^ Rome 1956
I predeccssori d*Israele t Rome 1956
Chi fMono i Semiti?, Rome 1957
Ancient
Semitic Civilizations
SABATINO MOSCATI
Professor of Semitic Philology
in the University of Rome
CAPRICORN BOOKS
G. P. Putnam s Sons New York
1957 BY ELEK BOOKS LIMITED
CAPRICORN BOOKS EDITION 1960
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may

not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Library of Congress Catalog

Card Number: 58-10415
Third Impression
This work was originally published in Italy

by Gius Laterza & Figli of Ban, under the
title Storia e Civilta del Semiti.
MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wishes to express his gratitude to the
following scholars for help in obtaining permission

to reproduce photographs, and to the following in
stitutions for granting permission: Mr. R. D. Barnett
and the British Museum; Prof. H. Gazelles and the
Louvre; His Excellency Dr. Naji al Asil and the
Directorate General of Antiquities, Baghdad; Dr. N.
Avigad and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem; Prof.

A. Jamme and the American Foundation for the
Study of Man; the Dumbarton Oaks Collection;
Prof. C Giannelli and the Vatican Library; Dr. A.
Caquot and the Archaeological Department, Addis
Ababa.
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgements Page 5
Foreword n
I THE STAGE 13
Arabia Syria and Palestine Mesopotamia Lines of communication
Conclusion.
n THE PLAYERS 23
Name and diffusion Languages Peoples Races.
m THE PROLOGUE 34
The problem of Semitic origins Area whence the Semites spread Social
conditions Religious forms The nomad heritage.
IV THE BABYLONIANS AND ASSYRIANS 43

DISCOVERIES: Excavations Interpretation of tie documents System of
writing.
HISTORY: Sumerians Ancient Babylonian dynasties Foreign incursions
and Assyrian pre-eminence Last Babylonian, revival Conclusion,
RELIGION Nature of Mesopotamian civilization
: Deities Demons and sin
Priesthood; magic, divination, burial Ritual.
LITERATURE! Introduction Myths of the gods Myths of the heroes
Lyric Wisdom literature Prose,

LEGAL ANDSOCIAL INSTITUTIONS: Mesopotamian laws Persons Family,
marriage and inheritance Property, commercial and economic life Penal
law and procedure Authority and armed forces.
AST: General characteristics Architecture Sculpture Painting and the
minor arts.
V THE CANAANTTES 99
SOURCES: Direct sources Discoveries at Ugarit Indirect sources The
alphabet.
HISTORY: Palestine and Syria in history Up to the coming of the Israelites
Israelitic times.
RELIGION: Canaanitc civilization Deities Priesthood and ritual.
CONTENTS
LITERATURE: Myths of the gods Myths of the heroes The background to
Greek mythology.
ART: General characteristics Major arts Minor arts.
VI THE HEBREWS 124

HISTORY: From the origins to the Exodus The conquest of Palestine The
establishment of the monarchy Saul, David, Solomon The divided king
dom and the prophets Hie exile and the return from exile,
RELIGION: From the to the establishment of the monarchy
origins The
monarchy and the prophets The exile and religious standardization,
THE BIBLE: Hebrew literature Pentateuch Historical books Prophetical
books Lyrical books Sapiential books.
LEGAL AND SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS: Hebrew law Persons Marriage and the
family Inheritance Commercial and economic life Penal kw Judges
and procedure.
ART: Architecture Relief
VH THE ARAMAEANS 167

HISTORY: Sources Initial phase Apogee Decline.
LANGUAGE.
CULTURE: Introduction Religion literature Art Conclusion,
Vffl THE ARABS 181

SOUTHERN ARABS: Sources History Gods Religious life Political
and social life Arts.
CENTRAL AND NORTHERN ARABS: Introduction History Religions
Literature Arts.
MOHAMMED AND THE RISE OF ISLAM The Koran and other sources
: Youth and
revelation First preaching At Medina Success Mohammed s
personality The Arabs set out to conquer the world.
DC THE ETHIOPIANS 220

ABYSSENIA-
HISTORY: Sources From the origins to the introduction of Christianity
From the introduction of Christianity to the seventh century.
RELIGIONS : Paganism Judaism Christianity.
an<?
CULTURE: General characteristics Literature Arts.
X THE EPILOGUE 233

Bonds of union among the Semitic civilizations The Semitic peoples in the
ancient Near East Semitic cootribotioiis to the history of civilization.
Bibliography 239
Index 245
ILLUSTRATIONS
Following page 128.
I Ziqqurat of Nabonidus (Sir Leonard Woofley s reconstruc

tion; British Museum).
n Lion from gate at Nimrud (British Museum).

HI Stele of Naram-Sin (Louvre) .
IV Hunting-scene from AshurbanipaTs palace (British Museum).

V "Mona Lisa"
(by courtesy of the Diredor&e General of
Antiquities, Baghdad).
VI Hie negro and the lion (by courtesy of the BKITISH

MUSEUM QUARTERLY).
VII Mesopotamian seals (British Museum).
Vffl Statue of Idrimi (British Museum).
DC Baal stele (Louvre).
X Golden dish from Ugarit (Louvre).

XI "Goddess of the wild beasts"
(Louvre).
XII One of the Dead Sea scrolls (Hebrew University, Jerusalem).
Xffl Hebrew seal (British Museum).

XTV Ivory plaque from Samaria (Archaeological Museum,
Jerusalem).
XV Relief from TeH Halaf (Bn&ft Museum}.

XVI The fortress of Sam al (reconstruction, from KoUewey,
AUSGRABUNGEN IN SENDSCHmil).
XVH Bronze âtoe from Marib (by courtesy of the American
Fotmdt&ionfor the Study of Man).
ILLUSTRATIONS
South Arabian bronze horse (by courtesy of the Dumbarton
Oaks Collection).
XIX South Arabian relief of camel (British Museum).

XX Safaitic graffito (British Museum).
XXI Relief from Palmyra (Louvre).
XXH Fragment of Koranic manuscript (Vatican Library).
XXffl Obelisk from Axum (Rome; photo Alinari).
XXIV Ethiopic statue (Archaeological Department, Addis Ababa).
XXV Alabaster bull from Haulti (Archaeological Department, Addis

Ababa).
XXVI Lioness from Gobedra(fr0m DEUTSCHE AXUM-EXPEDITION).
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT

Page
1 Plan of the palace at Man (from Q Cattaghan, ARAM
NAHARAIM). 93
2 Plan of Solomon s
temple (from Watzinger^ DENKMALER
PALASHNAS). 165
Plan of temple at Marib
3 (from BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN
SCHOOLS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH). Ip3
4 Reconstruction of temple at Yeha (from DEUTSCHE AXITM-
EXPEDITION). 230
MAPS
1 The Semitic Region 14
2 Mesopotamia and Syria 44
3 Palestine IOo
4 Yemen and Abyssinia 182
FOREWORD
The of this book begins ten years ago. "While teaching
story
Semitic archaeology in the University of Rome, I found myself
faced by the fact that whereas there were various general works
on Semitic languages taken as a group, there was no such work
about the peoples who spoke those languages.
Yet these peoples are united by many bonds of social conditions,
religious conceptions, and artistic forms. It seemed to follow that
a book setting forth the essential outline of their forms of civiliza
tion and of their distinctive common traits not only could but
should be written.
The book appeared in Italian in 1949; a German edition fol
lowed in 1953, a French one in 1955, and another German one
in the same year. An English edition was still
lacking; and it is
with especial pleasure that I now offer it to the public of Great
Britain and of America, to whom am bound by so many
I
cherished memories. May my colleagues who invited me to

lecture in those countries, and the students who followed my
lectures with such intelligent interest, and
all the friends who
showed me such kindness, each see in this book a token of my
grateful remembrance of them,
I must also crave their indulgence. In a brief synopsis such as
this, no more can be given than a sketch of the salient features of

the ancient Semitic civilizations. There would have been no
point in loading the text with names and numbers; better to

restrict oneself to the outstanding elements, to the more char
acteristic aspects of the life and thought of the peoples described.
There was also the question of chronological limits. I have here

restricted myself to the ancient, or what may be called "classical"
FOREWORD
Semitic civilizations. This gives us the whole of the
period of
historical existence of the Babylonians and Assyrians
and of the
is broken off with
Canaanites; but the treatment of the Hebrews
the loss of their that of the Aramaeans
political independence;
and that of the Arabs with Hellenism and Iskm respectively, for
both of these phenomena take us beyond the limits of national
and Semitic history; that of the Ethiopians, when the Islamic
the east and to the north of them shut
conquest of the regions to
them up in a local, African setting. This is admittedly an imper
but would not any other have been equally or
fect delimitation;
more so? Moreover, only this ancient phase seems to me to
exhibit those common all the Semitic
traits, linking together
peoples, of which I have spoken above. When civilizations pass
to become assimilated
beyond the limits of their own environment
into wider cultural circles, thereby pass outside the scope
of
they
such a work as this.
A final word: with each new edition I have revised the book
in the light of the continual advance of archaeological discovery
and of scholarship in general, and in that of the opinions ex
pressed by reviewers, and of my
own. Each edition, therefore,
and this is especially true of the present English one, has aimed at
being not a translation, but a new work.
Sabatino MoscatL
Rome, March 3ist, 1957.

CHAPTER ONE
THE STAGE
vast Asiatic continent opens out at its western extremity
THE into a broad peninsula, bounded on three sides by the sea,
and linked by a land-bridge with Africa. This peninsuk is called
Arabia: a great desert or half-desert expanse, giving place in the
north to a mountain-strip fronting the eastern Mediterranean,
called Palestine in the south and Syria in the north. In the north
east the natural frontier formed by the great curve of the
is
mountains of Armenia and Iran; but here we are beyond the reach
of the desert, for between the two great rivers Tigris and Euphrates,
between the desert and the mountains, lies yet another region,
and a singularly fertile one, called Mesopotamia, that is, the land
between the rivers.
These three regions taken together Arabia, Syria-Palestine,
and Mesopotamia form a geographical unity, which was in its
day the stage of an important act in the drama of humanity The >
peoples who were the actors in these dramatic episodes played

the parts inevitably assigned to them by their natural conditions.
On the one hand, the distinctions imposed by geographical
factors brought about the emergence of peoples historically and
politically individualized;
on the other hand, the fundamental
geographical unity bound them into an interdependence, thanks
towhich impulses originating in one sector had repercussions
upon all the others.
The whole coastline of the Arabian peninsula is marked by its
mountains, which rear themselves up, never far from the sea, to
descend towards die interior upon a plateau doping gently down
13
z. The Semitic Rî
THE STAGE
towards Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf. The outskirts of this
plateau bear sparse and stunted vegetation; its interior is
occupied
by the vast barren sand-wastes of the Arabian desert.
The rivers that run down from the mountains are of no great
Some of them are swallowed up into the ground, to reappear
size.
a considerable distance
away in the midst of the arid sands. Round
these oases centred the wandering life of the tribes of the inner
is
desert, for whom water is indeed the "best of things", the most
precious and desirable of the elements. The oases are the saving
gift of nature amid the parched wastes that have Ellen to the lot
of the people of Arabia. It happens, however, that the population
centred around them becomes too numerous for their modest
resources of fertility, and the tribes are forced to
range farther
afield in restless search for new bases.
Nearer the coast a more settled way of life is
possible. The
Hejaz, over against Egypt, has some little harbours, and its fertile
oases have from the remotest times been peopled by settled
groups, living chiefly by the trade which passes through them on
the road to the north,
through Mecca and Medina to Palestine and
Syria.
Further to the south the Yemen, part of which faces the
lies
Ethiopian coast of Africa, while the rest faces the Indian Ocean.
This is the most fertile region of the whole Arabian The
peninsula.
richness and variety of its products, and the mildness of its climate,
in vivid contrast to the
baking hinterland, won for it in ancient
times its name of "Arabia FkHx", that is, Arabia the Fortunate.
These conditions inevitably determined, from the first millennium
before Christ, the establishment in this
region of stable political
organizations, whose influence extended to the Ethiopian coast
opposite in the form of a vast commercial system and of move

ments of colonization.
Taken as a whole, however, Arabia is the least rich of the regions
we are now describing. Its vast
expanse of desert rock and sand,
broken only here and there by patches of vegetation, and the lack,
IS
ANCIENT SEMITIC CIVILIZATIONS
in all its of coastline, of natural harbours of any size,
great stretch
imposed upon it an extreme isolation, thanks to which its posi
tion between Asia and Africa did not avail to make of it a com
mercial highway or the place of passage of migrating peoples.
The coming and going of traders and of armies was confined to
the Mediterranean region to the north of Arabia, while the desert
remained aloof and unaffected by all the turmoil of history,
preserving almost without change the characteristic features of its
inhabitants and of their way of life. The powerful states which
ruled in the north (Babylonia and Assyria, Byzantium and Persia)
for long shut off the desert nomads from the fertile lands which
they coveted. Only the decline of Byzantine power and the

collapse of Persia, in die seventh century of the Christian era,
allowed the Arabs, united by Islam, to burst forth from their
desert in that great flood which was to sweep impetuously so far
as central Asia and so far as France.
Very and consequently in its

different in its natural features
historical lotwas the long narrow mountain border of the desert
along the Mediterranean coast. While Arabia was poor in roads
and harbours, Syria and Palestine, marked out by nature as an
important zone of communication, were to see the constant pass
age of many peoples and of many forms of culture. In ancient
times this region, set between the mighty political and economic
powers of Mesopotamia and Egypt, was the inevitable outlet and

testing-^round of their military and commercial ambition. In the
middle ages it was overrun by the Moslem armies moving
against
Byzantium. In our own days it has remained the object of the
great powers* effort to secure control of the means of communi
cation between Europe and Africa in the West, and the Middle
and Far East.
Tim region presents the geaocral appearance of rows of moun
tains tim parallel with the sea. Along the whole
rismg in
length of this njoimtain mass, however, there runs a deep and
16
THE STAGE
clearcut depression, following
approximately the course of two
rivers, the Orontes in die north and the Jordan in the south. The
Orontes, rising in Upper Syria, runs between two mountain walls
that rise to as high as 10,000 feet: die
range nearer to the sea is
called Lebanon, and that nearer to die desert, Antiiebanon.
The Lebanon rangepossesses vast forests of pine, cypress and
of the utmost commercial importance, since both
cedar, a fact
Mesopotamia and Egypt are almost entirely destitute of building

timber. The coast has good natural harbours, whore there arose
flourishing ports. This region was the home of the Phoenicians,
the great merchant and marina:
people of ancient times, whose
skilland hardihood and colonizing zeal brought them to all the
coasts of the Mediterranean, and
beyond into die Atlantic, and to
the tin-mines of Britain.
Eastwards from the Orontes, Antiiebanon runs down to a
region dotted with oases, around which grew up important

cities. One of
the most celebrated of diese was Palmyra, the
centre of a small independent state, and a stage-point of the
important route joining Syria with Mesopotamia, Further to the
south lies the oasis of Damascus, with its flower-gardens, watered
by the rivers that flow down from the mountains. These cities
were as a rule prevented from forming great political forces by
their position between powers much more
mighty than they;
hence they tended rather to remain little independent states, of
commercial rather than political importance. The same is true
also of the cities of the Phoenician coast, whose more or less thinly
veiled subjection to the suzerainty of die
great powers did not in
the least hinder them from attaining their
supremacy in commerce
by sea.
Phoenicia extends soudi beyond the Lebanon range, as farasthe
boundary of Palestine proper. Here too the mountain bulk is

splitby a river: the Jordan, famous above all, like the whole of
dds region, for its place in sacred history. Twice in its course this
river broadens out into lakes: die litde Lake of Tiberias in the
north, and the Dead Sea in the south. Between the Lake of
Tiberias and the Mediterranean lies Galilee, with Samaria to the
south of it; and yet further south Judaea, with its
thrice-holy
city ofJerusalem.
Jerusalem lies at an altitude of about 2,600 feet. The surround
ing region does not rise to much greater heights than this, and
descends towards the sea to a sandy beach with few harbours.
The becomes more and more sandy as
terrain one goes south
wards towards the Sinaitic peninsula, which is the limit of
Palestine and of the continent of Asia. Sinai forms a

bridge lead
ing into Africa, into the rich valley of Egypt; but this journey is
a difficult one, and travellers often
preferred to brave the hazards
of the sea, and embark for Egypt in the Phoenician
ports.
Palestine and Syria
may be called fertile lands, and have been
cultivated from very remote times, in a continual
process whereby
pastoral peoples, coming from the desert, adopted by stages a
settled and
agricultural way of life. These infiltrations were not
always peaceful ones, and violent inroads from the desert, along
with those of the armies of the
neighbouring powers, subjected
this
region to a series of devastating episodes, in accordance with
that destiny which seems to have been the historical
heritage of
the best-known of its the Hebrews.
peoples,
Herodotus called Egypt a gift of the Nile; a similar

expression
might be used of Mesopotamia, for its rivers are its life.
Hie Tigris and the Euphrates have a common
nowadays
mouth; in ancient times was not so, and they ran parallel with
this
each other to flow
separately into the sea, which at that time
extended much further north than now. The silt
continually
deposited as the current which bore it slowed down in the
estuary
brought about in the course of centuries the continual recession of
the sea and the formation of the delta in which the
two rivers
came to unite thtir waters. Hence the ancient cities which had
arisen on the coast came to lie further and further from the sea to
18
THE STAGE
which they owed their prosperity, and their ruins were engulfed
by the sands of the desert.
These two great rivers take their rise amid the eternal snows of
the Armenian mountains, which rise in places to altitudes of over
13,000 feet. From
these heights they hurl themselves upon the
plain, and here, where sand succeeds to rock, their impetuous

course is checked, and its force tends to find an outlet in floods
and in changes of course. These phenomena reach their culmin
ating point in spring and summer, when the increase in the

volume of water gives rise to sudden and capricious inundations,
to the great detriment of the cultivated land. Man soon turned his
hand, however, to the task of taming the wild element, and con
it into a source of
verting prosperity; in very remote times he
undertook the construction of a network of canals designed to
receive the floodwaters and distribute them systematically. The
whole of Mesopotamia* s ancient literature is permeated by the
memory of this great work, and at all periods Mesopotamian
sovereigns regarded the maintenance of the canal system as one
of their greatest tides to honour.
Beyond the region served by the canals lies that of the ever
lasting swamp, a treacherous plain of shallow waters overgrown
with huge reeds, with here and there islets of more solid ground.
Assyrian artists have given us pictures of refugees fleeing before
the invader into the marshlands on little rafts, or hiding in the
maze of reeds.
The extreme differences in the terrain traversed by the rivers,
from eternal snows to torrid sands, correspond to differences in
the Mesopotamia!! climate. Assyria in the north is in certain zones
extremely cold, whereas Babylonia in the south swelters from

May to November under an extreme of heat rendered more
intolerable the high degree of humidity; here the sun is
by
naturally regarded as an agent of death and destruction, a torturer
of man and beast.
The mountains in the north are rich in minerals: gold, silver,
19
lead, ironand copper are to be found there in remarkable abund

ance; contracts have come down to us for the acquisition of
metals brought by caravans from the north. The Mesopotamian
subsoil rich in other natural resources, such as naphtha and
is
bitumen; the latter was widely used in ancient times by the

Assyrian boatbuilders. Finally, the soil of this region is
peculiarly
suited to the raising of cereals.
From the mountains there descend also upon Mesopotamia the
communication routes from the north and from the east. The
history of this region is therefore in great part the history of the
struggles for control over these routes, and so over the valley to
which they gave access. It was to the mountains that Mesopotam
ian kingshad constantly to direct their attention and their expedi
tions; and from the mountains came those who destroyed the
Mesopotamian powers.
Nature made Syria and Palestine the inevitable meeting-place

and battleground of all the movements, commercial, military and
migratory, of the Near East. Geographically this narrow strip of
land was the junction between three continents: the desert forced
land communication between Asia and Africa into a
great arc
skirting the northern edge of the Arabian sands, while the road to
Eastern Europe branched off in Upper Syria, thence to cross the
Taurus into Asia Minor, making for Constantinople. As for the
sea-routes, the importance of the Phoenician ports needs no
explanation save the remark that

it was enhanced
by the difficul
ties
opposed by mountain or desert to land communications
around the Mediterranean.
In particular,from andent times the most convenient and
frequented passage from Syria to Egypt was by the sea-route. The
advantages ofiered by the Phoenician ports were too great for
many merchants and travellers to risk the dangers of the Sinaitic
desert, which breaks Ac land route into Africa, although there was
a route across that desert, leading from the southern Palestinian
20
THE STAGE
plain to the delta of the Nile. Palestine was poor in ports, and
hence the bulk of maritime commerce tended to pass through the
Phoenician ports.
The road from Syria to Mesopotamia is not a long one; by
going up to Aleppo, the traveller leaves only a short tract of
desert to be crossed before reaching the Euphrates. From that
point on he may follow that river, or cross it and follow its

northern tributaries towards the Tigris. To the south of this
artery of trade there was a more modest caravan-route which

from Damascus made straight for the middle Euphrates, cutting
across the desert, and passing through the fertile oasis of Palmyra.
Communications with Arabia were more difficult. On the
whole, the least inconvenient method was to go by the Red Sea
to the coast, and thence penetrate into the interior; but the com
mercial communities of the Hejaz, and further to the south the
prosperous states of Arabia Felix, knew also from the earliest

times another trade-route, leading, roughly parallel with the
coast, through Medina and Mecca, and then following the line of
the oases into Southern Palestine, whence it continues into Syria.
Some caravan-routes of much smaller importance cross the whole
breadth of the peninsula, descending the gentle slope of the plateau
to the Persian Gulf and to Mesopotamia.
Upper Syria is all but cut off from Asia Minor, and conse
quently from Europe, by the barrier of the mountains, but there

is one road which them direcdy and links up with the road
crosses
to the north. This the road through which the Arabs in the
is
middle ages repeatedly tried to penetrate to the heart of the

Byzantine Empire.
Both the history and the civilization of die peoples who lived
in all were shaped by the natural conditions of their

these regions
environment. Hie various movements of migration or of con
the economic and climatic factors that
quest were influenced by
rule the lives of men; their direction was determined by die
21
of communication, and the possession of the latter,
natural lines
with the hold it gave over the whole life of the region, determined
the course of history. States were born and grew up in a geo
graphical background which allotted

them here an enduring unity,
there a perpetual state of division. The forms assumed by their
civilization reflected their environment, and drew from it their
strengths and their weaknesses.

At the same time, the balance of peoples, of states, and of
cultural forms existing at any given moment within the area was
always subject to influences from without. Dwelling at the meet

ing-point of the three great continents of the ancient world, Asia,
Africa and Europe, the inhabitants of these lands could not fail to
assimilate, to fuse together, and to transmit the cultural elements
which all those continents contributed.
CHAPTER TWO
THE PLAYERS
the area described in the
preceding chapter there dwelt, from
IN
the beginnings of history and who knows how long before that,
peoples remarkably alike in their characteristics the peoples

whom we call Semitic.
This nameis derived from a
passage in the Bible: the tenth
chapter of the book of Genesis, where we have an account of the
relationships between the various peoples known to the writer, in
the form of a genealogy of their descent from the sons of Noah.
In this genealogical table the list of the sons of Shem includes
Aram, Ashur and Eber, that is to say, the Aramaeans, the Assy
rians and the Hebrews. The term was therefore
"Semitic"
adopted by European end

scholars towards the of the eighteenth
century as a common designation for that group of peoples to

which the Aramaeans, Assyrians and Hebrews belong, a group
whose interrelation is immediately evident in their languages. The
use of the term was subsequently extended and modified with the
advance of knowledge as archaeology brought to light the
existence of yet other peoples of like characteristics, and as it
became possible to determine with greater scientific exactitude
the typical or essential features which mark a language or a people
or a culture as Semitic.
Before the eighteenth century all the languages and peoples of
Asia had been referred to generically as Oriental. The affinity
between certain Semitic languages had nevertheless been remarked
from time to time, as when historical accident brought together
those who spoke them. So for example the Jews in Spain, brought
into contact with the Arabs who had penetrated into Europe
23
across northern Africa, bad been able to observe the similarity
between their own language and that of the invaders.
Arabia, Syria-Palestine and Mesopotamia were, as has been said,
the historical home of the Semitic
peoples, and they occupied
those lands solidly and continuously. That does not mean, how
ever, that they did not spread beyond the boundaries of those
lands, whether in incursions of greater or less extent and duration,
or to establish themselves
permanently.
A permanent establishment of Semitic peoples outside the
Semitic area took place on the African coast over
against the
Yemen. Long before the beginning of the Christian era, various
Arab tribes had begun to migrate thither, attracted by the natural
wealth of the country, and had
opened trading-stations there.
so
Many ports grew up along the coast of the Red Sea, while the
immigrants also spread to the interior and established themselves
there as settled colonists,
imposing their rale on the native
inhabitants.Such was the origin of the ancient state of Axum.
migrations that were not destined to be lasting are
Among the
to be numberedall the various
attempts at military conquest, of
which that of Islam was by far the most extensive. The subse
quent decline of Moslem power and the splitting-up of the Arab
Empire still left many Arabic, and hence Semitic, elements in the
languages and in the blood of the peoples overrun the tide of
by
oonquest.
Semitic populations
spread beyond the homeland yet in
another way: by colonization. The
great colonizers among the
Semitic peoples were
naturally enough the people famous
throughout antiquity for their maritime prowess, the Phoenicians.
Hie foundation of bases at Mediterranean
strategic points in the
world was indeed com
necessary for the maintenance of their
merce; and so they founded colonies in Africa, in
Spain, and in
Sidy. The subsequent history of these colonies brought Semitic
dements into the af&ks of die
European West even long after
the power of Phoenicia itself had
passed away for ever.
24
THE PLAYERS
of Semitic ethnic and cultural elements was
Finally, a diffusion
brought which lies outside the scope of this
about, at a period
book, by the scattering of the Jews, which began even before the
destruction ofJerusalem by the Romans, and has planted all over
the world groups of Jews clinging tenaciously to their traditions.
The
Semitic peoples are distinguished, as a group, from others
by the possession of certain common characteristics of their own.

These are mainly linguistic ones. Semitic languages have so much
in common in their phonology, morphology, syntax and vocab
ulary, that their similarity can not be accounted for by borrowings
in historic times, but only on the hypothesis of a common origin.
The phonology of the Semitic languages is characterized by a
remarkably rich consonantal system, with many laryngeal,

pharyngeal and uvular articulations, and with what are called
"emphatic" consonants,
whose articulation is accompanied by a
constriction of the larynx. These
typically Semitic consonants,
which have practically nothing to correspond to them in the
languages of Europe, may all be brought under the general
heading of a shifting further back than in other languages of
what may be called the "centre of gravity"
of the system of
articulation.
The vowel-system, on the other hand, is
ralatively poor in
phonemes. of most of the Semitic languages

It is characteristic
that the vowels are not written, but are

supplied by the reader
from the arrangement of the consonants alone. The vowels are
written, however, in certain texts, to whose exact pronunciation
especial importance is attached, such as the Hebrew Bible and the
Arabic Koran.
The morphology based on a system of "roots", the majority
is
of which consist of three consonants. The basic meaning of the

word is
expressed by these consonants, while the addition of
vowels, and also of consonantal prefixes, infixes and suffixes,

determines the word s precise sense and function. For example,
25
the three consonants k-t-b constitute a root, whose fundamental
meaning of is that
"writing".
The root as such is a grammatical
abstraction; words in actual speech are formed by the addition of
vowels, of prefixes, infixes and suffixes. Thus, in Arabic, kataba
means has written", katab-ta "thou hast written"; katib is
"he
"writer", kitab is "book"; ma-ktab is a "writing-place",

that is, a
"school"; and so on, for a wide
range of verbal and nominal
forms. Dictionaries of Semitic languages are
arranged not in
order of individual words, as are those of
European languages,
but in order of roots. So, for
example, the word maktab will
be found not under the letter m, but under its root k-t-b.
Semitic nouns were declined, but only a few of the Semitic
languages have preserved the system of declension. The singular

had a nominative in -, a genitive in -i, ?nd an accusative in -#;
the dual a nominative in -5 and an
oblique case in -ay and the ;
a nominative in -u and an
plural oblique case in -f.
The use of the genitive case is characterized by what is called
the "construct state" of the noun to which it is
attached; this
noun, preceding the wordin the genitive, loses the definite
article, and often suffers internal modification. For
example, in
Hebrew "the
death", by itself, is ham-maweth, but if one adds
"of the
king" (ham-mekkh) the resulting phrase "the death of
the king" is moth ham-melekh.
The Southern Semitic languages, that is, Arabic and
Ethiopic,
are characterized a special of plural-formation, that of
by type
what are called "broken" or "inner"
plurals. Alongside the system
whereby the plural is indicated, as is usual in European languages,
by die ending of the noun, these languages form plurals also by
means of an inner modification of the noun,
generally a change in
its vowels. Thus, for
example, in Arabic, as has already been said,
"book" is kitab. The
plural, "books", is kutab, formed by a change
in the vowels only. This kind of
plural represents as a matter of
fact a collective, and this account for the apparent singular
may
ity of the phenomenon.
26
THE PLAYERS
The Semitic manner of word-formation will seem less
strange
to those who speak English than to those who speak, for instance,
a Romance language; for in English we have such phenomena as
the verbal forms "sing sang sung** and the noun "song",
and
even plurals formed in a similar manner, for instance, "man
men". Whereas, however, even in
English such formation is
restricted to certain words, in the Semitic languages it is normal.
An interesting example is furnished by the English word "inch":
thishas been borrowed by Arabs, in its singular form: insh; but

for plural it has the form, which seems to the Arabs perfectly
its
natural and obvious: unush.

The characterized by a series of "themes"
Semitic verb is
expressing derivatives of the basic meaning, and formed by

regular modifications of the root; so are expressed for example an
intense or repeated action, a causing-to-act, and the notions of
passive, reflexive, reciprocal action. Semitic verbs are quoted

normally not in the infinitive, though the English infinitive may
be used in giving their meaning, but in the third person singular
masculine of their perfect tense, since this is their simplest form.
For example, the verb "to would be given as
write" in Arabic
kataba, though this word, as we have already seen, means in fact
"he has written".
By lengthening the first vowel we get kataba,
and this expresses reciprocal action, "to write to one another",
"to
correspond"; by prefixing a- and dropping the first vowel
within the root we get aktaba, and this means "to cause to write".
It is not difficult to see that many changes may so be rung on the
consonantal root k-t-b with its
general meaning of "writing".
Semitic languages have a system of conjugation quite different
from of Indo-European languages. They have properly
that
speaking no at all, that is, no forms distinctive of the

"tenses"
present, past
or future time of the action; they distinguish only
what is called that is they distinguish a state from an
"aspect",
action, an activity (continuous or habitual) from a (completed)

act. We may take as an example the system used in Arabic and
27
the other Western Semitic languages. If the action, at the time
referred to, which must be inferred from the context, is (or was, or
will be, or for the writer
s
purpose is regarded as being) complete,
asan accomplished fact, tie "perfect** is used; this may corres
pond to an English pluperfect or past or perfect referring to a past
act ("I
had written", "I wrote yesterday",
"I have already
written"),
or to a perfect or present referring to a future act ("I
will come when I have written this letter", "He will find out
when I write to him"),
or to a future perfect shall have ("I
written before then").

If on the other hand the action at the time
referred to not to be regarded as an accomplished fact, but as an
is
incompleted or habitual or prospective action, the "imperfect"

is used; this
may correspond to an English continuous tense ("I
am was will be writing")

or to an expression of habitual action
("I
used to write", "I write wrote will write every week"),
or
to one of envisaged action ("I
shall write", "I was going to write").
Semitic syntax makes a characteristic distinction between
what are called "verbal" and "nominal" propositions. In verbal
propositions, which are the ordinary form of expressing an event
or a stage in a narration, the verb is put in the forefront, and is
followed by its subject; for example, the order of words is
"said Zaid to his

&ther", and not "Zaid said , . ."
In nominal
propositions, however, the logical subject is put in
the forefront, and the rest of the
proposition constitutes a logical
predicate saying something about that subject. Commonly, by
an idiom found also in European languages, the verb "to be" is
understood, for example "Zaid wise",

meaning "Zaid is wise".
The need not be the grammatical subject of the

logical subject
verb, however, but, after being enunciated, may be left "hanging
in the from the point of view of normal Indo-European
air"
syntax, and followed by a verbal phrase with its own grammatical

subject. Such roiistajctioes are to be found for instance in the
Bibfe, Bot merely in the Hebrew, but carried into the Greek of
die New Testament, for example: "he that overcometh, and he
28
THE PLAYERS
that keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give authority
over the nations"
(Revelation 2, 26),
The sentence in general simple in construction. Semitic
is
languages do not favour subordinate clauses, preferring

simply to
juxtapose a series of propositions, leaving their rektionship to one
another, as conditional, final, causal or the like, to be gathered
from the context. Even some of the clauses classed as commonly
subordinate are not entirely so, being expressed without intro
ductory "subordinating" particles. A typical example is furnished

by Arabic "relative" clauses of the type book, we took it "a
down, . .
meaning
." "a
book, which we took down, . Very . ."
similar are what are called "circumstantial" clauses, for example:

"shall I seek for god other than God, and He has favoured
you a
you above all creatures",

meaning ,
seeing that He has favour ". .
ed you ..." A striking example of this Semitic omission of sub

ordinating conjunctions even in the Greek New Testament is
literally: "Thanks be to God that ye were
S. Paul s exclamation,
servants of sin but became obedient where the English . .

.",
Revisers* text has, according to the sense, be to God, that,

"thanks
whereas ye were servants of sin, ye became obedient ..."

(Romans 6,17).
The Semitic linguistic peculiarities which have just been
described are of course only typical examples from a much wider
range; and they admit of exceptions. They suffice, however, as an
outline of the distinctive features of the Semitic group as an
individual linguistic family. The whole body of common ele
ments may be organised in a theoretical reconstruction of a single
"
original Semitic", and this reconstruction brings out the dose
rektionship to one another of the historical Semitic languages.

The latter may be classified in certain main groups, which offer
a basis for the classification of the peoples who spoke them. The
Semitic language-group of which we have the earliest docu
mentary evidence is that of the Akkadians, that is, the Semitic

peoples of Mesopotamia: Babylonians and Assyrians. A second
29
group is formed by the languages called Canaanite because spoken

in the region (comprising Palestine and part of Syria) which the
Bible calls Canaan. Canaanite as a language-group has as
complex
a composition, and as dubious a claim to be regarded as a
single
individual unity, as have the Canaanites as a group of
peoples.
Hebrew Wongs to this linguistic group. third
group is the A
Aramaic, a set of dialects first attested in Upper Syria, but later
extending far into the surrounding regions. fourth group A is the
Arabic, known to us before the time of Mohammed from a series
of inscriptions principally from the Yemen, but having as its
"classical" form the dialect of the Koran and
subsequent Islamic
The fifth and last group is the Ethiopic, spoken by the
literature.
Semitic colonists of Abyssinia; in ancient times Ethiopic was a
single language; only in the middle ages, and so beyond the

limits of this book, does it become a group by splitting up into
clearly distinguished dialects.
We have described the geographical bloc inhabited by the

Semitic peoples, and the common features of the languages which
they spoke. The question still remains, however, to what extent
we are justified in speaking of "Semitic peoples". In other words:
the Semitic languages undoubtedly
go together to form one
and united family; but can we say as much of the
distinct
peoples
who spoke them?
This question is not a simple one. Several scholars have main
tained that the notion of "Semitic" as a class is
justifiable only
within the linguistic field, and that it cannot
properly be applied
to peoples or to forms of civilization; others have asserted the
contrary, backing up their assertion to the

by pointing "family
likeness"
distinguishable in the social and religious institutions of
die Semitic-speaking
peoples,
In order to dear up this matter, we must decide what con
stitutes a people, For modern
ethnology, a "people"
is an aggre
gate of persons, who, though they may differ in race and place of
30
THE PLAYERS
origin, are welded into a homogeneous unity by community of

habitat, language, and historical and cultural tradition.
When we apply this definition to the Semitic-speaking peoples,
we find, in addition to its obvious immediate applicability to each
one of them individually, that there is no objection on
geo
graphical grounds to the homogeneity of the group as a whole,
while there was never any objection to the
recognition of a
Semitic linguistic community; what remains to be seen is the
applicability of the definition to historical and cultural tradition

as a justification of the "Semitic" nature of the entire family.
We shall see in the next chapter how in historic times Semitic-
speaking peoples have issued from the Arabian desert. Our
historical sources record these
migrations, and the economic and
social conditions of the desert make them inevitable, leading as
they do to a continual trend of nomadic pastoral tribes towards
settlement in the more fertile regions around the desert, and the
adoption of an agricultural mode of life. The Semitic-speaking

peoples seem therefore to form one bloc not only by their being
geographically assembled within the one area, and by speaking
dialectsof the one language, but also by sharing the one cultural
and historical origin. Hence it seems justifiable not to restrict
the expression "Semitic" to the linguistic field, but to of
speak
"Semites" and of Semitic peoples and culture.
Animportant distinction must however be made here: a
people is not necessarily Semitic to the extent to which its langu
age is Semitic. The desert-dwellers who occupied the surrounding
territories imposed upon them their own language; but they
mingled with the populations which they found in the lands they
invaded, and took over to a large extent their culture. Hence the
peoples that were so formed, while Semitic in language, and
drawing for their culture upon the common Semitic inheritance,
were independent ones, of which the Semitic element, though it
might be the predominant and distinctive one, was not the only
constituent. With the reserve, therefore, that this implies, we may
31
call them "Semitic peoples", but it would be inaccurate to refer
to their members indiscriminately as "Semites".
It remains true, however, that there was a real
unity and
community of tradition within the Semitic group of peoples, and
for that reason a study of that group
not an arbitrary collection
is
of elements only accidentally related, but a picture of a well-

defined organic unity within the political and cultural
history of
the ancient Near East.
"We now come to the racial

question, and here it must be pointed
out at the outset that this is one which does not affect the determin
ationof the Semitic peoples as such: even the most compact and
homogeneous of peoples may contain quite disparate racial
elements. Moreover, there no need even to discuss the theory,
is
which belongs to the realms of now outmoded political propa

ganda rather than to serious scholarship, and which is justly
discredited by anthropologists, of a "Semitic race" as a distinct
race embracing all the Semitic-speaking peoples.
We may, however, examine the racial types to be found in the
Semitic area. At the present day there are two predominant ones.
In the first place we have the "oriental" or "Iranian"
type, and in
Arabia and parts of Palestine, Syria and
Mesopotamia this is the
only predominant one. It is
distinguished by white (or sun-
browned) skin, dark hair and eyes, strong growth of the beard
and of the body-iair, middlestature, slim build, a long head with
prominent occiput, a long face, a high strong nose, straight or

lips, and a strong chin. In Palestine, Syria and
convex, foil
Mesopotamia we find alongside this type another one, originating

in the north, and called "Armenoid". This
type is distinguished
by dull-white skin, sturdily-built figure, a short lofty head with
lat occiput, a strong and promiaent nose with its base set
high up,
and thin lips. Certain dements of this latter
type have come to be
regarded as chai^cteistic of the Jews.
are tibose of the present
day. We have litde evidence
32
THE PLAYERS
of the state of afiairs in ancient times, but such evidence as we
have points to the original prevalence over the whole Semitic
area of the oriental or Iranian
type, whereas the Armenoid type
penetrated into the area only during the second millennium
before Christ.
What conclusion is to be drawn from all this, as
regards the
present problem? In the first
place, we have a contradiction of
the theory of a racial group coincident with the Semitic linguistic
group. On the one hand, the two racial types which we have
described are not confined to the Semitic area; the oriental
type
extends to Iran and North Africa, and the Armenoid one to
Anatolia and the Caucasus. On the other hand, they are not to
be found in all Semitic areas; in Abyssinia the Ethiopians present
a different racial type of their own.
What matters, however, for the question as we have put it is
of the inhabitants of the Arabian desert, whence
the racial status
the Semites came; and here we was only to be expected,
find, as
in view of the isolation of the desert and the uniformity of its
conditions, a remarkable racial homogeneity. It would seem,

therefore, that though there is strictly no such thing as a Semitic
race, yet the Semites were originally an ethnic group, and one
whose cohesion is strengthened by homogeneity of race, within
the wider "oriental"
type.
CHAPTER THREE
THE PROLOGUE
begins with the appearance of written documents,
HISTORY
and our earliest such records of any Semitic people present
it to us as an already individualized and differentiated unit in its
own sector of the Semitic area. The various
peoples have how
ever enough in common to justify the hypothesis that they spread
from an earlier common habitat to the lands which
they occupy
historically.
It is well to make clear the exact scope of this hypothesis and of
its
investigation. There is here no question of identifying an
"original
of the Semites. Attempts to do this have
homeland"
been made several times in the past, but any such investigation
carries us back far beyond
history, and its results can only be
hypothetical and questionable. We must here limit ourselves to
identifying the area whence there took place the historically
known expansion of the Semites, without attempting to decide
whether this was the area in which they first came into being as a
people, or whether they had migrated thither in prehistoric
times.
Even with this limitation the
problem is not an easy one. The
notion of a genealogical tree showing the progressive
multiplica
tion of peoples and
tongues is no longer accepted without question.
It is clear that in prehistoric times no less than in historic ones the
relationships between peoples and languages may have been of a
complex and shifting nature, which we are wholly unable to
trace; and the idea of a process of progressive differentiation must
be suppkmeated and corrected by that of fusion,
whereby
different dialectal or ethnical elements, thank* to
political or
34
THE PROLOGUE
cultural reasons, so far from developing away from one another,
are brought together.
In spite of these reserves, however, the question of Semitic
origins is one which
may and indeed must be asked; but what has
just been said must be borne in mind in answering that question.
One fact seems well enough established: so far as history shows

us, Semitic migrations have had for their starting-point the
Arabian desert. The only movements in the opposite direction are
a few defensive ones of limited extent; and all the movements
from the desert were movements of Semitic-speaking peoples.
The fact that movements also took place from one part to another
of the settled areas is no grounds for objection; it is obvious that
the Semites, once they have penetrated from the desert into the
settled areas, continue to take part in the historical movements
which took place there, and that these subsequent movements

are irrelevant to the question of Semitic origins.
It is
important to note that historical documentation is not the
only basis for the view that the Semites came from the Arabian
desert. There is also the fact that the economic and social con
ditions of the desert are such that its nomadic pastoral inhabitants
inevitably tend to overflow into the surrounding agricultural
areas. This tendency is still to be seen in our own days, and since
the conditions of the desert seem to have undergone no substantial
change since the dawn of history, it is reasonable to suppose that

it
operated also in ancient times.
It is with the present question
especially important in dealing
to observe that in the whole of the Semitic area it is the Arabian
desert that constitutes what ethnology and linguistics call a
sheltered region. Of all the regions of that area it is the least open
to communication, the least affected by what goes on around it.
Such a condition makes for ethnical and linguistic conservatism;
it is in such a
region that we must expect to find the most archaic
forms. The Arabic language fully confirms this a priorijudgement;
35
and there is no reason to doubt its correctness in the ethnical
sphere.
At point it must be remarked that recently Professor
this
Albright has put forward reasons for doubting that the camel,
which is indispensable for life in the inner desert, was domestic
ated earlier than the first half of the second millennium before
Christ. If these doubts are justified, what modifications do they
impose on the thesis that the Semites came out of the desert? Not
many, in my opinion: it would simply be necessary to suppose
that they had inhabited only the outer desert, where a seminomadic
It must be said, however, that
life is
possible without camels.
those doubts are matters of controversy, and that there are
indications of the existence of domesticated camels at an earlier
date.
Arabia is not the only area that has been suggested as that
whence the Semites came to their historical homelands; some
have thought of Syria, others of Armenia, others of Africa; and an
Italian scholar, Ignazio Guidi, has built up an interesting case, on
linguistic grounds, for a Mesopotamian origin. It is difficult,

however, to square such theories with the bulk of the historical
and ethnological evidence; in the present state of knowledge we
must admit, at least as a working hypothesis, that the area from
which the Semites spread was the Arabian desert, and, more
probably, its outskirts.
The conditions in which the ancient Semites lived are of notable

importance for the interpretation of the whole subsequent course
of their political and cultural history; they laid the foundation of
the character of the Semitic peoples, and profoundly influenced
their outlook and their behaviour.
Desert conditions, as we have already said, have changed but
from the earliest historic times down to our own day. Hence
little
the data furnished by ethnological study of the Arabian desert-

ilwdlers of today have much to contribute to our reconstruction
36
THE PROLOGUE
of the past. We may draw also
upon Arabic literature, winch
gives us ample descriptions of beduin life, and upon Hebrew
literature, such as the book of Genesis, in which we see the tran
sition taking placefrom nomadic to settled life.
Thanks to these various sources of information, we are enabled
to form a clear enough picture of ancient Semitic social conditions.
They were those of pastoral nomadism; full nomadism in the

inner desert, if the domestication of the camel rendered such a
manner of life possible, and partial nomadism, with herds of
sheep and asses, nearer the outskirts of the desert. The process
whereby semi-nomadic tribes attach themselves to settled ones is
still to be seen in
operation nowadays; sometimes the desert tribes
have fixed bases to which they return in spring, when the sun
begins to burn up the grass and dry up the wells of the moorland;
sometimes they have no such bases of their own, but have
arrangements with the settled tribes, whereby the latter give
them gra zing-rights in return for protection. The passage to
settled life takes place when a semi-nomadic tribe, or
part of it,
gives up the practice of returning to the desert in winter, and
settles down to agriculture in the fixed bases. This is on the whole
a natural and peaceful evolution, but it may have episodes of
violence, if the settled tribes are unwilling to come to an agree
ment, or when violent movements in the interior of the desert
have repercussions on the outskirts.
The basic unit in the social organization of the nomads is the
family. Though traces of a matriarchal structure are not lacking,

the supreme authority is that of the father; inheritance is in the
male line, and the sons, when they marry, mostly remain, with
their wives, to swell the paternal household.
The nomads are in printipk polygamous, but their polygamy
is in
practice limited by economic considerations, for it is not
easy to maintain a large family in the desert, and the less encum
brances a man has, the better he can face life there. Historical
legislation dealing with the family sanctions polygamy, but
37
without showing it
any especial favour; indeed, at times it sets
limits to it.
The nomads choose their wives, preferably, within their own
tribe, that is, endogamically. The force of tradition and the ideal
of racial purity, which have so large a place in tribal life, cause the
taking of alien wives to be viewed with disfavour. The book of
Genesis, which moreover depicts a more highly-evolved situ
ation, tells us of the grief caused to Isaac and Rebecca by Esau s
taking Hittite wives (Genesis 26, 34-35); and when the question
arises of the marriage of the younger son, Jacob, his father Isaac
him to take a wife of his own people (Genesis 28, 1-2).

exhorts
Above the family is the tribe, a collectivity composed of
families united by bonds of blood-relationship and common
interest, living together and migrating together. The need for
security creates a strong feeling of solidarity, and this is one of the
most characteristic features of nomadic society. In virtue of this
solidarity, an offence against any member of the tribe is resented
by the entire tribe, and the entire tribe shares in the duty of
avenging it. The inexorable kw of retaliation, "an
eye for an
eye and a tooth for a tooth", tempered only here and there by the
possibility of ""blood-money", has passed into much of the
of the Semitic peoples.
historical legislation
Property-rights are inevitably rudimentary and limited. It
may be said with truth that the nomad carries all his property
about with him, His own personal possessions are limited to the
few weapons (lance, bow and arrows) which he needs for his
personal defence. The very tent in which he lives is the common
property of the family, and the pasture-lands are that of the tribe.
The beduin have been described as aristocratic communists, a
happy expression, for while the economic system, in which the

notion of community prevails and that of private property is
practically unknown, merits the name of communism, the social

spirit, with its deep sense of personal pride, honour and tradition,
gives these poor pastoral people a right to be called aristocrats.
38
THE PROLOGUE
Authority exists in the tribe

only to a limited degree. There is
no "government"
in the proper sense of the word, but there is a
chief, elected for his personal qualities by a council of elders. He
is
strictly primus inter pares; the limitedpower accorded him by
the council is temporary and may be revoked. He acts as a judge,
but only when the contending parties voluntarily submit their
case to his judgement.
Looked at as a whole, the conditions of desert life are such as to
create and foster an energetic spirit. The struggle for existence,
the dangers and hardships imposed by nature, harden the charac
terand quicken the faculties. Many times in the course of history,
the struggles between the Semitic peoples and those about them
take on die form of an opposition of fresh and lively forces to
tired and decadent ones.
The conditions of social life did much to determine in their

turn the manifestations of religious life. Here reconstruction is not
easy, and takes us beyond the limits of Semitic religion into the
vast problems of the origin and development of human religious
institutions.
The Arabs of pre-Islamic times may be regarded in this respect,
as also in that of their having preserved more faith
social life, as
fully than any other people the ancient Semitic conditions, just
as they preserved with so little change the material conditions of
desert life. Their polydaemonism, that is, belief in many local
divinities, attached to trees, plants, rocks and water, must be very
ancient, and typical of the nomadic way of life. The same may
be said of the tribal gods, those peculiar to one or more groups,
whose cult, thanks to the isolation of their worshippers, was
rarely able to spread or to take root outside

narrow limits. These
deities had no fixed abode, just as their cult was inevitably lacking
in fixed centres and sanctuaries; they were adored in various
places, as the tribes moved about, and each one was regarded as
bound to his own people, sometimes by ties of blood-relationship,
39
as its supreme chief and judge. In certain cases some of these
tribal deities attained a considerable importance, thanks to the
ascendancy of the tribes to which they belonged; but their
prestige was always dependent in that manner upon political
circumstances.
There are many deities common to several Semitic peoples,
butit is not always certain that such deities canbe traced back to
the primitive stage of Semitic religion, and for this reason we
leave a more detailed discussion of them to the chapters dealing
with the individual Here it must suffice to mention some
peoples.
of the most widely-recognized ones, namely El, perhaps originally
the sky-god, Baal, perhaps originally the god of the fertilizing
rain, and Astarte, perhaps originally the goddess of the morning-
star (the
planet Venus), but later identified
with the Earth-
Mother, an ancient divinity of the Near East. Other heavenly
bodies too, the sun and the moon, must have had an ancient and
widespread cult.
There has been discussion in several quarters of a supposed

tendency towards monotheism, and in particular of the connection
between such a tendency and the conditions of desert life. Such a
hypothesis is an interesting one, but it is not easy to form any
clear judgement as to its validity.
The forms of ritual in use among the Semites, even after their
establishment in settled peoples, often betray their nomad origins.
For example, the Hebrew Passover, later transformed by the
Resurrection into the chief Christian feast, is characterized by the
sacrifice of a lamb and the use of unleavened bread, both of which
features go back to the conditions of nomad life, in which the use
of unleavened bread was imposed by the perpetual state of
movement, while the lamb represents the shepherd s offering to
the divinity of the first fruits of their flocks. There was no need
of temples or of altars; the worship of the gods had perforce to
be such as could be carried on without the aid of those appur
tenances which were ruled out by the conditions of nomadic life.
40
THE PROLOGUE
the inevitable historical
By process of migration, Semites
passed progressively to a settled manner of life. Attracted by the
fertility of the lands round about, groups of beduin repeatedly
search of greater economic prosperity. They so
left their desert in
came into contact with organized forms of settled

society, and
their adaptation to the new
ways of life did not take place without
conflicts and reactions
reflecting the old independent nomad
spirit.
The beduin
immigrants found themselves among peoples with
a centuries-old political organization of absolutist
type, tinder
despotic sovereigns in complete contrast with their own tribal
who were elected and might be deposed by the elders, and
chiefs,
whose authority was in every respect dependent upon the will of
the tribe. Hence, while the economic conditions of agricultural
society offered advantages attractive enough to induce the

beduin to change their way of life, its political institutions were
not so acceptable, and were inevitably felt as a change for the
worse, an imposition which was a heavy spiritual price to pay for
material betterment; so that the newcomers often introduced into
Near Eastern society a disruptive and subversive force.
The degree to which the nomad immigrants assimilated
themselves to the settled conditions varies from people to people;
while some, such as the Babylonians and the Assyrians, departed
radicallyfrom their primitive ways of thought and of life, others,
such as the Arabs and the Hebrews, preserved more tenaciously
throughout their history traces of the old hostility to every form

of absolutism.
Thus, when Israel was united into a kingdom, this centraliza
tion of authority met with strong opposition on the part of a
section of the people, while by others it was merely tolerated as a
necessary evil of alien origin. Throughout the history of the

monarchy, moreover, the representatives ofJewish religion sought
to limit and control royal authority; priesthood and prophecy bore
to a certain extent the character of a reaction against absolute
41
monarchy, and in this sense, of an expression of the ancient

with the beduin spirit of independence.
inheritance, a link
In a similar manner the history of the Arabs is marked by traits
going back to the ancient democratic organization. In the early

days, the Caliph retained to a great extent the characteristics of
the tribal chief, ready to give audience to all comers, to consult
with everybody, and to make his decisions with the wisdom and
good sense which had won him his election. In the course of time
authority became more and more absolute, and passed little by
little into the hands of ministers. The Arab kingdom then became
transformed into the supra-national Islamic Empire.
So it was that the ancient conditions of nomad life continued
to influence and to guide the historic course of the political and
cultural development of the Semitic peoples.
42
CHAPTER FOUR
THE BABYLONIANS AND

ASSYRIANS
DISCOVERIES
HPHE earliest historically recorded movements of Semitic

A peoples were in the direction of the Mesopotamian valley;
they are attested from the third millennium before Christ and
continue to be reported from time to time subsequently; and
they led to the formation of strong and extensive Semitic states.

Our knowledge of Mesopotamian civilization is a relatively
recent acquisition. Until the middle of last century there was little
direct knowledge of it at all; our information was limited to what
could be gleaned from the Bible and from fragmentary travellers*
tales, and it was practically accepted that the great empires of
ancient Mesopotamia had disappeared for ever beneath the sands.
Towards 1850 however, systematically organized excavation,
began to give brilliant results:among the first archaeologists to
succeed on a large scale were Botta at Khorsabad and Layard at
Nineveh. The remains of temples and of palaces, colossal statues,
seals and
inscriptions were brought to light in ever-increasing
numbers as the explorations continued.
The had to be overcome were manifold, especi

difficulties that
ally in the early stages, the work of the investigators being

rendered slow and precarious above all by the lack of funds and
by the more or less open hostility of die local authorities. Not

all the finds were able to reach
Europe; some were engulfed in
transit by the floodwaters of the Tigris, others were destroyed or
thrown into the river by fanatical beduin, who opposed an
43
44
THE BABYLONIANS AND ASSYRIANS
armed resistance to what they regarded as the sacrilegious
activity of the foreigners.
Nevertheless the importance of the results attained
by the early
excavations soon led European learned foundations to lend
support and encouragement to the enterprise, so that work could

be carried on more intensively and more efficiently. More and
more ancient cities were brought to
light, and with them,
artistic monuments of a most
imposing character, and an ever-
of written records in the form of tablets
increasing multitude
of baked cky bearing inscriptions formed by wedge-shaped
marks.
It is
impossible to give here even an outline of the long and
glorious history of assyriology. Suffice it to say that its most
recent phases are among the most brilliant of all: at the Man
French archaeologist Parrot has discovered since 1933 (the excav
ations are
still
going on) a series of temples, palaces and statues,
and more than twenty thousand tablets with economic and diplo
matic texts; at Nimrud Professor Mallowan has reopened the
excavations carried out there in the past, and has found new build
ings and sculptures, and in particular a magnificent collection of

ivory carvings; in the region of Kirkuk Professor Braidwood has
identified a series of very ancient archaeological sites, which
allow us to trace the essential lines of Mesopotamian
prehistory.
The literary and artistic treasures of Mesopotamian archaeol
ogy have found their way into various great museums. The Louvre
at Paris was first in the field, and has been able to build
up a
marvellous collection, representing all the epochs of Babylonian
and Assyrian civilization. The British Museum in London is
especially rich in documents from more recent times, but the
ancient epochs are less
folly represented, A
first-class collection
exists also at Constantinople, and of late

years the Baghdad
Meseum has become exceptionally important.
The story of the interpretation of Mesopotamian documents
45
of its own because of the extreme difficulty of the
has an interest
system of writing used in them.

The decipherment began with the help of an inscription in
three languages. The British consul at Baghdad, Rawlinson, who
for a long time had been
actively engaged in the search for
Persian and Assyrian texts in Mesopotamia and on the Iranian
plateau, discovered near Behistun in Persia an inscription in

cuneiform but with three different kinds of script. One of the
three texts was in the Persian character, and as progress had
akeady been made in the decipherment of this, it was

possible to
use this text as a key to the interpretation of the most compli
cated of the three, which was in Babylonian.
Scholars attacked the problem from various directions, and
various hypotheses were put forward; in 1857 an ingenious test
brought out the amount of progress that had already been made.
The London Asiatic Society had one and the same text translated
independently by four assyriologists. The four versions were
almost identical, so that it was plain that the translation was not a
matter of capricious guesswork, and that Mesopotamian
inscrip
tions had at long last yielded up their secret.
It soon became clear that in
Mesopotamia the same system of
writing had been used to write two completely different languages.
One of these was not a Semitic one, and had been the language of
the Sumerians, the people who inhabited Mesopotamia akeady
in the third millennium before Christ; the other was the language
peoples who came
of the Babylonians and Assyrians, the Semitic
in successive waves to take up their abode in the Mesopotamian
valley.
Once the system of writing was sufficiently understood, the
interpretation of Babylonian and Assyrian was facilitated by the
knowledge of other Semitic languages. This part of the work was
therefore not a very complicated matter; die
language itself
Akkadian is not so difficult, by comparison with other Semitic
languages.
46
But though the language as such presented little difficulty, the
system of writing, Sumerian in origin, was extremely compli

cated. Its signs had been evolved from drawings of objects. This
kind of writing, which was also used by the ancient Egyptians, is
called pictographic, because it designates an object by drawing a
picture of it, or of some distinctive part of it. For example,

to
write "fish" one draws the outline of a fish, to write "ox",
that
of the animal head and horns, to write
s an ear of corn, "corn",
Actions may be expressed in a variety of ingenious manners; a

drawing of the foot may mean one of a man s head with
"go",
the addition of the signs for bread or for water may mean "eat"
or "drink", and so on. It is not easy, however, to make exact
drawings, or to draw curved lines, on soft clay ; hence the various

drawings became reduced to stylized combinations of lines,
representing only the idea that had been conveyed by their
prototypes, and hence called ideograms.
The signs were originally arranged in vertical lines, beginning
at the top right-hand edge of the tablet. In order to be able to
write more conveniently, however, scribes adopted the custom of
turning the tablet counter-clockwise through a quarter of a

circle, so that the writing began at the top left-hand corner and
was arranged in horizontal lines reading from left to right as in
English. Akkadian is one of the few Semitic languages
written in
this sense, as
generally the opposite sense, from right to left, is
preferred.
Restricted to these characters, however, cuneiform writing was
seriously defective; it could not express,

for example, many
abstract ideas, or the various formsof the verb. In order to over
come underwent a most important evolution: signs
this defect, it
began to be used to represent not the idea of the pictures from

which they were derived, but the corresponding phonetic entity.
For example, the Sumerian for wasâ; hence the sign for
"milk"
came to be used to
"milk" write the syllable ga, independently
of its meaning. Similarly other syllables could be written, and by
47
their combination was possible to write words (or parts of
it
words, for instance in verb-forms) without recourse to ideo

grams. For example, in order to write the word gaz, meaning
"to break", one wrote the
sign^tf ("milk") and then the sign az
"bear", the animal), so giving ga-az.
The new form of writing so developed
is called
phonetic, and
itsinvention was a great step forward in the direction of the
simplification of the system of writing,

as well as of its
complete
ness. It still remained, however, an extremely difficult one.
Ideographic values of signs did not entirely disappear, so that
several signs may be interpreted either ideographically or phonet
ically, according to the context. Moreover, the majority of the
ideograms, which are very numerous, consists of signs which may
each have more than one phonetic value. For example, the sign
derived from the drawing of the human foot may be read gin
"walk" or
gub "stand" or turn "carry", or in yet other ways. The
correct reading of the signs was facilitated by the addition of
determinatives (signs indicative of classes of mean ing) or phonetic
complements (giving part of the phonetic equivalent of the

intended sense of the ideogram), and even in the absence of such
aids one may go by the context; nevertheless it is easy to see how
die decipherment of the inscriptions, especially if they have not
been preserved in a good state of legibility, often a real puzzle;
is
the Mesopotamian system of writing is in fact one of the most

of those used in ancient times.
difficult
To who
are accustomed to an alphabet composed of only
us,
a small number of signs, so impractical a system of writing is a
source of perplexity. For all that, it is already a great advance in
the art of writing. Other Semitic peoples, at a later date, were to
give die world that most valuable invention, the alphabet.
HISTORY
The dominating factor in the history of Western Asia in
48
ancient times is the activity of the peoples of the Mesopotamian
valley. Although their geographical situation made them gravit

ate naturally towards the Indian Ocean, also exerted
they pressure
on the one side towards the mountains of Iran and Armenia, suid
on the other towards the Mediterranean basin. The influence
exerted by their armies and their forms of civilization in both of
these directions was decisive in fixing the cultural and
political
balance of the Near East, of which
Mesopotamia thus became
a natural centre of reference.
The principal builders of Mesopotamian culture and history
were two peoples of quite different origin, creators of the great
artistic and
literary monuments of that region the Sumerians and
:
the Akkadians. These two peoples lived so mingled

together, that
Mesopotamian culture and history is the
product of a synthesis in
which it is often impossible to distinguish clearly the two main
components.
The Sumerians were probably already established from pre

historic times in southern Mesopotamia, where they early attained
a high level of civilization. They began the excavation of canals,
the rational exploitation of the soil, the erection of temples and of
statues. Some of the latter give us an interesting
picture of the
Sumerian physiognomy, with its low receding brow, its promin
ent aquiline nose, and, at an earlier period, its long parted hair and
square-cut beard; later we find clean-shaven heads and faces.

Sumerian culture left its immolate imprint also in Assyria, in
Syria and in Egypt, but without any corresponding political
expansion. Politically, indeed, the Sumerians were never able to
build up any great power, lliey wore organized in city-states,
whose kings acted also as the priests and the representatives of the
local deities. The history of the Sumerian cities is a continual tak
of rivalries, in which the normal state of unstable equilibrium is
now and again broken by the short-lived ascendancy of one city
or another. Hie only state to attain to any notable preeminence
49
was the one which king Lugalzaggisi succeeded in forming
around his city of Umma. After having maintained his position of
overlordship for many years, he was in the end conquered, to
wards the year 2350 B.C., by a Semitic dynasty.
Semitic groups had already been for some time in Mesopotamia,
living in the country round the outskirts of the Sumerian cities,

and keeping up their old traditions of pastoral life, before they
appeared upon the political scene. Their first great self-affirma
tion as a political force was the victory whereby they overthrew
the kingdom of Lugalzaggisi and established in its place the
Semitic dynasty of Akkad. It must however be noted that princes
with Semitic names are already attested some centuries earlier.
Recent studies, based on new documents now at our disposal
(in particular,
the Mari archives and the Khorsabad list of Assyrian
kings) have led to the adoption of a new, shorter, chronology for
the ancient Near East; the new chronology would put the
dynasty of Akkad approximately between 2350 and 2150 B.C.
This chronology, associated with the names of Albright
"short"
and Cornelius, is nowadays the most widely accepted one, but

it is well to note that there are other
systems, which would put
the dates several decades earlier.
The founder of the dynasty of Akkad was the famous Sargon,
of whom legend tells that he had been a gardener, and that as a
baby he had been abandoned on the waters of the river, and

thence miraculously rescued. Historical sources tell us that he
extended his sway over the whole of Babylonia, Assyria and
Syria, and even penetrated into Asia Minor. Under his rule the
state took on a systematic and centralized organization, which was
to serve as a model for the states to come after. We
see here the
appearance of the tendency to universal monarchy which will

permeate the whole history of Western Asia up to the time of
Sargon s story, as we have seen, was soon enveloped in myth

50
and legend; but were such as to establish
his actual achievements
the Babylonian state of centuries to come,
firmly for a couple
until it was overwhelmed by the wild hordes of the Gutians,
from the mountains to the east. The consequent prostration of
Babylon beneath these invaders allowed the Sumerian cities to
recover their strength once more. This was the period of the
Sumerian prince Gudea of Lagash, a celebrated peace-loving
sovereign, and a great builder of temples.
The Sumerian interlude was but of short duration; about the
year 2000 B.C. a new Semitic people asserted itself both in
Palestine and Syria, and at the same time in Mesopotamia. These
were the Amorites, who founded a series of states and dynasties,
including Mari on the middle Euphrates, and Isin and Larsa in
southern Mesopotamia. Finally one of the Amorite dynasties
attained pre-eminence, the so-called First Dynasty of Babylon
(about 1830 1530 B.C.).

The sixth king of this dynasty was the famous Hammurapi,
who lived about 1 700 B.C. His reign marks another period of great
the power of Babylon extended over
prosperity. Politically,
Assyria and part of Syria. In the religious sphere, Hammurapi was
in particular responsible for the ascendancy of the god Marduk,
who became the chief of the gods, and took over the attributes
which had till then belonged to the old Sumerian divinities.
Economically, Hammurapi reorganized and improved the coun

try by means of a great development of agriculture and the
digging of many new canals. On the bank of the most important
of these he set up an inscription which reads: "Hammurapi is the
s
people plenty".
Literature also flourished greatly in this period; Hammurapi s

chief tide to fame, however, was the drawing-up of a code of
laws,which enjoyed great celebrity throughout Mesopotamia. It
was a codification of existing jurisprudence, embracing both
Sumerian law and the juridical traditions of the Semitic peoples,
Hammurapi is known to have shown an active interest in all that
51
took place in his kingdom; his correspondence with his governors
has been preserved to testify to the thoroughness of his personal
management of state affairs.
The Babylonian dynasty came to an end about 1530 B.C.

first
An inroad of the Hittites, a people of Asia Minor, though itself

of short duration, was the forerunner of a period of foreign
domination. This was the period in which the "peoples of the
mountains", of whom at least a part of the governing class was
of Indoeuropean origin, were winning an ascendancy over the

Near East.
No sooner had the Hittite raiders withdrawn, than another
foreign domination established itself in Babylonia, that of the

Cassites, a people from the east, which seems, judging by the
names of its deities, to have contained Indoeuropean elements.
They were present in Babylonia as the result of a long period of
peaceful infiltration; but they now profited by the Hittite inter
lude to seize power for themselves, and they retained it for some
centuries, until about 1 160 B.C. The level of their civilization was
much lower than that of the land they had conquered, and their
domination brought about a sharp decline of Mesopotamian
culture. They had however sufficient discrimination to appreciate
the spiritual superiority of their subjects, and to make an effort to
respect and adopt their ways; recently attention has even been
drawn to a tendency in this period to restore Sumerian culture.
While the Cassites held sway in Babylonia, a Semitic nation
was coming to the fore in northern Mesopotamia: the Assyrians.
Assyria was above all a military power, and owed its prestige
principally to its army s high degree of organization and of
discipline.
lie Assyrian state had at this period already been in existence
foesome centuries. An Akkadian dynasty founded by Ilushuma
had been in power there at die turn of the nineteenth to the eight
eenth century before Christ, and had been followed by the
Amorite dynasty of Shamshi-Adad I, whom die Mari archives
show to have been a contemporary and a rival of Haminurapi
This older phase of Assyrian power had been followed by a long
period of decline, culminating in the fifteenth century in reduc
tion to the state of vassalage to the Human state of Mitanni
Only in the following century, when Mitannian power was over

thrown by the Hittites, was Assyria able to rise once more and to
become by stages a great power. The independent policy inaugur
ated by king Ashuruballit culminated under Tukulti-Ninurta
(1243 1207 B.C.) in the subjection of the whole region around

Assyria and the laying waste of Babylon.
After Tukulti-Ninurta Assyrian expansion made no further
later, when it was resumed with
advance until about a century
renewed vigour by Tigkth-pileser I, the founder of the New
Empire, which extended to the Black Sea in the north, to the
Mediterranean in the west, and to Babylonia in the south.
After Tiglath-pileser, however, the pressure exerted by the
Aramaeans held Assyria in check for another century and a hal
after which there came another wave of conquest: Ashurnasirpal
n restored the Empire to old amplitude, and Tiglatb-pileser
its
III
(745 727 B.C.) brought it to the height of its power. Assyrian
policy was directed along three main lines: to the north the
sovereigns aimed at securing control of the mountain passes and

so rendering themselves safe from the threat of invasion from that
quarter; to the west they subjected Syria

and Palestine to tribute
and brought under their own control the road to Egypt and to the
sea; and to die south they treated their more highly civilized
sister-state of Babylonia with a diplomatic prudence which finally
brought Tiglath-pikser HI to the throne of Babylonia also. This

sovereign s policy was successfully continued by Sargon n,
and
when Esarhaddon even succeeded in conquering Egypt it seemed
for a short period (6716538^.) as if the millennial struggle be
tween die two valley-powers had been brought to an end for ever.
Ashurbanipal (66& 626 B.C.), famous in legend as
53
Sardanapalus, was the last great sovereign of Assyria. His successors

were soon to succumb before the onslaught of the Medes, who
swept down from the Iranian plateau
and in 612 captured and
destroyed their capital,
Nineveh. So perished the Assyrian empire,
and its great palaces, along with the magnificent library which
Ashurbanipal had patiently amassed for die glory of his nation,
were swallowed up by the sands that were to keep their secret for
thousands of years to come. So were fulfilled the words of the
Hebrew prophets, who even at the height of Assyrian prosperity
had not ceased to foretell the downfall of the mighty foe.
Babylonia, which after the Cassite period and several native

dynasties had come to form part of die Assyrian empire, was
enabled by the latter s decline to repair its own fortunes. In the
conquest of Nineveh the Medes had as an ally the Babylonian
general Nabopolassar, who founded in Babylon the Chaldaean

dynasty (625 538 B.C.). With
this dynasty power passed into
the hands of the Aramaean element which for centuries had been
penetrating progressively into Babylonia. Nabopolassar s son

Nebuchadnezzar carried Babylonian conquest to the borders of
Egypt, capturing and destroying in 586 Jerusalem, capital of the
kingdom of Judah.
The Bible represents Nebuchadnezzar as a warrior. In his own
land he earned lasting renown mainly for his peaceful works:
temples, canals and roads were multiplied, and Babylon recovered

her ancient splendour. His warlike exploits are recorded in the
Babylonian chronicle (published in 1956 byWiseman) and at the
same time Xenophon and Herodotus report the construction of
gigantic fortifications, including a huge wall which was to render
Babylon impregnable.
All this was in vain. Cyrus and his Persians, who had succeeded
theMedes in power in Asia Minor, soon turned their attention to
Babylonia, where political decadence had been accompanied by a
growth of the power of the priesthood jof Marduk. The last
54
sovereign of the Chaldaean dynasty, Nabonidus, was until

recently looked upon as an antiquarian, unaware of the gathering
tempest; but now he is rather regarded as the author of a last
effort to restore the most ancient forms of Babylonian worship.
The Persians, favoured by the priesthood of Marduk, did not give
him time to do so. War began in 539, and when the great wall
fell and
Cyrus made his entry into Babylon, the latter s power was
at an end for ever.
Regarded as a whole, the ancient history of Mesopotamia is

marked by a noteworthy unity, in the sense that strong
political
forces were able to arise there and
expand from there as their
centre. The states so formed, however, were themselves complex
in their composition. In the third millennium the Sumerian
population, hitherto undisputed masters, come into contact with

immigrants and, while gradually ceding supremacy to the new
comers, profoundly influence their culture and civilization. In
the second millennium
supremacy is in the hands of the Semitic
peoples, passing with various vicissitudes from the south to the
north, from Babylonia to Assyria, while outside elements

pene
trate periodically into the
valley. The first millennium, after the
apogee of Semitic power in the north, sees its progressive decline
in the face of non-Semitic invaders.
Repeatedly the latter sweep
down from the mountains, and
constantly the valley-dwellers
turn their attention to the mountains in the effort to secure them
selves against this menace. Those whom nature most favoured
were the by about 500 B.C. the independent history of
victors;
Mesopotamia comes to an end, and henceforth political

power is
centred elsewhere, and
Mesopotamia is but an element on the
outskirts of the struggles of other powers.
RELIGION
Mesopotamian civilization was of a highly-developed type,

differing notably both from the common Semitic heritage and
55
from the of other Semitic peoples. When the Semitic
civilisation
immigrants came into the Mesopotamian valley they were con

fronted by an established and individualized historical culture,
and though they had their own cultural contribution to make,
bearing the marks of their original conditions, they inevitably
assimilated themselves more and more to their new environment
This meant that they receded further and further away from the
conditions of life and culture of other Semitic peoples, none of
whom, except perhaps the Ethiopians, inserted itself into an

environment geographically and historically so different from
that from which it came.
The most of Babylonian and Assyrian civiliza
typical feature
tion, ascompared with original Semitic institutions, is its transi
tion from nomadism to settled life. The historical and cultural con
ditionsof the Semitic peoples were profoundly modified by the
mere of the fixation of the fluctuating state of their civiliza
fact
tion when they settled down in fixed abodes, while at the same
time the forms of their adaptation to their new environment were
determined by their contacts with other peoples.
The non-Semitic people with whom the ex-nomads chiefly
mingled in Mesopotamia was that of the Sumerians, whose
civilization had attained a level far higher than that of the new
comers. Absorption by the latterof Sumerian elements was so

constant and so widespread that many sectors of Babylonian and
Assyrian culture depend directly upon such elements. Our know
ledge of Sumerian texts and our ability to interpret them are but
of recent date; the more we learn from these texts, the clearer it
becomes how many of the traditions and conceptions of the
Akkadians were not purely their own, but the product of a new
synthesis of Sumerian elements. It is true that the Akkadians
brought to the process of assimilation a spirit and an outlook of
their own; but, as Rome with
respect to Greece, so they were
under the speE of the more exalted and original civilization of the
okler people.
56
Babylonian and Assyrian civilization, when once it had come

into being as a result of this
complex process of assimilation,
exercised in its turn a
far-reaching influence on all the regions
round about it, and Mesopotamia became a cultural centre from
which were propagated cosmological, mythological and scien
tific
conceptions. A considerable part of the literature and of the
customs of the other Semitic peoples is a more or less immediate
echo of the voice of Mesopotamia. Nor were Mesopotamian
ideas confined to the Semitic world;
they penetrated into Asia
Minor and reached even Greece. Modern scholarship is showing
evermore clearly how Greek civilization, original as it is as a
whole, is indebted for many of its conceptions to the peoples of
Mesopotamia.
The aspects under which Babylonian and Assyrian civiliza
is to be considered are
religion, literature, jurisprudence and
tion
art.These are not entirely distinct and separate entities, but inter
penetrating one another and form together a complex unity.
This is a normal phenomenon in the ancient Near East, where the
distinction between these aspects of culture is not so clearly drawn
as it is in the modern world No distinction is made, for instance,
between sacred literature and profane, between civil kw and
religious kw.
In every department of human life religion is the ruling factor.
As is the case
throughout the ancient Near East, literature, kw
and art are envisaged in
Mesopotamia only in connection with
religious motives, and
these motives penetrate every manifesta
tion of life and so make up the innermost substance of that life.
This is
perhaps the most distinctive feature of ancient Near
Eastern civilization. Human values are epitomized in religion; for
independent philosophical speculation and artistic creation we

must await the coming of the Greeks.
The syncretistic character of Mesopotamian civilization is

nowhere more evident than in its
religious institutions. Its
57
Semitic gods were largely Sumerian deities, taken over, with
modifications, by the victorious invaders: a process which repeats
itself often enough in the course of history. Moreover, the Baby
lonian and Assyrian divinities themselves subsequently fused and

interacted with one another with the changing of the times and
of the Mesopotamian political situation.
Akkadian religion is richly polytheistic. The characteristics of
its
gods are of like kind
with those of human beings, and differ
only by greater perfection

and absoluteness. The gods dress like
men, but their garments are even more sumptuous than those of
earthly princes, and emit a dazzling brightness. They have families

and weapons, and their strife is like the strife of men, but of
course on a much grander and more terrible scale. Such a con
ception of the gods
is closer
perhaps to that of the Homeric poems
than to that of the Semitic religions in general, but, as has already
been said, the part pkyed in all this by Semitic elements is doubt
ful, and certainly not large.
The supreme triad of the Mesopotamian pantheon was made
up of heaven, air and earth, personified respectively by Ami,

Enlil and Enki
(Ea). Another
triad was furnished by the heavenly
bodies: the sun, die moon and the planet Venus (the "morning
star").
As religion evolved, every god had his own star; and the
worship of the stars increased with the advance of astrology.
Another nature-god was Adad, who represented the storm,
whether in the milder and beneficent forms of rain and flood,
which gave life to plants, or in the violent and destructive forms
of lightning and hurricane, which robbed man of the fruits of
his patient labour. Fire likewise was adored, in the person of the
god Nusku.
In accordance with a conception belonging, as we shall see, to
many peoples of Western Asia, the natural cycle of plant life, and
the fertility of the earth, were venerated in the first place in a
female divinity, Ishtar, who
symbolized Mother Earth. The
worship of this goddess was of great importance both within and
58
beyond the frontiers of Mesopotamia, and a whole series of

myths grew up around her. To her, as goddess of love, was
dedicated the practice of ritual
prostitution, which was widely
diffused in connection with the She presided also
fertility-cult.
over war and battle.
Withher was associated the
young god Tanunuz, whose
nature was at once divine and mortal He died and was reborn
year year, typifying the death and rebirth of plant-life.

by A
poetical significance relates how the
myth rich in religious and
goddess Ishtar went down to fetch him from the abode of the
dead.
Both Babylonia and Assyria had another kind of god, national
in character, whose importance was naturally bound up with the
political situation. In Assyria Ashur was such a god, and in Baby
lonia the celebrated Marduk, who attained predominance with
the dynasty of Hammurapi. The traditions concerning the origin
and ordering of the world were transferred to him, and all the
other gods were represented as his subordinates and helpers in the
gigantic task of creating and governing the universe.
The daily life of the Babylonians and Assyrians was perpetually

overshadowed by the fear of demons. These were strange beings,
able to take on any shape, to penetrate into whatsoever body, and
to move unseen in every place. Generally they preferred deserted
and dark places, ruins, cemeteries, and every other kind of fear-
inspiring locality. They manifested their presence by animal
noises, which in lonely spots inspired especial terror.
Mesopotamian art, faithfully reflecting the life of the people,

abounds in representations of demons, commonly with human
bodies and animal heads, or combining parts of various animals
into a terrifying whole.
The demons were for the most part evil spirits who came up
from beneath the earth; some were the ghosts of the unburied
dead, who wandered restlessly from place to place and avenged
59
themselves for their unhappy fate by attacking mankind and
multiplying calamities.
The most striking feature of Mesopotamian religious psychol
ogy with regard to demons is that man was regarded as practically
defenceless against them. Even one who led a blameless life and
offended none of the gods might always be subjected to the
machinations of a malevolent sorcerer, or come
involuntarily
into contact with some impure being or thing: man could be the
innocent victim of evil forces. So deeply pessimistic an outlook
points to the great weakness of moral conceptions, and the

absence of a belief in just retribution in a future life for the deeds
of this one.
Nevertheless, the most natural way for a demon to gain
entrance into a man was through sin. The sin might be one of
many kinds: failure to observe religious ceremonial, as well as
theft or murder. No distinction was made between moral and
ritual offences; all were put into the same category, thanks to the
dominant role played by religious conceptions in the whole
organization of everyday life.
When man sinned, he was abandoned by the god under

a
whose protection he lived, and the way was thus left open for the
demons, who seized their opportunity to enter the man s body.
Their presence at once made itself felt in various disagreeable
phenomena: noises in the house, gusts of wind, terrifying visions.

The most usual manifestation of demoniac possession was how
ever illness. The demon most feared by the peoples of Meso
potamia was perhaps the fever-demon, with his lion s head, ass s
teeth and panther s limbs; his voice was as the voice of the
leopard
and the lion, his hands grasped terrible
serpents, and a black dog
and a pig nibbled at his breasts. Thus a sick man was a
guilty man,
and his sickness was due to the presence of a demon.
Starting out from such premises, Mesopotamian medicine
naturally concluded that the curing of a disease consisted in the
expulsion of tie demon. For this purpose there was a detailed and
60
complicated procedure. The sick man must in the first place

identify the demon responsible for his malady. Here tradition
came to his aid; the names of the demons that took up their
parts of the body had long been known,
residence in the various
beginning with the ashakku, the demon of the head, who caused
the headaches so much redoubted by the peoples of Mesopotamia.
If the identity of the demon remained uncertain, recourse was
had to a precautionary expedient: the sick man pronounced a
long confession of possible sins, so as to make sure of mentioning
the one he had committed.
It was next necessary to drive out the demon, and this was
carried out by a priest who specialized in this
procedure, by means
of the series of exorcisms and magical operations required by the
case.
The priest who specialized in assisting the sick in this manner

was the exorcist (ashipu). A Babylonian bronze amulet has come
down to us bearing a curious picture representing an exorcism.
On the tack of the amulet is depicted the demon, seen from
the back, with his animal limbs and head. The
wings,
monstrous face projects over the front of the amulet, on which
are representing a series of scenes. The top row
pictures
shows us, under the symbols of the gods, the seven fever-
demons; in the middle row we see the sick man lying on his bed,
surrounded by the priests in their vestments; while the bottom
row contains a lively scene showing the demon cast out from the
man s body and in full flight.
The exorcisms consisted in the recital of magic formulas
accompanied by ritual actions. The ceremony opened with a
prayer to the gods, describing the wretched state of the sinner,

who begged for The sick man was sprinkled with
forgiveiiess.
holy water; pieces of meat were thrown, in order that the demon
might seize them and so loose his hold on the patient s body.
All this shows how widespread was the use in Mesopotamia
61
of spells and magic. As an example we have the cure for a scorpion-

bite: this began with the recital of spells over the part affected;
then the patient took in his mouth seven grains of pure wheat
along with mountain-herbs, and chewed all this; then he went
and plunged himself seven times in the river, spitting out into the
water on the seventh immersion the chewed pulp.
A second type of priest (baru) had the charge of divination,
that is to
say, the art of interpreting and predicting the will of
the gods which decided the outcome of earthly affairs. This
further priestly function and it was not the least of them
shows how highly-developed was the priestly organization and
how great the influence of the priesthood on the life of
Mesopotamia.
Divination was principally carried out by the examination of
the liver of animals. The Babylonians and Assyrians attached a
particular importance to this organ, and
a whole branch of
science was devoted to its study. Clay models have been found
with the detailed indication of all the regions of the liver, and
observations as to the meaning of each sector. If for example a
king wanted information about the future, he called in the

diviner-priest, who sacrificed an animal, usually a sheep, and made
answer to the king according to the indications he read in the
liver.
The other internal organs of animals were likewise studied in

connection with the art of divination. Other objects of similar
observation were the flight of birds, the appearance and behaviour
of certain animals, and the birth of children. It was said, that if a
newborn child lacked the right ear, this portended the downfall
of the state, whereas if it lacked the left ear, this was a sign that
the gods had heard the king s prayers, and that he would have
over his foes. Almost
victory every animate or inanimate object
that fell within the range of man s observation
might thus
furnish matter for divinatory research.
Another form of divination was astrology. The movements of
62
the heavenly bodies, thek meetings, their colour, all provided
grounds for the prognostication of coming events, which in

the
mind of the Mesopotamian peoples were bound up with celestial
phenomena. The whole of a man s life, for example, depended
on
the particular position of the heavens at the moment of his birth.
Observation of the heavens led to a great development of
astronomical lore in Mesopotamia, especially during the Chal-
daean period. We have many tables of astronomical data, which
give proof of a most extensive knowledge of astral phenomena.
The Babylonians possessed from the earliest times proper observa
tories, set on the summits of temple towers; they measured the
courses of the stars with water-clocks, and kept an accurate
record of the movements of the sun and moon, of which they
were able to predict the eclipses by the seventh century before
Christ. The names which they gave to the constellations were
later taken over by the Greeks, who were indebted to Babylonia
for a great part of their astronomical knowledge. Astronomy pro
vided the basis for the calendar, formed of twelve lunar months.
apparent distances between
The measurement of the the stars,
and other astronomical calculations, some of considerable com

show an advanced knowledge of mathematics. The Meso
plexity,
potamian peoples
knew both a sexagesimal and a decimal system.
They could add, subtract, multiply, divide, raise to powers and
extract roots, and solve complex equations; in geometry they
could measure areas and volumes.
This body of astronomical and mathematical knowledge
undoubtedly constitutes one of the greatest contributions
made
to the
by Mesopotamian peoples, especially the Babylonians,
the
history of civilization. Thek development

of these sciences was
intimately connected, as we have seen, with thek religion, and
more particularly with the art of divination.
In addition to die exorcist and diviner there was the priest
(kalu)
with the carrying out of funeral ceremonies and
charged
the singing of dkges. The dead were buried in earthenware
63
coffins or in reed-mats, and alongside them were laid various
objects and provisions.

This custom corresponds to the Mesopotamian peoples con
ception of what lay beyond the grave. This is a point of especial

interest, inasmuch as it attests a belief in life after death, but
without bringing out the idea of retribution for good and evil,
and offers in general a negative and pessimistic impression of
the life to come.
After death, it was believed, a man s soul passed
through the
tomb and descended into the underworld (arattu). This was a
great city shrouded in dust and darkness. There the dead led a sad
and gloomy life, drinking dirty water and eating dust. Their lot
might be alleviated only by the offerings made by friends and
relatives still living. Those who were neglected,
along with the
unburied, wandered restlessly about and returned from time to
time to earth to trouble men in the guise of evil spirits. Only a few
hints are to be found in Mesopotamian literature of any difference
in the lot of the righteous and of the reprobate; thus we are told,
for example, of the existence of an island of the blessed, to which
a very small number of chosen ones were brought
by the gods,
who first rendered them immortal.
Mesopotamian ritual was extremely complicated, with a mass

of rigidly and minutely determined details. This indicates the
extent of the development of religious formalism, and at the
same time the absolute supremacy of religion over every other
aspect of social life.
The commonest and most usual of religious ceremonies was
that of sacrifice, which might be offered for a
variety of ends:
in expiation of sin, in order to win the favour of a
god, for the
consecration of a new temple or a new statue, and so on; all this
in addition to the ordinary sacrifices which were offered daily in
the temples at appointed times.
Hie ofiermgs consisted for the most part of animal* and of
64
liquids. The animals most commonly offered were lambs and

kids, the liquids wine, beer, milk, honey and oil. The sacrificial
victim or other offering was set
upon an altar before the statue
of the god or goddess, and the ceremony began with prayers
accompanied by ritual actions and sprinkling with holy water.
Certain portions of the offerings, reserved to the
divinity, were
burned (or poured out in libations) in his or her honour, others
formed the share of the priests, and the rest was given back to
the person making the
offering. It seems that there were dis
honest priests who made a comfortable
profit for themselves by
substituting victims of inferior quality for those
brought to them
The temples received great quantities of goods of
for sacrifice.
various kinds, the administration of which was a
complicated
matter, as is to be seen from the account-books which have been
found.
Ritual meticulousness is reflected also in the sacred calendar,
which was likewise regulated by a host of detailed prescriptions.
There was a general division of the days of the year into propit
ious and unpropitious, and the performance of various public and
private acts on given days was authorized or prohibited in accord

ance with this division.
The of the religious year were those of the gods, in

feasts
which men joined with rejoicings and with ritual. Most important
were the feasts of the patron deities of the various cities, and
outstanding among these was the New Year celebration at
Babylon. This included a solemn ceremony of humilation of the
king. Huge masses of pilgrims flocked to the capital from all
around, and the god was regaled with sacrifices and men with
banquets. Prayer after prayer went up to Marduk, supreme god
of the city and of the whole region ruled by the first dynasty
of Babylon. On that day there took place the solemn determin
ation of the destinies of the state for die whole year which it
inaugurated.
Prayer was accompanied fay
a variety of gestures. It was usual
65
to pray standing upright before the deity with the
right hand
raised. The custom of
praying with open palms outstretched
towards the deity seems to be of Semitic origin. There were
prayers for public and prayers for private use; the latter were
naturally couched in more detailed and personal terms, and the
former in a more general and formal style.
LITERATURE
Babylonian and Assyrian literature differs

notably both in
character and in subject-matter from that of the other Semitic
peoples. Mythology, so scarce among these in general, flourished
luxuriantly in Mesopotamia, where an outstanding poetical
literature is devoted to recounting the adventures of gods and
heroes.
This contrast with other Semitic literature however more
is
apparent than real. The

greater part of Akkadian mythology is
simply a new redaction of Sumerian traditions, which in this way
constitute the real foundation of
Mesopotamian literature. The
Akkadians had a great respect for the traditions of their
predeces
sors, whose culture they took over; and they saw
nothing to
object to in the re-editing of other people s works. It may be
said, indeed, that the notion of literary proprietorship was
totally
alien to the mentality of the ancient Near East,
including Meso
potamia. Even the author s name was a matter of no importance,
so that literary production was for the most
part anonymous,
Force of tradition played a large part in literature, and fixed
its conservative, indeed static nature. The ancient
compositions
were regarded as paragons which could not be
improved upon,
and consequently each generation of artists
aspired above all to
assimilate and reproduce their characteristics. It is to
interesting
remark that authors did not hesitate to
reproduce several times
in. die course of the same work an
image or a passage which they
found satisfactory. Conversations or for are
messages, example,
66
THE BABYLONIANS AN0 ASSYRIANS
reproduced in full each rime they are referred to. It may be said
in passing that this fact is
nowadays a great help in the recon
struction of fragmentary texts.
The principle of repetition rules also the poetic form, whose
periodicity is neither marked by rhyme nor
distinctive regular
measured by rhythm, but is
by the succession of
constituted
balanced phrases, that is, by of
a repetition
ideas, whether the
parallelism be that of equivalence or similarity, or that of contrast.

To sum up, there is a tendency to over-standardization, to
the repetition of accepted
types and schemes; so far from depart
ing from the beaten track in an effort at the artist
self-expression,
tends to hide his own personality behind traditional forms; art
is solemn and impersonal, conservative to the point of being static.
Thegreat religious epics which recount the Mesopotamian

myths of the gods reveal a preoccupation with the first
origins
and last destiny of mankind; for they deal in great part with the
creation of the universe and with what lies beyond the
grave.
The creation-myth is set forth in a long Akkadian poem
referred to as Enuma ehsh, which are its opening words, meaning
"When on
high".
The Akkadian redaction of this epic goes back
to the time of the first
dynasty of Babylon, and aims at glorifying
Marduk as highest of the gods and creator of the universe.
In the beginning, says the poem, there was nothing save a
great waste of waters, personified by two deities, one male,

Apsu, and one female, Tiamat. This couple had a numerous
progeny of gods, who before long rebelled against their parents.
Apsu was slain, but Tiamat continued the struggle, spawning
forth in her defence a host of hideous monsters with poison-
fangs: the Viper, the Dragon, the Great-Lion, the Mad-Dog, the
Scorpion-Man, the Lion-Demons, the Dragon-Fly, tie Centaur.
Faced with
this threat the gods elected as their leader and
champion one of their own number, the young god Marduk;

and he made his dispositions for die encounter with Tiamat:
67
"He fashioned a bow, and made it his weapon,
Fitted to it the arrow,and fixed its string.
He lifted the mace, and took it in his right hand,
Bow and quiver he hung at his side.
Lightning he set before him,
With a blazing flame he filled his body.
He made a net to enfold Tiamat;
The four winds he took that nothing of her
might escape,
The South Wind, the North Wind, the East Wind,
the West Wind.
At his side he set the net, the gift of his father,
Anu.
He made Imhullu, the Evil-Wind, the Tempest, the
Hurricane,
The Fourfold-Wind, the Sevenfold-Wind, the
Ruinous-Wind, the Matchless-Wind;
He sent forth the winds he had made, the seven
of them;
To stir up the inside of Tiamat they rose up
behind him.
The lord raised up the cyclone, his mighty weapon ;
He mounted the storm-chariot, irresistible,
terrifying.
He harnessed and yoked to it a team of four,
The Destroyer, the Relentless, the Trampler-down,
the Swift.
Sharp were their teeth, bearing poison;
They were trained to wreak havoc, had learned

to lay low ....
With an armour of terror was clad,
lie
In a fearsome halo his head was enwrapped.

The lord went straight forth and went on his way,
Towards the raging Tiamat he set his course.
68
In his lips he held an amulet of red paste,
While in his hand he grasped a plant to destroy
poison . . .
Tiamat cried out aloud in fury,

Her legs trembled to their roots;
She recited a charm, and cast her spell,
And the godsof battle sharpened their weapons.
They joined issue, Tiamat and the wise among the
gods, Marduk;
They went to battle, they came near for the struggle.
The lord spread out his net to enfold her;
The Evil-Wind, which followed behind, he let loose
before her;
When Tiamat opened her mouth to destroy him,
He sent in the Evil-Wind, so that site could not
dose her lip.
The raging winds filled her belly,
Her body was distended and she gaped her mouth.
He loosed an arrow, which tore her belly,
Cut through her insides, and split her heart," 1
this wise the monster-goddess of the waters,

Having defeated in
Marduk split
her body in two with his sword, and fashioned
from one of the two parts the vault of the heavens, and from the
other the earth, so dividing the waters into those above and those
below the firmament. This last detail was called for by die
accepted explanation of rain as the overflowing
of waters upheld
by the sky.
Having so formed heaven and earth, Marduk next set the stars
in the heavens. Here there follows a long lacuna; the missing
the creation of plants
portion of the text most likely dealt with
and animal*. The next legible portion of text shows us Marduk
earth and mining it with the blood of the god Kingu,
* B&aa dish, TaHrt IV, fees 35103, ]
69
who had been slain in the battle, and fashioning of it man, to
be the servant of the gods. When the work of creation was com
pleted, the gods celebrated the triumph of Marduk, saluting him
with fifty titlesof honour.
This epic in great part a compilation of Sumerian themes,
is
applied to the new god whom

the Babylonian dynasty
imposed
It may also
upon Mesopotamia. embody a nature-myth, in which
Marduk s victory over Tiamat symbolizes that of the sun in
springtime over the storms of winter; it certainly expresses a
fundamental notion of the ancient Mediterranean world: the
victory of cosmos over chaos, creation seen as the reducing to
order of a primal disorder.
The theme of the cycle of the seasons is more clearly recog
myth, one of those treating of what lies beyond
nizable in another
the tomb, namely the tale of Ishtar s descent into the underworld.
The goddess of love goes down to arallu and demands to be
announced to its queen, EreshkigaL Her way into the queen s
presence takes her through seven portals, and in order to pass
through each one she is obliged to lay off one of her seven gar
ments. When she reaches the queen the latter greets her
by casting
upon her sixty diseases. Meanwhile upon earth the absence of the
goddess of love has brought to a stop all reproduction of life,
and the gods in their anxiety send to Ereshkigal to beg her to
release Ishtar. After
being sprinkled with the water of life, Ishtar
makes her way back to earth, recovering her garments as she
passes once more through the seven portals; and with her return
life is renewed
upon earth.
Another myth of the Beyond is that of
Nergal and Ereshkigal.
The queen of the underworld, being unable to attend in person
a feast of the gods, sends her minister Namtar to claim her share
of die banquet. He is received with honour
by all the gods
except Nergal, who will not rise out of respect for him. Eresh
kigal bids Namtar bring the recalcitrant god down to the under
world. Nergal does descend thither, but he overcomes the
guards,
70
seizes Ereshkigal by the hair, and drags her from her throne. She
now begs for mercy and offers to take Nergal as her consort. The
god accepts this offer and so becomes king of the underworld.
This story seems to have arisen in order to justify the attribution
to Nergal of sovereignty over the underworld; as in other cases,
a mythological foundation is
supplied.
One of
the hero-myths stands out above the rest; it spread
beyond the boundaries of Mesopotamia into the legends of the

peoples round about. This is the Gilgamesh-myth, probably
even more ancient than Enuma elish.
Gilgamesh is man seeking immortality. The epic is remark
able for the relative subjectivity and modernity of its attitude to
life, which fundamentally a bleakly pessimistic one: not even
is
the heroes can escape death, and "the paths of glory lead but to
the grave". The story told by the poem may not be entirely
mythical. Its hero represented as a king of Uruk, and there

is
really was a Gilgamesh king of Uruk, whose adventures, coloured
by legend, may have given rise to the myth.

Gilgamesh was the man who had seen all things, who knew
hidden mysteries and had discovered the secret of wisdom;
but he oppressed his people, and the gods wished to set up a
rival againsthim. No man living was a match for him, so the
gods created such a man, and gave him the name Enkidu. After
various adventures, however, the two heroes became friends,
and together accomplished fearsome exploits. After their victory
over the dreadful monster of the cedar-forest, die goddess Ishtar
herself was struck with admiration for Gilgamesh, and offered
to make him her husband. This offer die hero rejected and, care
less of the goddess s wrath, taunted her with her many cruel
amours. This singular courtship is related as follows:

*
"He washed hisgrimy hair and polished his weapons,

He cast his locks upon his shoulders;
He took off his and put on clean,
soiled clothes
Clad himself in his tunic and fixed his belt.
When Gilgamesh had put on his tiara,
Great Ishtar set eyes on his beauty:
Come, Gilgamesh, be thou my lover !
Grant me the gift of thy love,
Be thou my husband and I will be thy wife.
I will harness for thee a chariot adorned with lapis-lazuli
and gold,
With golden wheels and with horns of precious stone.
Thou shalt harness to it storm-demons for horses,
Amid the fragrance of the cedars shalt thou enter our
house!
And when thou enterest our house,
The threshold and the dais shall kiss thy feet.
Before thee shall bow down kings, governors and princes,
The produce of mountain and of plain shall they bring
to thee as tribute.
Thy goats shall cast triplets, thy sheep shall bring forth
twins,
Thy pack-ass shall surpass the mule,
The horses of thy chariots shall win fame for their
racing,
The oxen beneath thy yoke shall know no rival.
Gilgamesh opened his mouth

And said to great Ishtar:
But what must I
give thee, if I take thee in marriage?
Am I to give thee oil and garments for thy body,
Bread and victuals,
Eood for thy godhead,
Drink for thy qucenship?
What do I gain from marriage with thee?
Thou art a door that withstands not the wind and the
storm,
72
A palace which the heroes destroy.
Whom of thy lovers hast thou loved for ever?
Who of thy swains has been pleasing to thee always ?
Come, I will tell thee die tale of thy lovers.

For Tammuz, the lover of thy youth,
Thou hast ordained mourning year after year.
Thou didst love the shepherd-bird of dappled plumage;
And smote him and broke his wing.
Now doth he sit in the groves and cry "My wing P *.
Thou didst love the lion, marvellous in strength,
And didst dig for him seven pits and yet seven.
Thou didst love the stallion, splendid in battle,
And didst ordain for him whip, spur and lash;
Seven leagues didst thou bid him run,
And made him muddy the water ore he drinks.
For his mother, Silili, thou didst ordain mourning.
Thou didst love the shepherd of the flock,
Who ever gathered coals for thee
And daily slaughtered kids for thee;
Thou didst smite Him and turn him to a wolf,
His own sons now hunt him down,
His own dogs snap at his legs.
If thou love me, thou wilt treat me like them.** 1
Gilgamesh s soul is next thrown into tumult by the sickness

and death of Enkidu. He realizes that he himself must die some
day. A
prey to irresistible terror, he flees from place to place over
the countryside. must man die? Not even Gilgamesh can
Why
fathom this
mystery. He resolves to go to an old sage named
Utnapishrim, to whom the gods have given the gift of immortal
ity, and ask him the secret of life and death.
The journey is long and difficult. Crossing the waters of death,
the hero at last reaches the old man* s abode and tells him of his
l
Gilgamesii, Tablet VI, Hoes 1 78, passim; the text is in places mutilated and uncertain.
73
trouble: in vain has he accomplished so many deeds of prowess;
all
joy is now at an end for him, sorrow has brought him down.
The ancient replies bitterly: do man s works endure for ever?
Love and hatred soon come to an end, the river rises but to fall
again. Life and death are determined by the gods; but the gods
do not tell us the day of our death.
The old sage had obtained immortality at the time of the Great
Flood, from which he saved himself and his family and his
beasts and his belongings; the account which he gives of these
events resembles that given in the Bible.
Utnapishtim then speaks to Gilgamesh of a wonder-working

plant, which has the power to restore youth. It lies at the bottom
of the sea, and the hero dives down thither and brings back the
plant with him. He sets off once more, but during the journey he
goes down to a watercourse to wash, and while he is there a
serpent is
by the scent of the plant, and carries it away,
attracted
Gilgamesh will not attain immortality.

His fate is sealed. He now conceives the desire to have his dead
friend Enkidu come back from the underworld and speak to him
of life beyond the grave. The poem comes to a gloomy end with
the comfortless picture of that life.
The of the twelve tablets of this epic, the one in which
last
this meeting with Enkidu is recorded, would seem from Pro

fessor Kramer s recent studies to be a later supplement, not belong
ing to the original poem. Those studies have also shown that the
composition has brought together a number of Sumerian themes,
and knit them into an ordered whole.
The idea of man s striving after eternal life, and failing through
no fault of his own (for we find here no conception correspond
ing to the Hebrew one of original sin) is treated in a different
manner in another poem, recounting the myth of Adapa. Adapa
was a fisherman, and a son of the god Ea. One day a gust othe
South Wind overturned his boat, and in his anger he seized the
wind and broke its wings. When he was summoned before the
74
supreme god Anu to answer for his behaviour, his father Ea,
fearing the angry god would seek to poison him, warned him
to refuse all offers of food or drink. In fact, however, Anu was so
impressed by Adapa s wisdom that he offered him the food and

water of life. Mindful of his father s warning, Adapa refused,
and so for ever lost immortality.
Another hero who sought to mount to heaven was the legend
ary king Etana. He was childless and therefore desired the "birth-
herb", which he set out for heaven on the back of an eagle

to get
which he had rescued from a serpent; but his adventurous flight
did not attain its
goal.
Themes drawn from this literature are common in Mesopotam-
ian art. Thus we have in particular a multitude of representations
of the plant or tree of life, in the form of a conventionalized
palmtree, which served as the symbol of the everlasting renewal
of life.
Mcsopotamian is
exclusively religious: we have hymns,
lyric
penitential psalms and prayers, which express in various forms
that cult of the gods which was of the very essence of the life of
those peoples. Many of these lyrics are composed according to
fixed schemes, but are not lacking in true lyrical spirit and human
feeling. Their constant themes are the exaltation of the gods,

their
attributes, their glorious deeds and mercies. The following
example is taken from a hymn to the sun-god Shamash :
"O Shamash, king of heaven and earth,

Who orderest all things high and low,
Shamash, the wakening to life of the dead
And the freeing of the captive is in thy hand.
Incorruptible judge,
Who orderest mankind,
Exalted scion
Of the Lord Namrassit,
75
Most mighty and noble son,
Light of the lands,

Maker of all that is in heaven and on the earth,
1
Shamash, art thou."
Here is a prayer addressed by Sargon II of Assyria to the

god
Ninigiku (another name of Ea):
"O
Ninigiku, lord of wisdom,
Thou who hast formed the universe,
May thy fountains be
opened for Sargon, king of the
world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, king
of Sumer and Akkad, the builder of thy sanctuary;
May thy fountains bring the water of prosperity and
plenty, and water his land !
Wide experience and broad understanding

Ordain as his lot;
Bring work to fulfilment,

his
And let him attain to his goal 2
!"
On the foundations of the earlier Sumerian tradition was built
up an extensive didactic and sapiential literature, in alternate

prose and verse, rich in counsels and proverbs of remarkable
wisdom. Here are some of the counsels, striking for their exalted
moral tone:
no ill to thy opponent;

"Do
Render good to him who does thee ill;
Act justly with thy foe ...

Piety engenders well-being,
Sacrifice prolongs life.
3
Prayer atones for sin/*
1
Cf. A. EaS&erateia W. von Soden, Stmeriscke imd o&adiscbt HymnenimdGebetc, Zurich-
Stuttgartl953,p.321.
* &id.
p.279.
8 Bar
references cf. J. B. Pritchard, Aocieast Hear Eastern Tens .... Princeton, ed.2 1955,
p.426.
76
Some proverbial expressions:
"My
astern is not dried up, and so I do not feel
very thirsty.
"If I had not gone myself, who would have gone at
my side?
"Heconsecrated the temple before he began it.
"You
go and take the enemy *s field, the enemy comes
and takes your field.
"Another s ox eats grass, one s own ox lies down in
the pasture/* 1
An old Sumerian theme which reappears among the Babylon

ians and the Assyrians, and later again among the Hebrews, is
that of the sufferings of the righteous. We find it treated in a
work which may well be called the Mesopotamian book of Job.
Why is the good man tried by suffering?
am now come to the borne of life and passed beyond it;
"
I look about me evil upon evil

: !
My affliction grows, justice I cannot find . . .
Yet thought only of prayer and supplication,

I
Invocation was my care, sacrifice my rule;

The day of the worship of the gods was my delight,
The day of my goddess s procession was my profit and
my
wealth;
The veneration of the king was my joy,
Music for him my pleasure . . ."*
The answer given to the problem of suffering is that man

first
is not in a
position to judge of good and evil. The second is an
exhortation to hope: at the height of his affliction the sufferer
will be succoured by the gods.
1
Cf. iW. p.425, I and IB. *
Cf. &>td.
p,4S4-43S.
77
A large part of Akkadian prose literature is likewise religious
in content. Here we have in the first pkce many ritual texts,
describing priestly procedure and sacred ceremonies, in particular

the NewYear celebration at Babylon. Next there are the incant
ations and deprecations, whose importance in the struggle
against demons we have seen in the chapter on Meso|>otamian
religion. These texts contain also passages in verse, in the form of
hymns and prayers to be recited in the course of the ceremonies.

There are two chief classes of deprecatory spells, called respec
tively maqlu and Both of these words mean "burning",
shurpil.
and arfe to be
spells were accom
accounted for by the fact that the
panied by the magical rite of burning some object. There was
also an extensive oracular literature, which set forth,
along with
the appropriate prayers, the petitions addressed to the
gods by
princes in order to obtain predictions of future events, especially
in connection with
military enterprises; and we have also the
answers made by the gods to the princes. Similar in
scope are
the divination-texts, couched in the same as the laws, that
style
is, in the form of a series of with
propositions beginning premises
introduced by the word shumma, and then forth
"if",
setting
the consequences to be deduced in each case. A special branch of
this literature dealt with hepatoscopy ("liver-inspection"),
of
which we spoke earlier in this
chapter.
Historical literature, in the sense of the reasoned exposition
and analysis of past events, is lacking ; what we have are chronicles,
that is, lists of the tides and
campaigns of the various and kings,
of the main events of various their on
years. Kings put exploits
record in
inscriptions, but from Hammurapi onwards the
official
inscriptions of the Babylonian kings make scarcely any mention

of military campaigns, while setting forth at
length the works of
peace, such as the digging of canals and die erection of temples;
hence to complete our
knowledge of the history of these reigns
we most have recourse to the
contemporary chronicles. This
of the Babylonian sovereigns
corresponds to their
78
conception of kingship, while on the other hand the warlike

spirit of
the north is
equally reflected in the Assyrian inscriptions,
which give detailed accounts, sometimes in several successive
editions, of the monarchs* military campaigns.
An important section of Akkadian literature is devoted to
linguistic questions. The Babylonians and Assyrians have left us
sign-catalogues and dictionaries in the full sense of the word. The
catalogues list the various cuneiform signs and indicate their
values; the dictionaries give the correspondences of the two
languages of Mesopotamia, Sumerian and Akkadian. There are

also dictionaries of synonyms, in an even broader sense of the term
than the modern one.
Finally, we have on astronomy, mathematics, geo
treatises
graphy, medicine, chemistry, zoology and botany: a body of

literature truly impressive for its extent and variety.
LEGAL AND SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS
A constant and typical feature of the habits of thought of the
Mesopotamian peoples, and one which left its mark on all forms
of their social life, was their juridical oudooL A natural tendency
to distinguish and codify lies behind the vast system of juris
prudence which was developed by Babylonian and Assyrian

civilization and which served in its turn as one of the chief
vehicles for the extension of that civilization to the surrounding
world.
The of Sumerian and Semitic elements which is so
fusion
typical of Mesopotamian
culture as a whole is here especially
noteworthy; once more it is difficult to

separate the elements
inherited from the Sumerians from those of Semitic origin,
though some traces of nomadic inspiration may be distinguished
in certain legal provisions and customs.
The great discovery in the field of Mesopotamian law was that
of the Code of Hammurapi, which came to light at the beginning
79
of the present century in the ruins of Susa, whither it had been
carried off by an Elamite king after an invasion of Babylon. It
is in the form of a
large stele bearing
on its upper portion a relief
of the king standing before his god. Under
the relief the inscrip
tion begins with an introductory passage in which the king exalts
the task which the gods have set him of bringing justice on the
earth, defending the poor against theand the righteous
rich,
against wrongdoers. Next follows the body

of laws, and then
finally a conclusion in which the king once more exalts his work,
and trusts that the oppressed may find in it words of comfort

and ofjustice.
Hammurapi*s was for long regarded as a highly
legisktion
original creation, but this judgement has since been modified
thanks to the discovery of more ancient bodies of law, namely the
Code of Bilalama, sovereign of Eshnunna about two centuries
before the time of Hammurapi, contained in two tablets found
&
between 1945 and 1947; e ^-P^y ancient code, in Sumerian, of
Lipit-Ishtar of the dynasty of Isin, found,
in four fragments, in
Nippur at the end of the last century, but only recently identified
and interpreted; and finally, most ancient of all, also in Sumerian,
the laws of Ur-Nammu, founder of the third dynasty of Ur,
around 2050 B.C., found in 1952. These new discoveries show
r
that die importance of Hammurapi s legislation lies rather in its
having collected and codified what was already traditional, than

in the originality of its content. This however does not alter the
fact that
Hammurapi Code enjoyed
s most widespread diffusion
a
and renown, and influenced all subsequent legislation.
We have also a collection of laws from Assyria, belonging to
the time of the Middle Empire; as compared with the laws of
Hammurapi tlie
Assyrian ones are marked by a much greater
s*rraity and a much lower cultural level Finally, we have neo-
Babykmiaii kws. There is a notable difference in emphasis be
tween Babylonian and Assyrian law, and between die law of one
period and that of another.
go
In addition to the laws, we have a number of contracts, judicial
decisions, reports of trials, accounts and receipts, and fiscal and
other documents, which complete our acquaintance with Meso-
potamian jurisprudence, and show the complexity and high level

of development of the legal system.
Babylonian society is
represented in the Code of Hammurapi
as consisting of three classes. The members of the highest of these,
who were were the "patricians *, enjoying fell
called awilum,
liberty and all the

rights and privileges of citizenship. The second
class is composed of citizens called mushkenum, who may be
termed "plebeians"; though free men, they were subject to

certain legal restrictions, notably in connection with the transfer
of immovable property. Hie third class is that of the wardum, that
is, the slaves. Among the Assyrians too there was a division into
three classes; the two extremes of this division correspond to
those of the Babylonian one, but the exact status of the middle
class is not certain.
The three classes differ from one another in legal status. For
example, offences against plebeians are punished much less severe

ly than offences against patricians;
or rather, they are punished
according to a different principle:
"If a patrician has destroyed the eye of another, they shall
destroy his eye.

If he has broken the bone of another, they shall break his bone.
If he has destroyed the eye of a pkbeian or broken die bone of
a plebeian, he shall pay one inina of silver/*1
Here we see an application, restricted to the patricians, of the

law of retaliation, of which more will be said in the section on
penal law.
Slaves wore naturally rated much lower than free men:
*
Code of Himmurapi, art. 29619$.
8l
a patrician has given the marriage-gift for the daughter of a
"If
takes her by force, without asking the leave

patrician, but another
of her father and her mother, and takes away her virginity, this is
a capital offence, and he shall die
If a patrician takes away the virginity of the slave-girl of another
patrician,
he shall pay two thirds of a mina of silver; the slave-
gjd shall remain her master s property." 1
Slaves were regarded amply as the chattels of their masters,

and the only advantage of their state was the protection given
them by thdr masters for that very reason.
Within the family the father had supreme though not unlimited
authority. Marriages were concluded by written contract, with
out which the union was not valid in law. The Code of Hammu-
rapi is explicit on this point:
"If
any man has taken a wife, but has not made with her a
written contract, that woman is not his wife."
2
The marriage was preceded by a gift made by the bridegroom

to the parents of the bride, a relic of the ancient custom of
buying
the bride. This gift served as a guarantee against the breach of the
contract by cither party (Code of Hammurapi, art. 159,
160).
A second wife was commonly was childless.
taken if the first
Such second wives wore often slaves; though they had not the
same rights as free spouses, their condition was fairly satisfactory.
Divorce was permitted, and in certain cases, such as the hus
band s prolonged absence or refusal to support his wife, came into
effect automatically.
According to the Code of Hammurapi,
chilcUesmess was grounds for divorce, but in that case the woman
kept her dowry and the marriage-gift (art. 138). A woman

also divorce her husband, if he
might neglected her or left her;
in such a case she had the right to
remarry.
t.26, 31. *OxiecHammiixapi, art. 128.
82
Adultery and rape were punished with the utmost severity

(Code of Hammurapi, art. 129), as also were assaults on close
relations.
From the Assyrian laws we learn

that in that region, from even
before the first
millennium, was the custom for ladies of rank
it
and married women to wear veils, whereas this was forbidden

under heavy penalties to slaves and harlots.
The status of women in Mesopotamian society was, in con
clusion, relatively satisfactory; at least, along with the increase in
the force of law in the new social conditions, great progress had
been made from the state of affairs that had obtained in desert life.
Right of inheritance in Babylonia was founded on legal succes
sion. The inheritance was divided among the legitimate or
legitimated sons without distinction, whether born of the first
wife or of another, whether natural or adoptive. Daughters were
excluded from inheriting except in the absence of male heirs,
but they retained a certain right of usufruct, which was however
for life only; in addition they had the right to a gift on the occa
sion of
their marriage. An
heir might be disinherited only for
grave reasons, certified by the judge.

Written wills were not in use, but their purpose was to some
extent served contracts of adoption, since adopted sons were
by
thereby legal heirs, while the adoptive father might make the
validity of the contract of adoption dependent on the execution
of certain conditions.
The notion of property underwent a notable evolution in

Mesopotamia, when the few movable goods of the desert-
dwellers were succeeded by the possessions of a settled community,
comprising both movable property, such as grain, gold and silver,

boats and the like, and immovable, such as houses, gardens and
fields.Immovable property was registered in the administrative
archives; a special status was accorded to such property granted
in fee by the state to certain categories of its subjects; these
83
concessions (ilkum) carried with them the obligation to military
service, and, according to circumstances, a contribution levied
on of the earth.
the fruits
A great part of the documents that have so far come down to
us from Babylonian civilization is made up of contracts, which
bear witness to the great development of commercial life which
had accompanied that of property-owning, and to the elaborate
legal system by whkh commercial dealings were regulated.
We have deeds relating to deposits,
to transport, to buying and
selling and transfer of property, to loans at interest, to leases, to
partnership. The Code of Hammurapi lays down certain pre

scriptions for contracts, for example in the interesting case of
land-leases (art. 60, 64).
The multitude of contracts gives us an insight into the economic
life of
Mesopotamia. The principal occupation of the people was
agriculture. The land was very fertile so long as it was irrigated
by an efficient canal-system, hence the work of controlling and
distributing the waters to which the valley owed its prosperity
and its very life was the first care of king and people alike. The
seemingly sterile sand-waste transformed itself as soon as it was
watered into a green plain, on which in a very short time there
arose the date-palms which were the country s great source of
wealth. The principal cereal of
Mesopotamia was barley, but
wheat and rye were also grown. Wine had been known from
Sumerian times. Other plants cultivated were sesame, for its oil,
the pomegranate, and the
mulberry.
Assyria lent itself less well than Babylonia to the cultivation of
cereals. A large amount of its territory, however, was mountain-
iand, where there grew forests, which were a source of timber
for building and for tool-making. Even stone, extremely rare in
Babylonia, was less so in
Assyria, wtiane many temples and even
prirole bouses were birik of stone. Babylonia on the other hand
had &D use bckk, and brick-making was its
principal manufacture,
as is to be seem from the commercial deeds relating to it,
many
84
Though stock-raising was no longer for the Semitic peoples of

Mesopotamia what it had been for their ancestors in the desert, it
retained its own importance, and reached a considerable develop
ment, and its was regulated by law. Dairy-fkming
exercise
ensured the supply of milk, butter and cheese.
The canals were not only the foundation of agricultural pros
perity, but also the highways of commerce. Great barges laden
with oil and grain and all manner ofother wares passed continually
along them. The waterways were likewise the bearers of much of
the passenger-traffic, and of many of the processions of the gods-
The Mesopotamians made great use of "collapsible boats" in the
form of large bladders of hide. On the banks of the waterways
arose great warehouses and proviaoning-centres, and the pros
perity even of the cities came from their nearness to the water.
Trade with regions inaccessible by sea or river was carried on
by caravaneers. From the mouth of the Persian Gulf they set out
across the Arabian peninsula, or followed its coastline, making
mainly for Arabia Felix. To the north, in addition to the sources

of Tigris and Euphrates, there were other routes into Asia Minor,
where there was a large Assyrian commercial colony. Babylonian
manufactured goods penetrated to the cities of India, whither
tradersbrought them by sea or through Persia.
This vast and active organization of the economic life of the
Mesopotamian valley is all the more impressive when we reflect
that it was built up at a time when ova: a large part of the
Mediterranean world there had as yet amen no comparable form
of society.
Of all die forms of Mesopotamian law, the Sumcrian was the

mildest, and the Assyrian the harshest. The Babylonian Code of
Hammurapi occupies a middle place between the two extremes.

The death penalty was laid down for many of the more serious
ofiences: in the first place, for calumny and false witness, but also
for theft, robbery, and receiving stolen goods.
85
The kw of governed legislation referring to the
retaliation
patrician class; only in the case of plebeians or skves was it

mitigated. "An
eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" is the
watchword of the Code of Hammurapi; we have already quoted
art, 196 198, which exemplify the application of this law to the
patricians and its mitigation for other classes of society.

The most recent discoveries show that the kw of retaliation
was probably introduced by the Semitic people of the first
Babylonian dynasty, or at any rate, that it had no pkce in previous
juridical tradition. Thus the kws of Bilakma speak simply of
paying damages, and so do the newly-discovered kws of Ur-
Naminu:
"If a man
has put out with a weapon the eye ... of another
man, he must pay a mina of silver.
If a man has cut off with an instrument ... the nose of another
man, he must pay two thirds of a mina of silver." 1
The penal kw likewise imposed penalties on professional men

when they caused accidental damage in the exercise of their
profession. For example, according to the Code of Hammurapi
surgeons were punished or rewarded according to the results of
their operations, with the usual scale of differences
according to
the patient s social class
(art. 215220). If this seems to us unrea
sonable, it is more intelligible that architects were penalized for
damage caused by jerry-building (art. 229 232).

Minor penalties were affixed to minor faults, such as negligence
or incompetence in tilling the soil.
Assyrian kw, as has already been remarked, was more cruel

than Babylonian. In addition to the
punishments in use in Babylon
we here find mutilations of fingers, nose, breasts, ears. The follow
ing are examples:
**If a mak or femak skve receive

any stolen article from the
1
Laws df Ur-Nammii, Macs 33& 334.
86
wife of a patrician, they shall cut off the nose and ears of the slave
in retribution for the theft, and the patrician shall cut off the ears
of his wife . . .
If the wife of a patrician commit a theft in another s house,

and value be greater than five minas of lead, the owner of the
its
stolen goods shall affirm on oath: I did not urge her: rob in my
house ! If the husband consent to redeem her, he shall give back
what was stolen and redeem her, and cut off her ears. If he do not
consent, the owner of the stolen goods shall take her and cut off
1
her nose."
As
for court procedure, cases were tried in the presence of
judges to whom
the contending parties applied when they could
come to no agreement out of court. The judges, after a prelimin
ary examination of the circumstances, allowed the parties to put
their cases. The evidence adduced might be in the form of written
documents, declarations of witnesses, sworn before affidavits
priests, or the so-called river-ordeal ("judgement

of God"),
in which the person on trial was plunged into the water: if he
floated, he was in the right, if he sank he was in the wrong. After

sentence had been pronounced, the judges imposed it on the losing
party by obliging him to renounce in writing any further claim.

This is a sign of the way in which judiciary law had evolved from
its which the judge was a referee without
original private form, in
power of coercion, whereas now the administration of the law
was a public service carried out by magistrates appointed by the
king, and their sentence was binding.
Lawsuits might be initiated by patricians or by plebeians, and
also by married women, but not by the members of the family
subject to paternal authority.
Supreme authority in the Mesopotamian state was vested in

the king, who received it
directly from the god, whom, according
1
Middle Assyrian Laws, Tablet A 4 and 5
, .
8?
to the ancient Sismerian conception, he served as his representa
tive and agent, and die peacdoving builder and consecrator
of his temples. The Semitic dynasty of Akkad introduced the

deification of the sovereign himself, a practice not infrequent in
Ac ancient Near East (in Egypt, for example); but this custom
had died out by the tone of Hammurapi, from whose time
onwards the Sumerian ideal is once more to be seen in the descrip
tions of the Babylonian kings. It was otherwise in Assyria, where
the king, while remaining the god s representative, had essentially
martial attributes.
The religious character of all
the forms of social life rendered
impossible any dear distinction of political power as such. The

king was at the same time head of the priesthood, and in
supreme
that capacity presided over the most important religious functions.
Nevertheless at certain periods there arose conflicts between king
and priesthood, Co the detriment of the state.
Around the royal atMhority was grouped a mass of offices and
officers, as was the case in nearly all the empires of the ancient
Near East The great royal palace and its vast gardens were the
centre of a city within the city, having for its citizens ministers,
officials, overseers, workmen, priests, and a great variety of other
personnel All this offers a complete contrast to the simplicity of

the primitive nomadic state, where tie chief lived among his
tribesmen as one of them, without pomp and without machinery
of state.
In Assyria outstanding importance was acquired by the prime
minister,who was at the head of the civil administration, while

the exceptional importance there accorded to military affairs
gave a position of pre-eminence also to the conimander-in-chief

of die armed forces and "minister of war**.
Mesopotainian artists us numerous pictures showing
have left
ckaily the nature of military equipment. The soldier s defensive

armament consisted of shield mi helmet, and his weapons were
tfac lance and Ac battle-axe; bows and arrows were introduced
88
by the Semites, and were one of the chief causes of their success
against the Sumerian phalanx. An important tactical arm was the

chariotry ; the war-chariots were drawn in more ancient times by
a species of donkey, but later by horses, when the latter were
imported into Mesopotamia during the second millennium before
Christ.
The siege-operations depicted in Mesopotamian reliefs recall
those of mediaeval Europe. The attackers used siege-engines and
entrenchments, and sought to enter the citadel by mining under
its walls, while the defenders used bows and arrows and hurled
fire and boiling

liquids on assault-parties. Conquest was followed
by pillage and devastation, and the nobler or more capable
classes of the conquered people were
deported in order to prevent
the outbreak of an insurrection after the withdrawal of the
victorious armies.
A country traversed throughout its length by two great rivers,
and having a sea-coast, could not be lacking in ships. Mesopotam
ian men-of-war had several files of rowers, and the prow was
prolonged into a great spur. The soldiers made with their shields
a bulwark around the deck. The merchant fleet used ships of
various kinds: typically Mesopotamian are the great rafts which
the merchants of the north used for the transport of stone. After
descending the rivers in this manner and unloading their cargo,

they dismantled the rafts as well, and sold both stone and timber,
both building materials lacking in the south; then they returned
north with the caravans. Army and merchants alike used the
collapsible boats of which mention has already been made.
AIT
There wore in the ancient Near East two principal artistic

centres, which arose in the great valley-civilizations, and exerted
a direct influence on the artistic prodtction of the surrounding
regions. The high level of political and cultural development
89
attainted by the Egyptians and the Mesopotamians was inevitably
reflected in their art, for in ancient times the art of a nation was
influenced even more than it is now by the prosperity and unity
of the state.
Though Egyptian art was perhaps superior to Mesopotamian in

its intrinsic worth, force of circumstances gave to the latter a
greater influence beyond its own borders; in addition to serving

as a model for die nations round about, it
spread far beyond the
limits of the Near East.
As in other departments of Mesopotamian culture, the fusion
of Babylonian and Assyrian elements with Sumerian ones was
so complete that it is often impossible to determine what elements
are properly Semitic. This is the essential reason for the
great
contrast in this respect between the Akkadians and the other
Semitic nations, whose artistic
production was ordinarily distin
guished neither for quantity nor for originality. Here again, the
peoples of Mesopotamia stand in a class apart from the rest of the

Semitic peoples, and while not ceasing to form
part of the Semitic
bloc,have a quite distinct individuality of their own. Here we
have also a case in which Semitic movement reversed its direction,
for the art of the Akkadians was carried in the wake of their
armies to the other heirs of the ancient Semites.
The general impression given by Mesopotamian art is one of
monumental solemnity. It aimed not at subjective and spontane
ous expression on the part of the individual artist, but at the official
celebration of great events and the manifestation of the
great
ideals of the entire nation. Its
predominant themes were for that
reason the glorification of their
gods, their wars and their victor
ies. The artist did not seek to
capture his own personal vision and
represent objects as he saw them, but carefully ordered them
within the regular framework of the established conventions of
style. It migiht indeed be more proper to say that he was not an

artist, in the modem sense of the word, but a craftsman.
Thane is but litde place in an art of such a

type for the passions
90
and sentiments and movements of the human soul. The charac
portrays are
ters it and serene, and even their features are
stiff
impersonal and conventional. Dramatic or lyric spirit is absent;

the striving after symmetry and rhythm of form has led to the
establishment of fixed canons and the use of repetition, as with
the on which
seals, the scene depicted on one side is
faithfully
reproduced on the other. Conception has taken the place of
perception; perspective is lacking. Each part of the composition,
even each member of the human body, is set down in its appointed
place within the general scheme, in juxtaposition to the others,
without regard for the vision of the scene as a whole.
In such conditions one can hardly speak of artistic evolution in
the proper sense: although the passage of time brought changes
in tasteand choice of subject-matter, we very rarely find any
traces of conscious innovation; on the contrary, the artist seems
to delight in sinking his personality in the anonymity of tradition.
The conventionalism of Mesopotamia!! art brought about a
wide use of symbolism, whereby some characteristic detail
serves as an indication of the entire object. A mountain, for
example, represented by stones set oat upon another; water,
is
by a series of wavy lines broken at intervals by little whorls or

by drawings of fishes.
The only field in which the artistic canons did not overrule the
spontaneous tendency to reproduce reality was the portrayal of

animals; and here Mesopotamian art attained to heights of per
fection which in many cases have never been surpassed. There
exist sculptures in the round and in relief of a powerful and
dramatic realism, in which the artist s powers of observation and
dexterous reproduction of the forms and movements of animals
were entirely imtrammdled by convention or formalism.
The solemn and monumental character of Babylonian and
Assyrian art corresponds to the extent to which those peoples
were transformed by the static civilization of the ancient Near
East, so different from the comparative dynamism which their
heritage of nomadic independence

and enterprise lent to most of
the Semitic peoples.
The great buildings of ancient Mesopotamia were impressive

not for elegance and grace of line, but for their massive majesty.
stone was lacking in
The building-material was largely brick, for
Babylonia, and to be found only in certain regions of Assyria.
Construction in brick was on the other hand highly economical,
since the land was rich in clay, and the supply of labour was often
assured by the employment of prisoners of war.
From the point of view of die archaeologist, it is most fortu
nate that the buildings were of brick ; had they been of stone, little
or nothing would now be left of the great cities of the ancients,
for their ruins would have serwd as quarries of building-material
for the peoples who came after them. Moreover, when a brick
bidding into ruin, the upper portion collapses first and forms
feli*
a protective covering around the lower portion, which is so
preserved for a long time comparatively intact.

The monuments of Mesopotamian architecture are fortresses,
places and temples. They are built, but on a larger scale, on much
the same plan as the private houses, that is to say in the form
of a series of rooms grouped round one or more courtyards.
A good example of this plan is furnished by the palace at Mari.
The walk were built of layers of bricks joined by cky mortar
into a solid and consistent mass impervious to water. They were
without windows, which would have weakened their structure,
and so they presented a compact mass of surface, broken by
ornamental depressions, which in the sunlight created an agree
able pattern of light and shack. Little turrets incorporated into
the structure at regular intervals lent it a certain rhythm.
The only real break in die monotony of the outer walk was
faowrrer that of the rich and elaborate central gateway, sur
mounted by a vaulted cofistaictioo and often flanked by guardian-
statues
nepcoei^mg great human-headed Ikes or bulk
92
THE BABYLONIANS AND ASSYSIANS
The buildings consisted for the most part of one storey only,
but had flat terraced roofs, on which the inhabitants could sit or
walk in the open air. Domed or cone-shaped roofs also existed,

with an opening at the summit to allow the entrance of
light and
air.
i. Plan of the palace at Man.
Columns were not unknown in Mesopotamia, but the column

as a constructional element would have had to be of stone. The
scarcity of stone led however to its being mainly reserved for
ornamental purposes, a use which robbed it of its
principal
advantage. It is the absence of columns as functional elements
that gives to Mesopotamia!! architecture its massive and
heavy
appearance, especially in Babylonia. In Assyria the greater avail
ability of stone allowed the coestojctio!! of palace forecourts in
the form of colonnades (fef khilmi)*
93
The inner surface of the wall was often faced with alabaster
and ornamented with fine reliefs; the space not so covered was
often adorned by the use of bricks of various colours built into a
pattern. Other walls were covered with paintings or frescos.

The most monumental examples of all these features are the
great palaces of the Assyrian kings at Ashur, Nimrud, Khorsabad
and Nineveh. The most celebrated and best-preserved of these is
Sargon II s palace at Khorsabad. In Babylon the edifices erected
by Nebuchadnezzar brought the city to the peak of splendour.
Mesopotamian temples were from ancient times of two types:
the "low
temple",
built directly on the ground, and the
"high
temple",
built on a terrace as foundation. A particular develop
ment of the "high temple" is seen in the temple-tower (ziqqurat)
in the form of a terraced pyramid with about three to seven
The most famous ziqqurat is that of Babylon, called
"decks".
Etetnenaftki. Another, which

goes back to about 3000 B.C., has
now been brought to light at Man; it is built of sun-baked
brick, and was therefore given by the excavators the name of
"le massif rouge".
Statuary was not very common among the Babylonians and

Assyrians. Itwould seem that the artists of those peoples, gladly
as they portrayed the human figure in relief, did not usually
venture to attempt its full-size representation. When
they did,
their subjects were almost or divine
exclusively royal figures,
represented in set poses, without expression, stiff and impersonal
in their solemnity. Even
physical traits are conventionalized, and
often die person represented can be identified
only by some
symbol or by the inscription. The body is motionless, with the
arms hanging at the sides, or crossed before the breast in an
attitude of devotion. A example of this kind of sculpture
typical
frona more ancient times the statue of the overseer Ebih-il,
is
found at Man; an example from more recent times is that of the

Assyrian fcmg Aslmmasirpal II, from Nimrud.
94
In contrast with the human figures, the great lions, bulls and
fantastic animals which guarded the gates of temples and palaces
show a high degree of realism. The figures are slender and full
of power, and show what a high level might have been attained
by Mesopotamian art as a whole, had it not been paralysed by
stylistic
and formalistic prescriptions.
The main part in Mesopotamian sculpture is played by the
bas-reliefs. These attain a very high degree of artistry, with their
refinement, accuracy and elegance of design, and their almost

modern sense of artistic self-expression. The world has rarely
known reliefs comparable with those created thousands of yean
ago by Mesopotamian artists.
The finest ancient Akkadian relief that we have is the stele of
Naram-Sin, going back to the twenty-third century before Christ.
It celebrates a
military victory of that king. The scene depicted
isthat of a mountain, up which is climbing Naram-Sin, an agile
and yet majestic figure, bearing bow and arrows, and wearing
a helmet with a homed crest, the emblem of his kingship. In
front of him, on a smaller scale to symbolize their abasement,
are two of his foes, one bent to the earth with his throat trans
fixed by a lance, the other joining his hands before him in supplica
tion. Behind the king mount his warriors, bearing long spears
with banners. Their bodies are supple and give an impression of
motion. Here and there on the mountain trees are to be seen.
Neither the figure of the king, nor the others, show any trace of
the usual stifihess of Mesopotamia?! art; on the contrary, the
whole design draws the attention irresistibly upwards, and the
entire scene is dominated by a lively realism which makes a
welcome break in the series of stylized Mesopotamian repre
sentations of the human figure.
The famous Code of Hammurapi is engraved on a stele which
is surmounted
by a relief stiowing the king standing in homage
before the god. The Icing is bearded and wears a turban; the god
has a beard of venerable length and wears a tiara with five pairs
95
of horns; from his shoulders issue two tridents of fire; in one hand
he holds die sceptre. This scene served as model for many other
reliefs.
Mesopotamian
The greatest perfection in sculpture in the round or in relief
was attained by Assyrian artists. Some of the rooms of the royal
palaces of Assyria bear on their walls series of low reliefs in ala
baster or other stone, representing the life and the exploits of die
kings. Though the human figures here are still not free from
stylistic formalism,
the animal scenes have never been surpassed
for their vivid realism, in which harmonious composition is
united with elegance and accuracy of detail. The most perfect
specimens of Assyrian relief that we possess are the hunting-

sceoes in AshurbanipaTs palace, depicting fish and crabs in the
water, running hounds, lion hunts, and the hunting of other wild
beasts. The pain of the dying lion, and the terror of the beasts as
die hunter bears down on them, are portrayed with a liveliness

of expression that has never been surpassed. There is another
scene, set in the reedlands, and showing birds flying to and fro
in the air, and wild boars on the ground, which impresses itself
iinlelibly upon the memory. Thegreatest merit of the Ashur-

banipal reliefs is their extraordinary freshness and individuality,
which gives to each animal a look and a life of its own, and a
viraity whkh is and embodied in the whole composi
reflected
tion. The author of these works was certainly a great artist in
the most human and complete sense of the word, whose person
ality lifted him above the limitations of his environment.

Profile themes, such as those of the reliefs just referred to, are
abondant* indeed prevalent, in Assyrian art, and lend it a rougher
and mace warlike character fully corresponding to the mentality
of die Assyrian people.
We haw only a few fragments from which to judge Mesopo-

paistiiig; die rest has nattmliy perished. It is
supposed
HI general its dheoies, like its finiticm, must have been
96
THE BABYLONIANS AND ASSYfilANS
analogous to those of the reliefs. Ornamental designs and figures

of men and animals were painted in lively colours. White, red,
black, blue, green and yellow pigments are known to have been
used. The finest
wall-paintings which have been recovered up to
now are those of Man, representing a religious procession,
several fragments of which have been
preserved. The principal
scene seems to depict the investiture of the king at the hands of
the goddess Ishtar, in a fantastic setting of winged animals and
of goddesses bearing flowing vases, a symbol of fertility.
Among the minor arts, that of the potter was practised from
prehistoric times, and its evolution serves as a measure of time.
Glazed ware is found, and decoration in the form of geometrical
designs or animal figures. The most celebrated specimens of the
Mesopotamian metal-workers art arc the great reliefs in bronze
on the gates of the city of Balawat, representing the exploits of

the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III; bronze statuettes are also
extant. Ivory-carving is well represented, portraying human and
animal figures; so for example at Nimrud, where Mallowan s
excavations have brought to light some magnificent specimens:

one of these is a fine study of a woman s face, bearing a gentle
smile, which has earned it the name "Mona Lisa"; and another
represents a negro struggling with a lion in a of lotus-
field
blossoms. Finally, there is

jewellery of very fine workmanship,
in no way inferior to that of modem craftsmen,
Mesopotamian seal-making deserves a special mention. The

Orientals in general made great use of seals, which served as
personal idoitification-marks. Especially in Mesopotamia, where

the type of writing did not leave much room for individually
distinctive handwriting, it was customary to sign documents
with seals. The prevailing form of seal was the cylinder, on the
curved surface of which were eaigraved the scene and the inscrip
tion; a flat impression was then obtained by rolling die cylinder
over the surface of the day. A hole was bored along the axis
of the cylinder, which could so be threaded CHI a cord and worn
97
suspended from the neck. The scenes depicted were mainly of

religious character,
and the inscriptions recorded the name of
the possessor and a dedication to the deity. Especially common
were themes which seem to have been drawn from the Gilga-
mesh-myth, in particular his struggle with the monster; other
common subjects were banquet-scenes and the adoration of the
sacred tree.
The art of seal-making was on the whole a variant of that of
relief-carving, whose dominant themes and artistic qualities it
reproduces in miniature.
CHAPTER FIVE
THE CANAANITES
region composed of Palestine and Phoenicia is called in
A the Bible Canaan, and its inhabitants are called Canaanites.
Hence the accepted usage whereby the Semitic predecessors and
neighbours of Israel, with the exception of the Aramaeans, who
established themselves in the Syrian hinterland, are called
Canaanites.
It must be admitted terminology is in many respects
that this
an unsatisfactory one. Examination of the sources seems to show
that the names Canaan and Canaanite meant in the first place
Phoenicia and Phoenician, and were only later extended to cover
a much wider geographical and ethnical denotation. Nor are
the limits of that denotation satisfactorily defined; though they
are sufficiently clear after the coming of the Aramaic tribes, this
was a comparative late occurrence, and for an earlier period the
terms Canaan and Canaanite are applied to the entire Syro-
palestinian region and its inhabitants. Finally, Canaanite

as a
linguisticgroup is not a true unity; as Professor Friedrich has

well remarked, one calls Canaanite any Syropalestinian linguistic
element which is not Aramaic ; and tins negativeness of connotation
corresponds to what we have just said of the ethnical sense of the
word.
undoubtedly desirable that in future die history of Syria
It is
and Palestine, or, to use an apt terminology adopted by geo

*
graphers, of "Syria
in the broad sense, should be treated as one
subject, without artificial distinctions. This
does not mean that
that history forms a simple unity, for this is far from being the
case; but it means that either one treats die history of the individual
99
ANLltNl SfcMlllC
Damascus
SYRIA
THE CANAANITES
elements, and in this case there is no need for terms like "Canaan-
since one deals with the Phoenicians and the Moabites and
ite",
the Edomites and the Ammonites and so on; or one treats the
history of the region as a whole, and in this case it is "Syrians"

in the broad sense of die word that must be taken into account,
in their undeniable individuality between the great peoples on
either side of them, and there is no point in the distinction be
tween one element, the Aramaeans, and all the rest lumped
together as Canaanites,
Meanwhile we need not abandon the use of that term here,
but it must be understood that it is but a conventional heading,
under which we propose to describe the political and cultural
history of the Semitic peoples of Syria and Palestine, reserving
however for fuller treatment in later chapters the two most
important elements, namely the Hebrews and the Ara
maeans.
SOUfiCES
The of our knowledge of the Canaanites are

direct sources
in the first place the inscriptions found in the Syropalestinian
area. The most ancient of these are probably the Sinaitic ones,
which may be attributed to the first half of the second millen
nium before Christ. These are obscure, however, and the earliest
texts on whose interpretation we can rely belong to the beginning
of the second half of the same millennium, where we have the
plentiful
documentation of Ugarit. This is important enough to
be treated on own, in the following section. Inscriptions
its
from later periods become more and more frequent, and have
come down to IB from the Moabites, the Edomites, the Ammon
ites, and especially the Pbooikiaiis, whose economic
and com
mercial expansion spread the use of their language far beyond the
bounds of the motherland, as is to be seen fee example from the
in 1947 a* Karatepe in Asia Minor, and even
inscription found
101
more clearlyfrom those found in the Phoenician Mediterranean
colonies, above all at Carthage.
In addition to the written documents we have archaeological
finds of considerable importance, though not on a scale comparable
to that of the Mesopotamian ones. Here too our knowledge has
been both increased and modified by recent discoveries. It was
thought in the past, for instance, that Canaanite worship was
always conducted in the open air, at the sacrificial

pillars; we now
see that this view was based on insufficient data, on the fact that
no temple in the proper sense happened to have been found,

whereas now there have been discovered in several of the prin
cipal Canaanite cities, such as Alalakh and Ugarit, buildings
certainly used for religious worship.

This brings us once more to Ugarit, the most important of the
archaeological discoveries made in Syria and Palestine of recent

times, and one which merits exposition here in some detail.
The northern portion of the Syrian coast is broken by a series

of indentations which form so many little harbours. Near one of
these, called Minet el-Beida ("White Harbour"), almost ten
miles to the north of Laodicea, a peasant was ploughing his field
in the April of 1928, when the ploughshare struck some solid
obstacle below the surface, and when the man looked to see what
it was, he found what seemed to be
part of a ruined tomb. The
Beirut Service des Antiquith was informed of the discovery, and
OIK of its officials came and not only verified it, but discovered
upon inquiry in the neighbourhood that various objects of
archaeological nature had been found in the past in the same

region. Excavations were begun at the beginning of 1929, and
die researchers were led to the discovery that a hill about half a
mik from die shore, between the two branches of a torrent
which dim united to ran down to the sea, covered the remains
of an aisoent city. The modem Arabic name of the hill was Ras
Shamra, tbat is, "Fennel Head* , but die archaeologists SOCHI
102
THE CAHAANITES
found that the ruins which it covered were those of Ugarit, an
ancient city mentionedEgyptian, Mesopotamian and Hittite
in
documents. As the excavations went on, there came to light

tombs, pottery, statuettes, ornaments, animal bones, and finally
tablets with inscriptions in cuneiform characters. So great was
the success that an expedition of excavation was organized each
succeeding year, under the direction of the French archaeologist

Schaeffer; work was broken off in 1939 on account of the war,
but was resumed once more in 1950, and is still continuing.
What has so far been explored is in fact only a relatively small
partof the ancient city.

The texts found Ras Shamra were in several languages:
at
Akkadian, Egyptian, Hurrian, and finally, a hitherto

Hittite,
unknown language. Hence there arose the question ofthe decipher
ing of this language. It might have been supposed that this task
would be as difficult as usual, especially as the script used was
unknown; but in fact the problem was solved in a remarkably
short time. It was at once noticed that though the tablets and the
characters used were Mesopotamian in type, the number of
different characters that could be distinguished in the texts was
quite small, enough to form not an ideographic sign-list, but an

alphabet. Word-division was indicated in the texts, and die words
seemed to be for the most part of three or four letters. This
suggested that the language might be a Semitic one, and such
suppositions as that certain letters were the common Semitic
prepositions, or certain words the names of deities, permitted
hypothetical values to be assigned to certain characters. Filling in
these values and seeking to complete a Semitic text soon led to
the desired result.
Ras Shamra has yielded many hundreds of tablets and frag
ments, and these have revolutionized our knowledge of Canaan-
ite Iiteratiire 3 as
up to that time Canaanite documents had been
extremely scarce. The principal group of texts from Ugarit is that
of the epic and mythological poetry, of whkh the outstanding
103
elements are the of Baal and his sister Anat, of Aqhat,
teles
and of Keret, The state of preservation of the texts is unfortunately

not very good, so that there are many lacunae in their interpreta
tion. Moreover the order of the tablets, and consequently that
of the episodes in the epic cycles, is often uncertain.
Other Ugaritic documents are of administrative, diplomatic
or religious character. Among the texts in languages other than
the juridical and political ones in
Ugaritic are to be noted
Akkadian: in 1953 the archives of the kings of Ugarit were found,
containing their correspondence
with the sovereigns of the
and of other states,
Hittites
These documents must all have been written before the city
was destroyed about 1350 B.C. An approximate dating puts them
between 1500 and 1400 B.C., but of course in many cases those
which we have may be copies or re-editions of more ancient
ones.
The texts leave one with the impression that their content does
not embody an exclusively Ugaritic tradition, but represents a

part of the common
stock of Canaanite culture. There is, however,
a considerable and complex admixture of elements of foreign
origin,from Babylonian to Egyptian, from Hittite to Aegean, and
this reflects the composite and eclectic nature of the
circumstance
culture to which the texts belong. When we add to all this the
many and important points of contact linking the Ugaritic texts

with the Old Testament, it is easy to understand the great interest
arousal by the discoveries, and the extent to which they have
occupied the attention of scholars.
Additional information about the Canaanites is to be derived

from a of indirect sources.
scries
The was indeed until a few decades ago

chief of these, which
almost die only one, is the Old Testament. The Israelites have left
us many records of the vicissitudes, and especially of the beliefs,
of the peoples among whom they lived and with whom they
104
THE CANAANITES
were in continual contact. The hostile attitude of the Israelite
historiographers has not prevented their accounts from being in

many points both full and reliable.
Next we have the information to be gathered from the liter
ature and records of the great empires of Mesopotamia and of
Egypt, which were continually in contact with the Syropalestin-

ian area which lay between them, and often overran it with their
armies. The most important Mesopotamian sources in this respect
are the Mari archives for the first half of the second millennium
before Christ, which give us many data concerning the states and
the rulers both ofMesopotamia and of Upper Syria. For the second
half of the same millenniumwe have the letters found at Tell
Amarna and containing the correspondence between
in Egypt,
the pharaohs Amenophis III and Amenophis IV and Syro-
palestinian princes.
Other important Egyptian sources are the pharaohs* accounts
of their military expeditions in Ask; and even apart from the
strictly historical texts there are others which give us information

about Palestine and Syria, Thus the so-called "execration-texts"
from the beginning of the second millennium before Christ,
written on which were broken for magical purposes,
statuettes
states; and tales of travel and

bear the names of Asiatic rulers and
adventure, such as the well-known story of Sinuhe, contain
interesting impressions of Palestinian and Syrian life
as seen
through die eyes of die more highly civilized Egyptians,

For Phoenicia there is an originally direct source which has
become indirect through its transmission to us at second hand,
namely the annals of Tyre, fragments of whkh are reported by
Havius Josephus. Likewise indircct is the transmission to us of the
Phoenician History of Plrilo of ByWos, a writer who lived about
100 B.C. and wrote in Greek an account of the religious beliefs
of his people. His week has come down to IB only in quotation
in the works of Eusefafas of Caesarea and P<Kphyry. For that
matter Pfailo himself does not daim to be a direct source, since
105
he says he takes his matter from an ancient Phoenician priest
named Sanchuniathon. Doubt used to be cast on this assertion, but
the texts discovered at Ugarit have amply confirmed the reliabil
ity of Philo, whose account is seen to correspond in many points

with the direct evidence which they offer us of Phoenician
religion, and hence the historical existence of Sanchuniathon has
been rendered more probable.
We said earlier that it is in Canaanite sources that the alphabet

makes appearance; this invention is beyond doubt the
its first
greatest contribution which the ancient Syropalestinian peoples

have made to civilization.
The invention of the alphabet is the last

stage of a long process
of evolution, beginning with what does not yet merit the name
of writing, namely the use of objects in order to represent or
recall to mind certain
persons or things or events or ideas. The
first
writing properly so called is however "pictography",
and
we have already seen how the
Mesopotamian peoples developed
such a system, and took the important further step of evolving
a phonetic system, in which various
signs stand for various
syllables, Egyptian hieroglyphic writing developed in a similar
manner, and went even further by the use of what is called
that is, the restriction of the
"acrophony", phonetic value of
certain signs to the initialconsonant only, thus producing a sort
of alphabetic writing; this however remained a mere subordinate
auxiliary element in a system of writing predominantly picto-
graphic and syllabic, and retaining the complexity and the
ambiguities of such a system.
Our most ancient alphabetic documents come from the
Syropakstmian area. The Sinaitic inscriptions which we have
already mentioned, to which attention was drawn by Flinders
Pctrie at die
begmniiag of this century, seem to be alphabetic.
Ttiey contain signs which show a certain affinity to Egyptian
faieroglypiis, but cannot be interpreted as such. Attempts have
106
THE CANAANITES
therefore been madeto interpret them as alphabetical signs
formed by acrophony in a Semitic language, since it is known that
the mines where the inscriptions were found were worked by
Semitic miners. The mostrecent such attempt is that made in
1948 by Professor Albright, who regards the inscriptions as a

form of Canaanite alphabetic script. It was formerly held that
these inscriptions dated from the beginning of the second millen
nium before Christ, but Albright puts them on archaeological
and historical grounds at around 1500 B.C.
Alphabetic inscriptions have been found also in southern and
central Palestine. The most ancient are those found at Gezer, at
Lachish and at Shechem, which go back to the seventeenth and
sixteenth centuries before Christ, but their interpretation is still
matter of discussion. In Phoenicia the most ancient alphabetic
documents known to us are those of Ugarit, but these as we have
seen are cuneiform in type; the earliest extant alphabetic inscrip
tion of Palestinian type is that on the sarcophagus of Ahiram,
from the end of the second millennium before Christ. The form
of alphabet here used, while directly similar to that of the Palestin
ian inscriptions, also presents points of more remote similarity
to the Sinaitic one.
This completes the picture of the material available for the
solution of die important question of the origin of the alphabet.
An ancient Greek tradition which was widely believed in the
classical world attributes this invention to the Phoenicians. It is
certain that it was the Phoenician form of the alphabet that pre
vailed in the Semitic world, and spread beyond it to give rise
to the Greek and Latin alphabets. It is certain also that the alpha
bet was born in the Syropalestinian area; it is less certain that the
original invention is to be ascribed to the Phoenicians

in particular,
but there are many arguments in favour of such an attribution.
Egyptian use of the principle of acrophony may

have furnished
the inspiration, and the Phoenician ports were the part of Syria
and Palestine in closest contact with Egypt. Moreover the most
107
of the original models on which the letters
likely explanation
were based supposing that they were based on models is that
which derives them from Egyptian hieroglyphs. A cuneiform
origin is
although it is possible tnat more than one
less likely,
source was drawn upon for models, and we have in Ugarit an
alphabet of cuneiform type.
HISTO1Y
In describing the geographical features of the Syropalestinian

coastal region, we mentioned in anticipation its historical
destiny,
determined as it was by the natural conditions. The concentration
within that narrow strip of land of the principal ways of communi
cation between three continents meant that it was fated to be the
scene of a series of migrations and invasions, without
any lasting
possibility of the establishment of strong political organisms.
It was a
testing-ground for the commercial and military ambitions
and of the great powers between which it lay. Migrating
rivalries
peoples poured into it again and again, for it was a region

attractive in itself for its
fertility,
and one open to access on all
sides and offering further
passage in all directions; in addition
to the desert, from which came the Semitic nomads, it was
open
to Egypt, to Mesopotamia, to Asia Minor and to the Mediter
ranean,
Its
history, then, is a thoroughly fragmentary one, formed of
continual ethnic and political changes
bewildering to the observer
and resisting the historian s attempts at systematization. It is for
all that a most
interesting history, if for the fact alone that it gives
the background to that of IsraeL When the Hebrews
conquered
Palestine towards the end of the second millennium before
Christ, they were not die first Semitic people in that field; others
had been theic long before Aon.
We haw DO mfbnnatioii about the first penetration of Semitic

108
THE CANAANITES
peoples into Syria and Palestine. When our historical documenta

tion begins, they seem
to be already present there; at any rate,
the names of rivers, of mountains and of cities are in great
measure Semitic ones.
Politically these most ancient
historical inhabitants were
organized in city-states, built on elevated ground and fortified;

but outside the cities a large part of the
population must have
remained nomadic, moving from place to place and exerting
pressure on the settled centres.
Egyptian sources, confirmed by archaeological data, show us
that Egypt enjoyed from the beginnings of history a position of
political
and economic supremacy over the whole region. This
hegemony was from time to time reinforced by military expedi
tions and the levying of tribute, a fact which at the same time
indicates the unsettled conditions
prevailing.
At the beginning of the second millenniiim before Christ the
Egyptian "execration-texts" of names of Syro-
furnish a series
palestinian states and rulers. The personal names are of the type
proper to the Amorites, the people which at the same period
was occupying Mesopotamia. It is therefore a plausible suggestion
that they existed as a ruling dass over a wide stretch of
country
from Mesopotamia to Palestine. Politically the Amorites also
were organized in little states, and were still satellites of Egypt,
except in the extreme north, where such states as Aleppo, Qatna
and Carcheniish lay within the Mesopotamian sphere of
influence.
Attention may here be drawn to the difference between the
policies followed in Syria and Palestine by the Egyptians and by

the Mesopotamian states. Hie latter, whenever they are able to
do so, endeavour to secure permanent conquests, and do not
hesitate to have recourse for that end even to mass-deportations
of the conquered population. The Egyptians on die other hand
content themselves with imposing tribute od the local princelings,
or, at most, with controlling their activities through Egyptian
109
"residents". Their aims were economic rather than political, and
hence their methods were much less harsh.
Egyptian dominion underwent a check when Egypt itself was

subject to Hyksos rule (about 1670 1570 B.C.). The origin of
the Hyksos is still a disputed question; what is certain is that they
caniefrom the East, and that there was in them a Semitic strain.
Withthe end of the Hyksos interlude Egypt recovered the old
hegemony, save for the presence in the north of a new rival

power: the Hittites, who spread from Anatolia to establish
themselves also in northern Syria. Hittite rule was even milder,
at least in form, than Egyptian: the little local satellite-stateshad
the status of allies, bound by bilateral treaties, and ostensibly
retained their full independence.
For the period which immediately preceded the coming of
Israel, that is, for the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries before
Christ, we have the extensive documentation furnished by the

archives of Tell Amarna and of Ugarit. Egypt was passing
through a period of crisis, and the Syropalestinian states
Jerusalem, Gezer, Shechem, Megiddo, Accho, Tyre, Damascus,
Sidon, By bios, and yet others took advantage of this to increase
their own independence. They were in a more or less permanent
state of war among themselves, and no one of them succeeded
in maintaining a position of predominance. The largest state to

establish itself was that of Amurru, in the north, which owed its
success to the ability with which it

pkyed off against each other
the Egyptians and the Hittites.
This state of affairs was not to last for
long; about 1200 B.C.,
after %7arious preliminary skirmishes, the whole of the Near
Eastwas attacked by invaders from the sea. These "peoples of
the in a series of lightning campaigns destroyed the Hittite
sea"
empire and forced Egypt to abandon Syria and Palestine. A
group of the invaders established itself permanently in Palestine:

the Philistines; whik die withdrawal of the newcomers from
otber parts of tic Syropalestinian area left a political vacuum
no
THE CANAANITES
which was soon filled by the influx of a number of Semitic
peoples. In the south the principal invaders were the Hebrew
tribes, but along with them appeared also the Midianites, the
Edomites, the Moabites, and the Ammonites; and in the north

the Aramaeans became predominant.
So far as we know, the political organization of these new

comers resembled that previously prevailing in the region: small
local states. One of these, however, took
advantage of the weak
ness of its neighbours and of the
great powers to unite under
its own rule the whole region. This was the Hebrew
kingdom :
around 1000 B.C. Syria and Palestine were for the first time in
history united under the rule of a local dynasty.
The Phoenician cities remained however mainly independent,
and the Hebrews followed towards them a policy of friendly
relations. This was due to the
peaceful attitude adopted by those
cities, which were wholly absorbed in commerce and had no
political ambitions. We know that within Phoenicia itself a

certain position of supremacy was enjoyed until about 1000 B.C.
by Sidon, and after that by Tyre. The most characteristic feature

of the commercial activity of the Phoenicians is their foundation
of a series of colonies along the coasts of the Mediterranean.
Phoenician bases appear, at least from 1000 B.C. onwards, in the
Aegean islands in Cilick, in Malta, Sicily, Sardinia, North

and
Africa and Spain. The most important of these colonies was
Carthage, founded from Tyre towards the end of the ninth

century before Christ.
The empire of the Israelite kingdom was but a historical
interlude. Towards the end of the tenth century before Christ
the great powers once more begin to lay hands upon Syria and
Palestine, the Hebrew stair splits up into two, and the various
smaller states resume tfadr independent existence. Political
independence, however, was not to last for long. Assyrian

expansion, from the eighth century onwards, brought about the
in
annexation, one after another, of the Syrian states, and in the

sixth century the Babylonians continued the process in Palestine.
When Babylon fell in 538 to the Persians, the entire region became
a provinceof the Persian empire; and a province it was henceforth
to remain, of one empire after another.
RELIGION
The of the Canaanites was determined by their

civilization
history. The continual

passage and interaction of so many peoples
brought about a mixed form of culture, made up of many
heterogeneous elements. Semitic influence is
predominant, thanks
to the contribution on the one hand of the Semitic peoples of
Syria and Palestine, and on the other, of the Babylonians and
Assyrians, whose continual drive to the Mediterranean and
towards Egypt brought to Canaan the most typical elements of
their civilization.
Theother principal influence in Canaanite culture is that of
Egypt, which exerted a corresponding pressure in the opposite

direction. Relations between
Egypt and Canaan, both in the
political
and in the commercial sphere, were close, constant and
extensive, and could not but leave their mark upon Canaanite
art, religion and literature. Finally, the non-Semitic peoples who
poured into Syria and Palestine from Asia Minor and from the
sea brought their own contribution to Canaanite civilization,
sometimes, as at Ugarit, bringing about the rise of truly cos
mopolitan centres.
Nevertheless, Canaanite social and cultural conditions remained
dbser to those of the ancient Semitic nomadism than did those of
the Babylonians and Assyrians. This was inevitable, for whereas
in Mesopotamia die Semites, far from their own bases, inserted
themselves into a long and solidly established and cultural
political
environment with its own
individual and uniform character,
founded on quite different todkiotis from their own, in Canaan
112
THE CANAAHITES
on the other hand the nomads arriving from the desert were
subjected to no such influence from the new environment, and
were able to retain more of their own individuality and old
traditions. The conditions of their new home, and die manner of
their entry into did not indeed favour complete passage to

it,
settled forms of life, or peaceful assimilation to pre-existing
conditions.
On the whole, therefore, Canaanite civilization, less uniform
and less
original in character than that of Mesopotamia, may be
said to be in many points more properly Semitic,
The first
thing that strikes one about Canaanite religion is
that it ison a much lower cultural pkne than that of Mesopotamia;

this fact stands out most clearly in the crudity of some of its rites,
and the crudity of the emphasis on sexual elements.

Notable also is the indefinite and fluid character of its pantheon.
Canaanite deities not infrequently exchange their attribute and
functions and relationships and even their sex, so that it is at
times difficult to identify their exact nature and rektionship to

one another. This circumstance is due in part to the lack of unity
among the Canaanites, and in part to the absence of a sufficiently
organized priestly class, capable of systematizing religion, as
it
did in Mesopotamia.
Each city had its own special deities,
but these had mostly a
place in the general pandieon,

and were representative of some
function or aspect of the common stock of divinities. This is best
exemplified in the Ugarit tects, with their mention

of divine
connected with
personages and events not always directly
that
city s own worship.

The supreme god of the Canaauices was EL This name is not
of itself a proper name, but a Semitic common noun meaning
"god". Many peoples used it also, however, as a proper name for
the "god" par excellence* the supreme god. Like the Babylonian
Anu, the CmaaBiije El remains a fairly remote and obscure figure;

he dwells far from Canaan, "at the source of the two rivers".
His appearances in mythology are less frequent than those of

certain other deities. His spouse is the goddess Asherah, who is
mentioned also in the Bible.
The most outstanding member of die Canaanite pantheon is
Baal, who forms the central figure of another divine group.
also is in its origin a common noun, meaning "master",
"Baal"
and so can be applied to various gods. The par excellence, "Baal"
however, was the god of the storm and the lightning, of rain and
the hurricane, corresponding to the Adad of the Babylonians and
Aramaeans.
Other Canaanite divine names are derived from the noun
mekk, "king". Among the Ammonites this name appears as that
of their national god, in the form Milkom. The god of Tyre takes
his name from the same word: Melqart, that is, "king
of the city".
Baal the masculine element of the group of divinities of the
is
vegetation-cycle, which we find also in other Semitic religious

traditions. Associated with him in group are two fertility-
this
goddesses, Anat and Astarte. This latter, mentioned in the Bible

as Ashtoreth, or, in the plural, Ashtaroth, is a variant of the
Mesopotamian Ishtar, and reproduces to a large extent her
characteristics. Both of these
goddesses unite, in spite of their
apparent incompatibility, the attributes of virginity and mother
hood. The forms under which they are represented lay stress on
and symbolism. Anat and Astarte are at the same
sexual features
time the goddesses of war: they are frequendy represented in
literature and in art as savage and bloodthirsty, delighting in
carnage.
The fertility-group is
completed by the young god who dies
and rises does vegetation. This god was worshipped at
again as
Byblos under the name Adonis, which is derived from a Semitic
word meaning "lord"; and he had the same characteristics as the
Babylonian Tammuz.
Among the various natural forces to which divinity was
114
THE CANAANITES
ascribed in Canaan, the sun and the moon have a remarkably
limited place. This is partly to be accounted for by the attribu
tion of solar and lunar characteristics to other deities, but it is
certain that the sun and the moon become progressively less
important among the Semitic peoples.
Finally, the Canaanites worshipped many divinities taken over

from the Egyptians or from the Babylonians; here the composite
and eclectic character of their civilization is clearly to be seen.
Later identifications and assimilations were to take place between
Canaanite and Greek deities.
The religious life of the Canaanites can at present be recon

structed only in a partial and fragmentary fashion. have a We
certain amount of direct information in short and partly illegible
Ugaritic documents, but our most extensive source is still the

of the Old Testament.
indirect evidence
The priesthood seems to have attained a fairly considerable
development, but not, of course, on a scale of organization
comparable to that of the Mesopotamian priesthood. There is
mention of high-priests, of sanctuary-guardians, of wailing-
women, of sacred prostitutes. Diviners were plentiful enough, and
Ugaritic texts bear witness to a number of divination-rites.
Finally, we have a
special category
in theform of the prophets;
we lack the necessary data for a full understanding of their place
and function but they represent a feature of
in Canaanite religion,
that religion which has a very interesting counterpart among the
Israelites.
Canaanite places of worship were not exclusively, or even
principally, in the form of temples; as was to be expected in a

more natural and primitive form of religion, outdoor sanctuaries
were common, situated near trees or springs or especially on
hills, the of which the Bible speaks. The outdoor
"high places"
sanctuary consisted of an enclosure with an altar and, most
115
important, one or more sacred stones, in which the divinity was

believed to reside.
In Canaanite sacrifice, along with the usual offerings of animals,
human victims are also attested. They were offered, for example,
on the occasion of great public calamities, as man s supreme gift
to the gods. It is not certain however, though it has often been
asserted, that the Canaanites sacrificed children in connection with
the erection of buildings; cogent proof of such "foundation-
sacrifices" is
lacking inasmuch as none of the skeletons found
shows any trace of violent death.
Another practice on the same low religious level was that of
ritual prostitution. This practice formed part of the fertility-cult
which we have already mentioned in connection with the Canaan

itegods. It fell into disuse at a later period, thanks to the evolu
tion of Canaanite religion.
The cult of the dead is witnessed to over the whole area by the
gifts placed in tombs. This points to a belief in survival after death,

but we have no means of determining the exact nature of this
belief.
LITERATURE
For us Canaanite literature is mainly restricted to the

poems
found at Ugarit. As has already been said, there remain many
obscurities in their interpretation, and the order in which the
tablets are to be taken is not always clear. For the rest, we have
some Phoenician traditions whkh have come down to us in

sourcesof late date but none the less of considerable value.
s
Both for its length and for the importance of its subject the
most outstanding of the Ugaritic poems is the epic cycle of the
god Baal and die goddess Anat This begins with die tale of the
straggle between Baal and the sea-god Yam, ending with the
victory of Baal, and then goes cm to relate the building of a
palace foe Baal, and the solemn festivities with which its inaugur
ation was celebrated. The central feature of the cycle is the slaying
116
THE CANAANITES
of Baal, who is brought down to the kingdom of the dead. The
ruler of this kingdom is the god Mot; and it is probable that his
name means in fact "Death**. The disappearance of Baal brings
life on earth to a standstill; then the warrior-goddess Anat seeks
out Mot and slays him:
Anat draws near to him.

"Maiden
As the heart of a cow toward her calf,

As the heart of a ewe toward her lamb,
So is the heart of Anat for Baal.
She seizes the god Mot;
With sword she cleaves him,
With fan she winnows him,
With fire she burns him,
With mill she grinds him,
In fields she sows him.
Birds eat the pieces of him,
Devour the bits of him.**1
So Baal returns upon earth, and with him fertility and plenty.
The myth has no great unity of theme, but is rather a series of
episodes connected by the identity
of their protagonists. It
seems most likely that the story is based for the most part on the
cycle of the seasons. Baal is the god of rain and of fertility, who
rules uponearth from September to May; Mot is the god of
aridity and death, who supplants Baal in summer, only to be

driven out once more with the coming of autumn.
Another myth of the gods is the poem of the Dawn and the
Sunset. The first of this sets forth the ritual and the hymns
part
accompanying a ceremony in connection with the
religious
the birth of two deities, whose father
vintage; the second relates
is El, and whose names are Dawn and Sunset. The scholar to
whom we are indebted for the interpretation of this

especially
1
Text 49, S, 2737 (ed. Gonkm),
117
poem, Professor Caster, has pointed out that it is in the form of a

*
libretto** for a seasonal ceremony in dramatic form; and he
goes on to maintain that a great part of the mythological poetry

both of Ugarit and of the ancient Near East in general originated
in this manner, although subsequent redaction may have given it
a different form.
The Canaanite creation-myth has come down to us only in
the late form which it is reported by Philo of Byblos. In the
in
beginning, he telk us, was a violent and turbulent wind, and black
chaos, from all ages. Then the wind and the chaos united to
produce a watery mass which took the shape of an egg. The egg
split
in two and so there appeared heaven and earth, stars and
animals. This story has several points of similarity with the
Babylonian and the Biblical accounts of creation.
Of the hero-myths die most outstanding is the Ugaritic Aqhat

poem. An ancient king, Daniel, has no son. At last the gods give
him a son, Aqhat. The goddess Anat offers Aqhat immortality in
exchange for his hunting-bow:
**Ask for Aqhat the hero,

life,
Ask for life and I will give it to thee,

For deathlessness and I will grant it to thee.
I will make thee count
years with Baal,
With the son of El shalt thou count months.
When Baal gives life, he gives a feast,
Gives a feast for his chosen one and bids him drink,
Makes music and song for him,
Sings a sweet strain;
So will I give life to Aqhat the hero."
1
But Aqhat answers that he cannot become immortal: here we

have the ancient dieme of die denial to man of
everlasting life.
1
2 Aqlat VI, 2633.
118
THE CANAANITES
So Anat docs not get the bow, and seeks to avenge herself on
Aqhat through her minister Yatpan, who kills the youth. Daniel
learns of his death through a series of evil omens, and gives him
self up tomourning. Aqhat s sister Paghat sets out to avenge him;
it likely, though the fragmentary state of the text leaves it
seems
uncertain, that she slays Yatpan and that Aqhat comes back to life.
A historical basis is
probably to be found in another epic, that
of Keret. Keret is a king who has lost all his family ; the god El
appears to him in a dream and bids him conduct a campaign in

the land of Udum; he is to conquer its
king and marry his daugh
ter, who will give him new progeny. The poem describes the
carrying-out of this enterprise. Keret conquers Udum, and when

the vanquished king s envoys come to him offering rich presents,
he refuses all else and asks for the princess in marriage:
"Give me the maiden Hurriya,

The fine-mannered, the first-born,
Whose grace is as the grace of Anat,
Whose beauty is as that of Astarte;
Whose pupils are gems of lapis,
Whose eyes are alabaster cups.
El hath granted me hex in a dream,
The father of men in a vision,
That a scion be born to Kcret,
A child to the servant of 1 EL"
The princess becomes Kcret s wife and the prophecy is fulfilled.

The end of the legend is obscure Keret fells sick, but seems to be
:
saved by an exorcism.
The poem which we have just described brings us to one of the
most interesting of the questions which recent discoveries have
raised for orientalists. The theme of a warlike expedition under
taken for the winning or winning tack of a fair bride undoubtedly
119
recaHs that of the Iliad; and a number of the characters and situ
ationsand expressions of Ugaritic literature suggest contacts with

ancient Greek mythology. The question of the relationship
between the two literatures is hardly to be answered by making
either of them dependent upon the other. What is more likely is
that a set of mythological themes spread over the whole Eastern
Mediterranean area and influenced the literature of the Near East
and of Greece. It is possible that the link between the two regions
was the island of Crete; in the case of Keret this may account for
the hero s name.
Research into Mediterranean literary stock is still
this ancient
in its initial stages, and many points remain hypothetical and

dubious. There does however seem to be a sound foundation for
the view which has just been put forward, especially when the
area of investigation is extended to include other similar liter
atures, Egyptian and Anatolian. It has been pointed out that the
theme of the wandering hero, that of the Odyssey, is to be found
at an earlier period in Egyptian literature, and that such Greek
myths as Hesiod s theogony, or the story of Atlante, are strikingly

paralleled in Hittite literature. Finally, the connections between
the art of the Near East, of Crete, and of ancient Greece are
becoming more and more clear.

It
may safely be assumed that these studies will make great
progress in the near future, and will show that Greek civilization
is
organically connected with the literary, religious and historical
background which preceded it and was its neighbour; and it may
be predicted that one of the results of research will be the close
linking-up of ancient Near Eastern and classical culture, and that
Canaanite civilization will be of the utmost importance in that
research.
AIT
Syria mA Palestine are far poorer Aan Mesopotamia in artistic

IB
Mesopotamia the growth of stable and prosperous
120
THE CANAANITES
empires allowed the development of a flourishing and individual

uniform artistic tradition, whereas in Syria and Palestine political
division and unrest hampered such a development, and such
as could be made was
progress repeatedly arrested and undone,
and its works destroyed, by the successive waves of invasion and
devastation, while at the same time the new elements brought by
these invasions gave to the artistic developments a composite and
heterogeneous character, in which Mesopotamia n, Egyptian, Hit-

rite and Aegean influences alternate or are mingled with one
another.
Art in Syria and Palestine is thus characterized by its
poverty
and by its combinations of alien elements. This was historically
inevitable; not only was no durable and united political
force
able to establish itself in this region, but a large part of it, especially
Phoenicia, was not even interested in the establishment of such a
force or, consequently, in that of a stable cultural unity; for it was
absorbed in commercial ambitions.
There was indeed one branch of architecture which was

especially favoured by the historical conditions of Canaan, namely
of cities against the attacks
fortress-construction, for the defence
of the nomads round about them. These constructions had not
however any great artistic value; the fortifications which have
been found consisted amply of several layers of large rough
stone blocks.
Little has remained of Canaanite civil architecture; but the
excavations at Ugarit and at Alalakh have furnished examples of
royal palaces. These weir built oti the same plan

as the JMeso-
potamian ones, that is, in die form of one or more courtyards

surrounded by rooms; but they are on a much smaller scale.
Religious buildings, as we have already seen, were often mere
enclosures in the open air, wilt an altar and one or more sacred
stones, The larger cities, however, had also roofed temples, whose
structure, so far as we are abk to judge, was closer to the
121
Mesopotamia!!, model than to that of the other peoples round

about,
Canaanite sculpture is
lacking in statuary of any considerable
size; few specimens of statues which have come down to us,
the
as for example that of Idrimi recently discovered at Alalakh, are
of strikingly crude workmanship. On the other hand, statuettes

abound, the predominant type being the nude female figure, with
the sexual features deliberately exaggerated, and often with the
hands to die breasts; these statuettes represent the fertility-
goddess, whose importance we have already seen in dealing with

Canaanite religion.
As elsewhere in the ancient Near East, so too in Canaan sculp
ture in relief was a comparatively flourishing art. There are en
graved such as the well-known one of the god Baal at

striae,
Ugarit, or one recently discovered in the Israeli excavations at

Hazor, which is interesting from the religious point of view in
that it bears a design showing two arms raised in prayer, below a
solar symbol within a crescent. The greater part of Canaanite
set
relief-work however in the form of decoration on small

is
objects. Here our most important material is that from Ugarit; for
example, the magnificent dish of embossed gold, bearing a

hunting-scene, or the gold cup with engraved bulls, lions and
fantastic animals, or the ivory relief of the "goddess of the wild
beasts* All these works exhibit to a marked degree the composite

.
nature of Canaanite art in general; for it was here that the fusion
of the most diverse influences reached its culmination.
The Phoenicians have left us a large number of stone sarcophagi
with a human head modelled on
the upper surface. Many such
sarcophagi have been found at Sidon.

A few specimens of painting have been found in Phoenician
underground burial-chambers, whose walls were decorated in
vivid colours, mainly red and green, with designs of flower-
gariands and birds, and occasionally also men and animals.

last century Renan saw many soch tombs in Syria, but the natives
122
THE CANAAHITES
have since destroyed almost all of them, leaving us only scattered
traces.
The Canaanites were at their best in the minor arts, where the
craftsman s careful
workmanship often lent a new grace to the
general imitation of foreign models, and freer rein was given to
the artist s
imagination.
The widespread use of seals led naturally to a great develop
ment of the art of making them; and the same is true ofjewellery
and other ornamental objects, of which there have been found
specimens of high artistic value and almost modern appearance.
On gold medallions, bracelets and rings we find the favourite
designs of palms, heads of lions, wild goats, and birds. Other
types of ornament highly valued and much sought after were
necklaces, pearls and earrings.
In more recent times the Phoenicians began to coin money.
Trade had previously been carried on by means of barter, and it is
believed that the practice of cutting ingots of fixed weight and
stamping images on than was introduced by Croesus king of

Lydia, On the coins of the Phoenician cities, for which Greek
ones served as models, we find the symbols of their gods and
maritime symbols, as well as animal figures.
Perhaps the most important Phoenician minor art was that of

an Egyptian
glass-working. It seems probable that this was
invention, but the diffusion of various kinds of glass and all
manner of was due to the Phoenician traders; the
glass objects
ready market which they found for such goods led to the develop
ment of their manufacture into one of the principal industries
and resources of Phoenicia. Phoenician glassware shows very
careful craftsmanship and a great variety and vividness o
and colouring.
123
CHAPTER SIX
THE HEBREWS
wehave already seen, die invasion of the peoples of the
AS seaand the accompanying decline of the great powers in the
second half of the second miUennium before Christ gave rise to a
relaxation of foreign pressure on the Syropalestinian area, and
consequently to the establishment there of stronger and more

independent local states than had previously been possible. These
states were founded by Semitic peoples who had been present in
die area for some rime, but who were able to assert themselves
only thanks to the favourable circumstances just alluded to. Of

these peoples the most important were the Hebrews in Palestine
and the Aramaeans in Syria. Naturally, the historical situation
which had favoured their self-assertion went on influencing their
vicissitudes and their decline, which followed inevitably upon the
recovery of die great powers.
The Hebrews and of the Aramaeans is thus from
history of the
a political pointof view an interlude of but modest importance,
compared with the history of the great empires of the ancient
Near East, and is indeed comparable rather with that of the other
Semitic peoples of the same region. The Hebrews and the
Aramaeans, however, have other claims to importance. Of the
Aramaeans we will speak later; we are here concerned with the
singular history of the Hebrew people.
The Hebrews have survived as a nation down to the present
day. This survival was not ensured by political power; its came
most be sought, if aaywfaerc, in Hebrew religion, in the tenacious
conservation of die ancient fistt^ which is at die same time the
mark of a people apart, since is it founded on the of
conception
124
THE HEBREWS
a pact between God and the people of Israel The conservation
of the faith was furthered by that conception, for, seen in its
light,
the historical misfortunes of the chosen people are but
passing manifestations of divine disfavour, merited by the people s

sins, and continued faithfulness will bring, in God s good rime, a
restoration to favour.
So it was that the ancient Hebrew prophets interpreted the
vicissitudes of their people, and it was certainly this philosophy of
history that gave to the Hebrew peopled attachment to their
religious and national traditions its unique tenacity. Moreover
their religion had in itself a unique vitality, which is witnessed to,
apart from its survival in Judaism, by its extension, into Christian
ity and Islam and its conquest, in those forms, of so many millions
of mankind. In Christianity and Islam however it passed beyond
of being a nationalreligion to become
the stage a universal one,
while Judaism has retained the specific character of a national
religion, and conserved the national consciousness of its faithful,

to such an extent indeed, that in our own day, after so loiig an
eclipse,
it has even been possible to re-establish Israel as a political
power.
mSTOEY
Our chief source for the history of the Hebrew people is the
Bible, the collection of sacred writings setting forth and inter
the extent and the nature of the
preting that history. Though
information giveai by the Bible is not uniform throughout, one
may say that on the whole Hebrew history is amply documented.

POT many centuries, until quite recent times, little or nothing,
apart from what the Bible tells us, was known
of ancient Near
Eastern dvilization in general, whereas Hebrew history was
widely known and formed part of die religious education and

culture of the European world.
On the other hand, various problems connected with the
sources and the time and manner of composition of the books of
125
the Bible, and especially of the first five books, the Pentateuch, to
which we will return later, make the reconstruction of Hebrew
history, at least for its early stages, a controversial question.
The account which the Pentateuch gives of Hebrew origins is
round three fundamental facts. The first of these is the
grouped
appearance in Lower Mesopotamia of the primitive Hebrew
group: the book of Genesis tells us how Abraham migrated from
Ur going up the Euphrates as far as Haran, and thence coming
f
down into Palestine, and how God promised to him that land.
The second is the
sojourn in Egypt, ending with oppression at the
hands of a pharaoh and the exodus of the Hebrews under the
leadership of Moses. The third is the journey from Egypt to
Palestine, in the course of which the God of the patriarchs
revealed himself to Moses undo: the name Yahweh, renewed the
pact between himself and the seed of Abraham, and promulgated
the Law.
This traditional account of the ancient history of the Hebrews
finds no direct confirmation in extrabiblical sources, but scholars
are now generally agreed that it must have a historical foundation ;
as to the exact nature of the facts involved, opinions still differ.
Tradition has it that Moses died within sight of the Promised

Land, leaving the conquest of that land to his successor Joshua.
The Hebrew penetration of Palestine is related in the form of a
series of campaigns, directed towards the centre, the north and
the south of that region. The mention of Israel on a stele set
up
by the pharaoh Mer-ne-Ptah, and the archaeological evidence
of tfae destruction of cities, though here there arise certain
problems and obscurities, lead to the attribution of these events
to the second half of the thirteenth
century before Christ.
The Hebrew movement of penetration was not necessarily
exclusively one of violent cotHjuest, kit may have been carried
out: in part by a peaceful process of infiltration. The nomadic
assimilated themselves
gradually to their new
126
THE HEBREWS
environment, passing from their old manner of life to a settled
agricultural one. While they occupied certain cities, they estab
lished themselves principally in country regions, which indbded
much hitherto unoccupied territory.
Along with the Canaanites and the non-Semitic groups of
inhabitants, it is probable that the newcomers found already
established in Palestine, in the central zone, other Hebrew groups,
which had not taken part in the Exodus. The fusion between
these Hebrews and the newcomers was complete, and SOCHI no
trace was left of die distinction between them. With the Canaan
ites however there took
place a process of gradual assimilation
which lasted over several centuries; the citadel of Jerusalem, was
captured only in the time of David.
The ancient Hebrew social system was based on the tribe; the
Bible relates the sharing-out among the twelve tribes of the
conquered territory* The tribes in tfatir turn were divided into

clans analogous to Ac Roman gentes.
The Hebrew tribes were grouped around a central sanctuary
situated at Shiloh, a system which has been compared to the
Greek amphictyony, being based on a similar principle of relig
ious centralization. The authority of the High Priest was consider
able, but it would be an exaggeration to speak of a theocracy,
since it was not a political authority. In moments of crisis local
chieftains arose as leaders; these were die Judges, who have given
their name to a period of Hebrew history which may be put as
covering approximately the two centuries whkh followed the
occupation of Palestine, The authority of the Judges was acci

dental and limited, both in extent and in duration; in this respect
it recalls that of the tribal chiefi in the nomadic organization
typical of the more ancient phase

of Semitic life.
The authority of the Judges was ultimately based on divine
favour; in this respect their period has been well called the
charismatic age of Israel The best-known figures of diis era
include Deborah, Ae woman who, along with Barak* led six
127
tribes to victory over the Canaanitcs at Megiddo; Gideon, the
the hero of the struggle
conqueror of the Midianites; and Samson,
against the Philistines.
The conquerors did not have rime to consolidate their initial
victory in Palestine. The Philistine

counter-offensive penetrated
from the coastal region farther and further inland to the very
centre of Israel: Shiloh was destroyed, and the Ark of the Coven
ant was carried off. Meanwhile Midianites, Moabites, Ammonites
and Aramaeans did not cease to harry the outskirts of Israel, and
dissension troubled her from within. By the end of the second
before Christ, Israel presented a picture of almost
complete decadence; from this it

was rescued by a reaction in
the form of a demand for national unity, which gave rise to the
monarchy.
Use period of the monarchy was the crucial one in the history
of Israel The example of the peoples surrounding them, and the
needs of self-defence, brought about the political union of the
Hebrew tribes at a moment when the historical situation was
uniquely favourable to the establishment and expansion of their

kingdom* On the other hand, that kingdom rested on a precarious
foundation, and the policy of centralization and levelling followed
by great kings could not
its
wholly eliminate the disruptive
influences within the state.
Tie strongest of these influences was the rivalry between the
northern and the southern tribes, and this was never overcome,
but itself overcame the state. Only the choice of such a man as
Saul, whobelonged to the smallest and most centrally situated

of the tribes, allowed in the first place, and thai only as a lesser
evil, of die monarchy. Saul s successor David
the establishment
hdd kingdom together by a policy of favouring the northern
the
tribes, he himself belonging to the south. Thus he was able to
hand on to his successor, Solomon, an undivided kingdom, and
k remained miAocfed during Solomon s prosperous reign but at ;
128
I. of
Nabonidus.
II. Lion from

Gate
at Nimrud.
U
r
W i^;W
fl
f
*
!i^;
"
l
H*
^? <
*
III. Stele of Naram-Sin.

1
-*,a ^ V-" ;,
IV. Hunting-scene
from Ashurbanipal s
Palace, (below)
V. "Mona Lisa."
courtesy of
the Direc-
l>y
oratr of Antiquities,
Baghdad).
VI. The Negro and

the Lion.
(by courtesy of the Bri

tish Quarterly : .
* "
*jr :
* -? ..ijS
,rJ :>-"^r"r- f)
4
^;;-
^:i ^f^-r\r\
."-:/>
::
".::
!*!
ft
mv^&*tj
sJ& -$
<P& \rt l
J %?: iJ &&*,
Wf-- -^-y
fc^r -if l.J J4:-^^c^n_/ 34
Ji
Vffl. Statue of IdrimL
\^m^^<^^^m
1
tyv "
IX.. Baal Stele.

X. Golden Dish
iron: Uzaric.
XL "Goddess of the Wild Beasts."

X!L One of the Deaf Sea Scrolls.
XIIL Hebrew Seal.
XIV. Ivor}* Plaque from Samaria.

XVI. The Fortress of Sam al.
XVII. Bronze Same irom Marib.
(By co jrtesv of the American Foundation for oe Smdv ot Man";,
XVIIL S: -:h Arabia B:c:ize He
*, *-,*.-,. fV*.,
*""
*., ^-k"*
XIX,, $:: Aribiar. Relief of Carrel

XX. Safaitic Graffito.
XXI. Relief from Palmyra.

xx:::.
t t
XXIV. Ethiopic Statue.

4
XX. Alabaster Bull from Haulti.
XXVI. Lioness from Gobedra.

THE HEBIEWS
his death the old and the
rivalry reasserted itself split kingdom
into two.
Even apart from this, the nomad
heritage of the Hebrews did
not easily adapt itself to
monarchy, and while the latter was
inevitable if Israel was to take its
place in the Eastern political
sphere, it was continually hampered and tmdcnnined by die
democratic and independent spirit of its subjects. Opposition to
royal authority found a raUying-point in religious authority, and
thus created another dualism within the state, alongside that of the
north and the south, Saul soon came into conflict with the priest
hood, and this was the ultimate cause of his downfall and the
succession of David. David and Solomon, aware of the strength
of the "amphictyoaic" tradition and of the authority of the high
priest, adopted what has always been the policy of kings
and
emperors in such circumstances: they took religion under tbeir
own "protection", attached the High Prkst to their court, and
strove to make the religious organization a department of the
state.
The effect of this policy was likewise that of which history

offers us so
many other examples: the official, hierarchical priest
hood did in fact take on the
aspect of slate functionaries,
and dis
affection was now directed against state and official religion alike.
So there arose a cleavage between the latter and the religious
aspirations of those for whom religion was more than a matter of
set formality. Uneasiness
grew into opporition, and this opposi
tion expressed itself, after of the kingdom, in the
the division
prophets. The
rise of the was a spontaneous mani
prophets
festation of
popular dissatisfaction with the form which kingly
rule had imposed
upon religion, Hie prophets preached fidelity
to the aiKknt conceptions, and were among the first to insist
upon that philosophy ofhistory which we have already mentioned

as belonging fco the essetice of Hebrew religion. In the political
decline which followed the division of the kingdom they saw
the effect of God*s displeasure with his unfaithful people.
129
The historyof the undivided monarchy begins with Saul,
about 1020 B.C. It may be said of Saul that he was
by nature
marked out for success in the conditions of the Judges, and failure
in those of the monarchy; for he was an imposing and impetuous
martial figure with little taste for diplomacy. Hence his sad fate*
With admirable success he united almost all the tribes under his
leadership against the Philistines, and led them to victory, being
rewarded with the kingship; but his inability to control the
factions within his kingdom prevented him from consolidating

either his victories or his authority, and led to his downfall.
Especially fatal to him was his

quarrel with his son-in-law David;
his breach with the latter brought about the alienation of the
powerful priesthood. He went to his death in battle against the

Philistines, who were profiting by the disunion of Israel to
reconquer the region west of the Jordan and reestablish their

hegemony over the Hebrew tribes.
David, who came to the throne about 1000 B.C., restored the
fortunes of Israel. He had begun by the formation of a litde
state in vassalage to the Philistines, and a combination of military
and diplomatic ability had won him independence and established
him as king of Israel in place of the dynasty of Saul. The capture
of Jerusalem and the recovery of the Ark of the Covenant gave
to the regenerated state its
political and religious centre, and a
vigorous and ably conducted policy secured control over Palestine
and the surrounding desert areas and a great part of Syria.
Even David s ability was insufficient to keep the peace within
the state; at one time, indeed, when his son Absalom put himself
at the head of the rebellious, David had to flee for his life
beyond
the Jordan, and fight his way backto his throne. On the whole,
Jiowever, his reign was a period of prosperity and wellbeing,
whkii die Jews of later and sadder times idealized into a golden
age. Political and commercial life reached a high degree of
development, wfafle religion irfaii^ to a great extmt its primitive
simplicity and. purity.
130
THE HEBREWS
David s son Solomon (961 922 B.C.) was very different from
his father. He brought about a radical change in the whole life of
thekingdom, which he reorganized on the model of the absolute
monarchies of the ancient Near East. The pomp and luxury of the
court, the great number of wives and concubines demanded by
considerations of diplomacy and prestige, and fated, as the Bible
to turn away the heart of the king, and the multiplication
puts it,
of represent a system utterly at variance with the
palace-intrigues,
traditionalHebrew ways of life and thought, and one whose
introduction could not but precipitate a crisis.
Solomon reign was marked by great commercial develop
s
ment, ensured by the control over the trade-routes of Syria and

Palestine, and over that to the Red Sea. Among Solomon s
enterprises, many of which were carried out in partnership with

the maritime states of Phoenicia, there is recorded an expedition
to "Ophir", probably situated on the Somali coast. The books of
Kings speak also must have been
of horse and chariot trading; this
practically
a monopoly, since this commerce between Egypt and
Syria was one which naturally used

the land-routes, and these
were entirely in the hands of Israel. The huge royal stables dis
covered at Megiddo confirm the extent of Solomon s interest
in horse-breeding.
Another archaeological discovery throws light on Israel s
Dr. Gloeck has found at Ezion-geber, on the coast
industrial life:
of the Red Sea, copper mines and refineries, whose construction
shows a remarkably advanced state of knowledge and technique.
There was inevitably another side to this prosperity. The great
increase in the size and grandeur of the court, in the extent and
complexity of the functions

of the state, and in the number
and magnitude of the public works undertaken by Solomon
forced him to establish a system of taxation which laid upon his
people a burden which

would have been heavy by any standards,
and which weighed all the heavier and was all the more resented,
in that taxation of any kind had not entered until recently into
131
their way of life and thought. So heavy was it, indeed, that in
spite of all the
prosperity the country was heading for an economic
crisis, and the economic factor was to play a leading part in die
crisis which in fact followed the death of Solomon.

political
The most celebrated of Solomon s public enterprises was the
erection of the great temple at Jerusalem. In this grandiose project
were embodied Phoenician and other Canaanite artistic influences,
and also Egyptian and Mesopotamia!* ones. Hebrew religion
itself had not remained exempt from similar influences: tradition
reproaches Solomon with the introduction of alien forms of

worship; we do not know whether this was more than a diplo
matic expedient, but whatever advantages it
may have offered
from the point of view of foreign policy, it was a step which
imperilled the national homogeneity of the Hebrew people.
Hebrew political ascendancy came to an end with the death of

Solomon. The old rivalry between the tribes of the north and
those of the south broke out in violent form in the revolt of
Jeroboam, which led to the splitting of the kingdom into two.

The northern kingdom, Israel, was by and the
far the larger
stronger in military force; but the southern kingdom was less

exposed, and had for its capital Jerusalem, the religious centre.
The division of the kingdom was accompanied by religious
decadence. To counteract the influence of Jerusalem, Jeroboam
restored in the north the ancient sanctuaries of Bethel and Dan; in
the south, the kings ofJudah remained faithful to the temple, but
tolerated the worship of strange gods that had come in under
Solomon; and both kingdoms were to see the introduction of

pagan worship and practices.
These conditions were responsible for the rise of the prophets.
The institc&ioii of prophecy is characterized by hostility to the
political and religious evolution which had taken place under the
monajnchy and had iiesultsed in the contamination and corruption

of the primitive retigkni of YahwdL The prophets inveighed
132
THE HEBfiJBWS
against idolatrous innovations, and were so brought into open

opposition to royal authority. It has been acutely observed that
prophecy is the expression of the revival of die spirit of freedom
inherited from nomadic conditions, and seeing in the monarchy
an uncongenial innovation, an importation from the hostile
outside world.
Hebrew political history leading up to the exile is set, as it
were, to an obbligato accompaniment of prophecy, for die
prophets follow all its vicissitudes and bear constant witness
against the policy of die rulers. While preaching purity and
lowliness of heart, uprightness of conduct, and fidelity to the
covenant entered into with God, they interpreted existing and
foretold coming misfortunes of the state as brought upon it by
the infidelity of its people, led astray by their rulers.
The first great prophets arose in die kingdom of Israel in the
ninth century: Elijah and FJkha To them was due the reaction
T
against the paganism of Ahab, and die abolition of Phoenician

forms of worship under Jehu, This reform however did not have
lasting results; the old abuses soon made their reappearance, and
archaeology gives proof of the frequency of sacred trees of
Canaanite type, of altars of incense, of goddess-statuettes and of
amulets. A new series of prophets arose in the middk of the eighdi
century: Amos, Hosea and Mkah. Elijah and Elisha had pro
phesied by action radier than speech, and have left us
no pro
phetic writings, but these new prophets
have been called
"rhapsodic" ones,
because diey admonished and exhorted the
people by their preaching, which has come down to us in die
biblical books which bear their names.
The of the kingdom of Israel, centred around its capital,

life
Samaria, had been flourishing and prosperous during the reign of

Ahab; but already Jehu was forced to humble himself before the
Assyrian king Shalmaneser HI; and the Aramaeans
of Damascus
reduced the effective kingdom of his successor Jehoahaz to litde
more rfran fafe
capital city.
Under Jeroboam EL Israel saw its last
133
period of splendour, and then followed the final decline. The

A^yrian empire was expanding victoriously towards its acme,
and while with varying fortune, the kingdom
after resisting for a
of Israel finally succumbed with Sargon s capture of Samaria in

722 B.C.
The history ofJudah, like that of Israel, was dominated by the
rivalry between Egypt and the Mesopotamian states. After a brief
period of splendour under Uzziah, the kingdom became tribut
ary to Assyria under Hezekiah, in spite ofJerusalem s deliverance
from the besieging forces of Sennacherib about 701 B.C. The
persecution of the prophets was at its fiercest under Manasseh,
who sought to ingratiate himself with the Assyrians by the intro
duction of many alien and idolatrous practices. A reaction fol
lowed shortly afterwards under Josiah, who carried out a thorough
religious reform, with a return to rigid monotheism and the
fixing of religious ceremonial. Soon however Judah, caught
between Egypt and the rising power of Babylon, was added to
the empire of Nebuchadnezzar. Jerusalem twice rebelled, and
on was taken and ruthlessly
the second occasion, in 586 B.C.,
destroyed, and the cream of the population was deported to

Babylonia. This was the beginning of the Exile.
Two prophetic figures stand out against the stormy back
ground of the history of the kingdom of Judah: those of Isaiah,
at the time of the fall of Israel, and of
Jeremiah, when in its turn
Jerusalem fell. The ruin foretold by Isaiah came to pass under
Jeremiah. Both of these prophets extend their denunciation to
other nations and to mankind in general, so foreshadowing the
insistence which was to be brought above all
by the Exile on the
conception of the universal rule of YahweL The profound
pessimism.,
and gloomy resignation of Jeremiah are the last ex-
of Hebnrw throiight cm the eve of the Exile:
saidi the Lord, Behold I will lay stumbling-blocks

this
people: and the fatten and the sons together shall
134
THE HEBSEWS
stumble against them; the neighbour and his friend sfraH
perish.
Thus saith the Lord, Behold a people cometh from the north
country; and a great nation shall be stirred up from the uttermost
of the earth. They shall lay hold on bow and
parts spear; they are
cruel, and have no mercy their voice roareth like dhe sea, and
;
they
ride upon horses; every one set in array, as a man to the battle,
against thee, O daughter of Zion. We have heard the fame thereof;

our hands wax hold of us, and pangs
feeble: anguish hath taken
as woman in travail. Go not forth into the field, nor walk by
of a
the way; for there is the sword of the
enemy, and terror on every
O daughter of my people, gird thyself with sackcloth, and
side.
wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son,

most bitter lamentation; for the spoiler shall suddenly come
1
upon us."
In their political humiliation, the exiles turned for comfort to

their religion, and there took
place a profound spiritual renas
cence. The hope of better things to
expressed itself in thecome
development of the already existing Messianic conception.
This new phase of Hebrew religion finds expression in the
visions of Ezekiel, the prophet of the Exile. "Official"
religion,
and hence the unease and conflict it
provoked, had vanished
along with the state, and now prophetic tradition joins priestly
authority in an intense activity of working out a restatement of
the ancient tradition. Monotheistic universalism, freed from the
trammels of political particularism, is united with the hope of a
renewal of religious life centred around a rebuilt
temple.
A great prophet to whom critics have given the name "Second
Isaiah"
(Deutero-Isaias) because his prophecies have been joined
to those of Isaiah, puts forward, along with
pure moral mono
theism, the concept of suffering as a God-given means of puri
fication.Here, as in the book of Job, Israel attains to that con
ception of catharsis which marks the end of her ancient history.
1
Jeremiah 6, 21 26 (tbe text of tbe scriptural extracts is thrt of the English Revised
fa 538 B.C. Babylon was conquered by the Persians, and Cyrus
allowed the Jews to return from Adi exile and rebuild the temple.
Henceforth, however, except for the brief Maccabean interlude
and die nominal mfc of the Herods, Palestine is not merely under
the hegemony, but under the direct rale of foreign powers; and
with the hettenistk: and Roman periods it
passes outride the
limits of strictly Semitic history.
1BLIGION
The survivalof Hebrew religion throughout the ages lends an

especial interest
and importance to its study; and although the
period with which we are here concerned is but a part of the
historical life of Judaism, the fact remains that it is its essentially
constitutive period, after which the work of future gener

ations has been one of preservation rather than development
in the rdigkHB as well as in the historical field, the earliest
phase here provides matter for controversy. The problem is one

of perspective, that
is to
say, of the assignment to their places, in
the process of development of Hebrew religion, of the various
descents that go to make up that religion. The Hebrew religious
systnn may be said to be essentially complete, especially as re
gards ritual, before the foundation of the monarchy. turning- A

point in the history of its formation is the entry of the Hebrews
into Palestine, with the consequent transition for all that not a
dcarcut or complete CHIC from nomadic pastoral life to settled
life.
agricultural
The ancient rdttgiom heritage sets out from the belief of the
pcopk inone God of their own, Yahweh, who promulgated his
Haw through Moses. The meaning of the name Yahweh is uncer
tain; in the celebrated passage in Exodus (3, 14} some explain it as
Tbe who n\ and others as **he who makes to that be",
*, and there are still cA^m

136
THE HEBREWS
God is invisible to men, except in pajliailar conditions and under
especial forms,
and be must not be represented under any form;
as the God of a nomad people, he has no fixed abode, but can be
everywhere; he has neither family, nor sex; he is holy and just;
he has made a special covenant with Israel, and made it his chosen
people.
Without temple and without altar, the God of Israel appears
amid the clouds and manifests his might in the lightning and the
storm. He leads his people in their wanderings, resting on the
Ark of the Covenant, a coffer plated with gold and surmounted
by the figures of two "cherubim", which the peopk
carried
about with them. When at rest, the Ark was kept in a tent the
"tabernacle" and not until the time of Solomon was a temple
substituted for this tent.
A nomad people cannot keep up a constant and regular ritual,
but celebrates the great events of pastoral life. The springtime
offering of lambs perhaps the most ancient of these ceremonies,
is
and is linked up by tradition with the Hebrews* exodus from
Egypt, and so becomes the Passover; with it is joined the use of

unleavened bread, also associated by tradition with the flight from
Egypt Other feasts bdbng rather to an agricultural setting:
sh&bkifath, "Weeks", that is, seven weeks after Easter, a feast
later called in Greek pemeko&e, "fiftieth", that is, the fiftieth day
after Easter a harvest-feast; mkk&k "Tents"
f *Tabernades")
a vintage^feast, Very ancient in origin is Ac we of fasting; the
most solemn last was that of Ac Atonement (feppfir) on tihe tenth
day of the year.
One day of each week, the Sabbath, was celebrated as a day of
rest, and analogously for one year out erf seven the
earth must Ik
fallow; that was called

year the Sabbatical year, and nothing
might be sown or reaped in iL Seven cycles of seven years brought

the Jubilee year, on which all land must iturn to its original
possessors.
was an andeat: Hebfrw usage; it was likewise
13?
practical, however, by other neighbouring peoples, and it is
not certain that it was of Semitic origin.
Priestly functions were carried out by the Levites, who prob

ably formed a tribe, towhich new members, not belonging to
it
by might be aggregated, from the earliest times a certain
birth,
authority was possessed by the seers, professional diviners; at

a later time this institution was to have a considerable influence in
of Ac prophets.
the rise
The establishment of the Hebrew tribes in Palestine was
followed by the adoption of various elements drawn from Can-
aanite civilization. Tlte book of Judges explicitly condemns de
parture from the Law of Moses (2, II 13). At the same time,
however, contact with other peoples brought about, by contrast,
a consolidation of the people s fidelity to Yahweh, as their own
national God; and the events of the period of die Judges were seen
as die struggle between Yahweh and the gods of the Canaanites.
With Saul and David, the monarchy saw a noteworthy con

solidation of die
religion of Yahweh. The transference of the Ark
of dr Covenant to Jerusalem marked a centralization of the
national religion in the national capital. Under David die ideals of
the
priesthood coincided with those of the king, and for a while,
thanks to this harmony, Israel knew religious peace and pros
perity. Solomon s
policy, however, put an end to this alliance;
though he may seem to have rendered to Yahweh the highest
possible homage in building the temple, his acceptance of alien
forms of worship inevitably created a conflict between political
and religious loyalty, and led to political and religious crisis.
The period of the two kingdoms saw the results of this double
aim in the decline of political power, along with the rise of a new
religions force, that of the propliets. The prophetic movement
came to check and reverse the process of assimilation to Canaan-
religioii which had been gradually taking place, to recall the
ite
feidbfol to the ancient traditions, and so to ensure the continuity
138
THE HEBREWS
of the religion of Yahweh, and establish it solidly, against the
day when it was to become die only force which prevented the
complete dissolution of the Hebrew people, who without it
would have disappeared for ever.
We have already spoken of the political role of the prophets; it
remains here to speak of their religious role. The Hebrew name
for "prophet" was nabhi; this word has been the object of much
discussion, but the most exact interpretation of it would seem to
be "one who is called"; called, that is, by God. The prophet is
chosen and inspired by God to be the bearer ofhis message to men,
and is wholly dedicated to God hence the prophet was often
referred to as "the man of God".
The prophetic vocation was thus founded on a charisma, on the
grace of God. It came to the prophet, according to the biblical
account, spontaneously, often contrary to expectation and desire.
It is therefore a
compul&ve phenomenon. It does not follow,
however, from this alone that it is to be contrasted with the
priesthood: Professors Johnson and Haldar have brought out the
fact that the prophets were often united in associations and formed
part of the personnel of the sanctuary.

He who had received the prophetic vocation went into market
place, temple or palace, and preached what he
was moved to
preach, whether his hearer was the man in the street, the priest or
the king. The themes of his preaching followed two main lines:
on the one hand he insisted on pure monotheism, rejecting all
manner of concession or compromise with alien or idolatrous
worship; on the other, he inculcated moral righteousness,
inveighing against that licentiousness which was itself ultimately
but an outcome of religious laxity. Whether be preached on
purity of worship or of conduct, he did not lail to drive home his

lesson by foretelling the retribution that would follow if his words
were not heeded: this leitmotiv summed up the prophets* out
look on the course of history.
That purity and holiness of life which the prophet inculcated
139
upon others he sought to realize in himself. Not infrequently

desert to live as hermits, or in other
prophets retired into the
manners led MTCS of ascetical austerity. All their thought was
after the ancient simplicity of life, that
pervaded by a longing
nomadic ideal whkh remained a living force in so many Semitic
peoples. Obviomly a phenomenon of so personal a nature as
prophecy cannot be adequately explained in terms of an atavistic

a^Hralicm; too modi original genius went into the making of the
diought and work of Amos, of Jeremiah, of Isaiah, and of so
many others, for such an explanation to suffice; but it
may be
said in general that their preaching arose from and appealed to a
sentiment typical of the ancient pastoral folk to whom
was vouch
safed in the desert a vision of a simpler and grander religious ideal
than that whkh prevailed in the more
sophisticated kingdoms.
We have already mentioned the divisoe of the prophetic
movement into two phases of preaching by deed and preaching
by word, and we have seen in outline die history of its struggle
against religious syBcretism and contamination. We must now
sketch the development of the fundamental religious conceptions
of the prophets.
Elijah s vision on Mount Horeb, described in the first book of
Kings (19, I* 13), offers a vivid illustration of the increase in the
spirituality of
the concept of the divinity. While remaining
personal, God is cotH^rived less and less

anthropomorphically; his
appearances are progressively relegated to the sphere of poetical
imagination.
Many rdipous conceptions more or kss clearly outlined in
cariicr times now assume a more definition and formdbr-
precise
tion^ from that of citation and the fntfia} blessed state of mankind
and die consequences of man s feU, to Ac notions of what lies
beyond tfee pave. One cxHiceptioii in particular is brought from
time fi& time into greater prominence by political crisis and comes
,
dearly to the fore with die fall of the kingdoms: die Messianic
This is how Isaiah expresses it:
140
THE HEBREWS
"There shall come of the stock of Jesse1
forth a shoot out ,
and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit: and the spirit of the
Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the
fear of the Lord; and his delight shall be in the fear of die Lord:
and he shall not judge after the sight of the eyes, neither reprove
after the hearing of his ears: but with righteousness shall he judge
the poor, and reprove with equity the meek of the earth: and he
shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the
breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall
be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall
He down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the
fading together; and a litde child shall lead them. And the cow
and the bear shall feed; their yoong ones shall Ik down together:
and die lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the suckling child
shall play on the hole of the
asp, and the weaned child shall
put his hand on the basilisk s de&. They shall not hurt nor
destroy in all
my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the
knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. And it shall
come to pass in that day, that the root ofJesse, which standeth for
an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his
2
resting-place shall be glorious."
The Messianic hope was a longing for die return of the

king
dom of David, seen as a golden age and the reversal of present
misfortune; it of Hebrew
persisted throughout this last phase
religious thought, and became the starting-point of the Christian
rcvdatioti.
In its essence the Messianic outlook is but the perpetual Hebrew
upon God*s covenant. Through the ages the pact made
reliance
by God to Abraham is repeated and renewed, and in this, its

latest form, it
promises, m return for Israel s
parceiraance aiid
* Isaiah
1 1, 110.
fidelity in the time of trial which her backsliding has brought upon
her, ahappy age to come, in which all fear shall be banished, and
peace and love shall reign upon earth.
The religious ideals of Israel

were in many ways purified and
elevated during the Exile. On
the one hand, the disappearance of
the nation as a distinct political bloc allowed Hebrew thought to
realize and affirm more clearly than ever before that Yahweh is
tbe one and only God of the universe and of all mankind. On the
other hand, the sufferings of the Exik, and the cessation of the
temple-ritual, brought
about a return to God and a preoccupa
tion with the inner meaning of religion. The people s misfortunes
were interpreted in religious terms, as a purificatory experience,
in worthiness.
preparing the nation to rise again
Alongside this renascence of religious feeling there took place a
development and a consoEdation of formulated and codified
religion. Representative of this combination of prophetic ideal
ism and priestly kgaiism is the priest-prophet Ezekiel. As a natural
consequence of the conditions of the Exile, die priesthood turned
its attention to an organized study of the law, and was thence led
to undertake the edition of the sacred books. These traditional
sources of Hebrew history and faith were collected and arranged

in their three great sections, Law, Prophets, and Writings, for
faithful transmission to generations to come.
The return from exile after the victory of Cyrus, and the restor
ation of the temple, seemed to give grounds for hoping that the
aspirations of the exiles wore to be realized, and their plans be

to
put into practice; but they were not to be left in peace. New
troubles and and restorations succeeded one another, and in
crises
ict the history of the Jewish people, as an independent entity, was
at an end; tbe Maccabean revival was but an ephemeral episode.

Among the Jews, out tihe threshold of their new destiny, may be
distinguished two outstanding religious tendencies, one of pro-
pbetk and the other of priestly character. Use former isthemore
142
THE HEBHEWS
intimate and universal, the latter the
more outward and national.
Judaism was to develop by means of the interaction of these two
forces. While the national spirit was jealously to preserve the
ancient forms throughout the centuries, the prophetic vision was
to develop into a universalistic movement, which was to be the
heritage of Christianity.
THE BIBLE
A prevalence of religious motives over other aspects of culture

is, as we have seen, characteristic of the history and civilization of
the ancient Near East in general; rarely however has religion
absorbed and dominated all other cultural elements, and excluded
those uncongenial to to such a degree as with the Hebrews.

itself,
One example may be mentioned to illustrate this point. The

religious prohibition of any representation of die divinity cut off
the possibilityof artistic development to such an extent that when
Solomon came to build his temple he had to call in foragn
artists. Neither
painting nor sculpture was abk to develop in
such conditions for it is above all from religious themes that they
;
draw their inspiration.

From die most ancient times the chief effort of the Hebrews of
succeeding generations was directed to the preservation and
transmission to posterity of the tradition in which the national
history and aith was contained. The result of their zeal

has come
down to us in the form of a book, or rather, of a collection of
books, constituting die greatest literary achievement of the
Hebrew people of ancient times: the Old Testament.
Not all of ancient Hebrew literature has been so preserved. The
biblical books themselves refer to the sources from which they
drew their matter. Moreover, die Hebrew manuscripts recendy
discovered near the Dead Sea contain, in addition to biblical texts,
odier writings, not included in die Old Testament. Hbe essential
reason for the prservatkni, in the Old Testament, of the books
wfakh it and of no others, is that the formation of that
contains,
collection of boob had not a literary, but a religious purpose.
Hx>$c books were chosen which were to serve for religious
Histruction, whkh contained religious precepts
and religious
history; and under this latter heading was included the history
of Ac Jewish people, in so far as it represented that of the covenant
between God and Israel

This oudook upon history, of which we have already spoken,
brings it about that the Bible s teaching is exposed rather in what
might be called narrative form, than in a systematic arrangement

instructions and prophetic
Legal and moral prescriptions, practical
pleaching have for the most part been set down as they occurred
in their historical setting.
Hie Old Testament opens with the five books of the Penta-
truck The first of these, Genesis, tells of the origin of die universe
and of mankind, traces the history of man up to the formation,
wida Abraham and his family, of the nodem ofthe Hebrew people,
a&d relates die migrations of the Hebrew patriarchs in Palestine
and finally into Egypt. The second book, Exodus, is dominated
of Moses, and relates the flight from Egypt and,
by the figure
above all, the promulgation of the Law on Sinai. Legal pre-
scriptions, mosdy of ritual character, are continued in the next
two books, Leviticus and Numbers, which carry on the account
of the wanderings in die desert up to the arrival on the eastern
bank of tibe Jordan. The lasl of the five books* Deuteronomy, sets
forth more legal prescriptions
in theform of the last dispositions
made by Moses, before he dies wittin sight of the Promised
Land.
Such is Ac form in whkh the Peatateidi BOW promts itself ;
but; jusl: as it is die essential basis of die wliole of the Old Testa
ment; and of HrfuCTir religion, so too it presents die most fimk-
mental critical problems. On composition, die
die date of its
kim&ficatkxi aad dating ofits sources, and die îie to be attached
144
THE HEBEEWS
to them, depends ultimately the entire
interpretation of the earliest
political
and religious history of the Hebrews; so that it is not
surprising that it has been the object of long and involved
discussion.
Ancient Hebrew and Christian tradition attributed the com
positionof the Pentateuch, as it stands, imply to Moses. This
would put it at the beginning of the Old Testament in order of
composition as well as in the chronological order of its subject-
matter; and the other books of the Old Testament were like
wise supposed to have been composed in the order in whkh
they were arranged.
Realization of the difficulty of accepting this order of com
position led,towards the end of the eighteenth century, to a
critical examination of the
complete question, and the most
thorough formulation of the results of the investigation whkh
followed was that given by the celebrated German scholar,
Julius Wellhausen. Without catering into the details of the views

of Wellhausen and those who uphold his theory, we may say
that they invert the traditional order of
composition of the Old
Testament books, attributing that of the Pentateuch in particular
or rather, of the Hexateuch, for the book ofJoshua is included
as forming part of the same bloc of composition to many
centuries after the death of Moses. The differences in the names
used to refer to the divinity, the duplication of certain narratives,
and the remarkable differences of language and style between
different parts of die composition convinced the Critical school
books attributed to Moses wore in fact the result of a
that the five
process of compilation from different sources. Four principal

OIKS were identified: (i) die "Yahwist" Codex (J) f which was
composed about 850 B.C. in die kingdom ofJudah, and owes its
name to its use of dbe proper name Yahwdh* whereas the name
Eldhim f *God**} alone is iBcd in another source, hence called (2)
the Coda: (E),
"fibfaist"
composed about 770 B.C. m
the north-
em kingdom; these two wane united into one compilation (JE)
145
about 650 B.C.; (3) Deuteronomy (D), composed and promul
gated having been found under king Josiah of Judah in 620
as
B.C., and furnishing the basis of his religious reform; and finally
(4) the "Priestly"
Codex (P) of the rime of Ezra, combined with
the preceding sources towards the end of the fifth century
before Christ, the result being, at last, the Pentateuch attributed
to Moses.
This theory evidently affected the relationship of all the parts
of the Old Testament. The prophetical and historical books
must have come into existence, in that order, before the final
redaction of the Pentateuch, but without being accepted as
Scripture until a later date. The order of composition was thus:
prophets, historical books, the Law; but the formation of the
canoe began with the Law, after which the other books wore
put, not in the order of composition, but in a systematic order
acrording to their subject-matter.
For many yean the Wellhausen theory held die field without
serious opposition, but with tie advance of knowledge, and
especially thanks to new archaeological evidence, it has been

subjected to a progressive revision. Comparison of Old Testa
ment matter with Mesopotamian (especially juridical), Ugaritic
and other sources seems to show that the Pentateuch, or at least,
of the sources from which it was compiled,
a great part is more
arthak than Wellhausen had supposed. Hence modem biblical
criticism,though has not substituted any comparable system

it
for that of Wellhausen, has modified the latter in

many points.
In the first
place, thanks especially to the work of the Swedish
sdbol(Engnell and others), attention has been drawn to the inade
quacy of the unaided resources of literary criticism, and to the
necessity of taking into account the workings of oral tradition
which often have transmitted accounts for
may long before they
reduced Co writing, and of regarding the resultant
composi
tion as made tip fdiffarait strata as wdl as compiled from differ
ed sources {Bentzen). In the second
place, die dements of die
146
THE HEBREWS
system have been modified; thus J has been split into two, the
new source so distinguished being called L, is, that
Lay Codex, the
from the absence of priesdy notions (Eissfeldt); moreover a
in it
common ground (G) has been suggested for J and E (Moth) ; other
divisions of the sources have been suggested, as
by von Rad for
P; and D and P have been assigned earlier dates. Roman Catholic
scholars, while accepting the possibility that the Pentateuch was
compiled from different sources and contains later modifications

and additions, insist on its essentially Mosaic origin.
The problems which arise in connection with the composition

of the other books of the Old Testament are in general less
serious, and in particular have less effect on the
interpretation
of Hebrew history and religion, than those connected with the
Pentateuch. The historical books
take up the history of the chosen
people at the point at which the Pentateuch leaves off, and con
tinue it with varying completeness and continuity until the second
century before Christ,

The conquest of Canaan, under Joshua, is narrated in the book
which bears name, and the period in which the conquest was
his
consolidated, with varying fortune, under the occasional leader

ship of local heroes called Judges, is related in the book of
that name. This book contains some very ancient passages,
such as Deborah s
song of victory:
"For that the leaders took the lead in Israel,

For that the people offered themselves willingly,
bless ye the Lord.
Hear, O ye kings;
give ear, ye princes; O
I, even I, will sing unto the Lord;
I will
sing praise of the Lord, the God of Israel.
Lord, when thou wentjest forth out of Seir,
When thou marchedst out of the field of Edom,
The earth trembled, the heavens also dropped,
147
Yea, the clouds dropped water;
The mountains flowed down at die presence of the Lord,
Even yon Sinai at the presence of the Lord, the God
of Israel" 1
The books of Samuel and of Kings offer us a series of detailed

and precise accounts of the period of the united kingdom, and
especially of the reign of David, and a sketch of the history of the
divided kingdoms, which gives us less information, save in the
passages of especial interest to the compiler, who wrote from a

religious point of view. probable that this part of the work is
It is
a compilation made by members of the priestly class, as also the

two books of which give a supplementary and
Chronicles,
parallel account of the history of thekingdom ofJudak

The fell of the kingdoms marks the end of the consecutive
history offered by the Bible. For later periods we have sporadic
information in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, which describe
the salient evenis of the return from exile, and in the books of
Maccabees {not included in the Jewish canon), which deal with
the last revival of Jewish independence.
Within the framework of this history, the books of Ruth,
Tobit, Esther and Judith narrate particular personal episodes,
which supply interesting pictures of everyday life in the various
periods,
Further knowledge of Hebrew history, and a personal inter

pretation of it, is
given in the prophetical books. The earlier
prophets show us die later history of the two
kingdoms, and
focrtel! their fall as die inevitable
consequence of their sinfulness.
fa Jtidah we have seen the towering figures of Isaiah and Jeremiah,
of whom the former constantly opposed the policy of reliance
upon foreign support, wfaik tfae latter preached surrender to
Babylon, chosen imtniment of God for die chastisement of his
5,
148
THE HEBREWS
erring people. During the Exile Ezekid instructs and comforts

his companions, proclaiming the rebirth of the nation. This he
in a celebrated passage of great literary power, in the
expresses
form of a vision:
"Thehand of the Lord was upon me, and he carried me out in

the spirit and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was
fiil.l of bones; and he caused me to
pass by them round about and :
behold there were very many in the open valley; and lo, they were
very dry. And he said unto me. Son of man, can these bones live?
And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.
Again he said unto me, Prophesy over these bones, and say
unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord Thus !
saith the Lord God unto these bones: Behold, I will cause breath
to oiter into you, and ye shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you,
and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and
shall live; and ye shall know that I am
put breath in you, and ye
the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I pro
phesied, there
was a noise, and behold an earthquake, and the
bones came together, bone to his bone.
And I beheld, and lo,
there were sinews upon them, and flesh came up, and skin covered
them above; but there was no breath in them.
Then he said unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, Son
of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God: Come from
the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they
may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath

came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an
exceeding great army.
Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones art the whole
house of brad: behold they say, Oar bones are dried up, and our
hope is lost; we are dean cm off. Therefore prophesy, and say
unto diem, Thus Lord God: Behold, I will open your
saith the
graves, and
cause you to come out of your graves, my people; O
and I will bring you into the land of Israel And ye shall know
that I when I have opened your graves, and caused
ani the Lord,
you to come out of your graves, O my people. And I will put

my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your
own land: and ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it
1
and performed it, saith the Lord."
The intricate visions of Daniel mark the transition to the minor

a series of brief compositions in which various episodes
prophets,
provide the occasion for the admonition of the erring people,
the foretelling of chastisement, and the promise of the restoration
that is to come.
The rest of the Old Testament consists of songs and of wisdom-

literanire. These writings are predominantly poetical in character,
the poetical form being the usual oriental one, consisting in the
parallelism of the successive members,
The greatest of the biblical lyrical books, and one of the greatest
works of human poetry, is the collection of psalms. This contains
a hundred and fifty songs of varying date, some personal in theme,
some collective, expressing the praise of God, and man s appeal to
him for succour in the various misfortunes which assail him.
Many of the psalms are liturgical in character, and were intended
for recitation as prayers.
As an example of the poetry of the psalms we may take the
following lament of an exile, at the thought of the temple:
the hart panteth after the water brooks,

"As
So panteth my
soul after thee, God. O
My God, for the living God:
soul thirsteth for
When sliall I come and appear Wore God?
My tears have been my meat day and night,
Whik they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
These things I inensembar, and pour out my soul within
me,
1
Easekkl 37, 114.
150
THE HEBEEWS
How I went with the throng, and led them to the house
of God,
With the voice of joy and praise, a multitude keeping
holyday.
Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
And why art thou disquieted within me?
Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him,
Who is the health of my countenance, and my God . . ."*
Another remarkable Hebrew poetical work is the book of

Lamentations, an example of a literary type not uncommon in
the ancient Near East Here is the lamentation over fallen
Jerusalem:
"How doth the city sit

solitary, that was fell of
!
people
How is she become as a widow,
She that was great among the nations, and princess
among the provinces,
How is she become tributary !
She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears arc
on her cheeks;
Among all her lovers she hath none to comfort ho-:
All her friends havb dealt treacherously with her,
They are become her enemies.

Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction,
and because of great servitude;
She dwelfeth the heathen, she findeth no rest:
among
All her persecutors overtook her within the straits.
The ways of Zion do mourn, became none have come

to the solemn assembly,
All her gates are desolate her priests do sigh :
,
Her virgins are afflicted, and she herself is in

bitterness.
*
PfcaSra 42, 15.
151
Her adversaries are become the head, her enemies
prosper,
For the Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude
1
of her transgressions/*
A lyrical composition which seems profane in character, but

which received a religious interpretation, was included in the
canon: the Song of Songs, whose theme is the love of a young
shepherd and shepherdess. The shepherdess sings:
**Tfae voice of my beloved! behold he cometh,
Leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle,

Or a young hart.
Behold, he standeth behind our wall,

He looketh in at the windows, he showeth himself
through the lattice.
My beloved spake, and said onto me:
Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away;
For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear upon the earth,
The time of the pruning is come,
And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.
The fig tree ripenethher green figs,
And the vines are in blossom,
They give forth their fragrance:

Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away."*
A series of maxims and rcflectioos after the manner of similar
productions in the literature of nd^hbotiring peoples is to be
found in the books of Proverbs and Eccksiastkus {Ben
Sirach),
as also it*book of Wisdom, written
die in Greek for the Jews of
Egypt, Here arc some examples:
a
SaBgofSoEi2 f 8 13.
THE HEBREWS
"Better is with the fear of die Lord,
little
Than great measure and trouble therewith,

Better is a dinner of herbs where love is,
Than a stalled ox and hatred therewith/*
who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,

"He
And he that ruleth his spirit than he that tafceth

a city."
"Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted

wise:
When he shutteth his lips, he is esteemed as prudent/
slothful will not plow by reason of the winter,

Therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing."
"It is better to dwell in a desert land,

Than with a contentious and fretful woman."
1
The theme of the sufferings of the righteous man, which we

have already met with in Mesopotamian litserature, is to be found
oner more in the celebrated book of Job;
cry unto thee, and thou dost not answer me,

"I
I stand up, and thou lookest at me,

Thou art turned to be cnid to me,
With the might of thy hand thou persecutes! me.
Thou liftest me up to the wind, thou causest me
to ride upon it,
And thou dissolvest me in tic storm.

For I know that thou wilt bring me to death*
And to the house appointed for all living . . .
Did I not weep for h?m that was in trouble,

5, 16 17; !, 32; 17, 21; 2&, 4; 21, If.
153
Was notmy soul grieved for the needy?
When Ilooked for good, then evil came,
And when I waited for light, there came darkness." 1
The answer to the problem of suffering is here, as also in

first
the Mesopotamian poem, that man is not in a position to judge.

The second is the vision of the purifying value of suffering,
expressed much more clearly than in the Mesopotamian poem,
thanks to a different conception of the divinity, who in Israel is
known to be supremely just: Job, purified by his sufferings, will
be restored to his erstwhile prosperity.
The wisdom-literature is closed by the poem of the "Preacher"
on the vanity of all things, and the pointlessness of
(Ecclesiastes)
the endlessround of mundane affairs, This is a late composition,
and shows Greek influence; indeed it might seem closer to Greek
than to Hebrew ways of thinking:
and vanities, saith the Preacher;

"Vanity
Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.

What profit hath man of all his labour,
Wherein he kboureth under the sun?
One generation goeth, and another generation cometh,
And the earth abidcth for ever.
The sun and the sun goeth down,
also ariseth
And where he arisetL
hasteth to his place
The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about
unto the north;
It tunieth about continually in its course,
And the wind returneth again to its circuits.
All the rivers run into the sea.
Yet the sea is not: full;
Unto the place whither the rivers

go,
Thidhrr they go again.
1
jofe m, 2 2*.
154
THE HEBfiEWS
All things are full of weariness;
Man cannot utter it;
The eye is not satisfied with smug,
Nor the ear filled with hearing.
That which has been is that which shall be;
And that which hath been done is that which shall be
done:
And there is no new thing under the sun,**
1
LEGAL ANB SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS
According to Hebrew conceptions, civil as well as religious

law was derived directly from divine revelation the civil pro ;
visions of the Law and the religious ones did not even fall into
different mental categories. Religious life, moral life, legal life
were all one, for all
prescriptions of whatever kind derived their
binding power from God alone, and all cooperated to the same
end: ritual exactitude, moral righteousness and the observance
of civil law all constituted holiness before the Lord.
A similar outlook was, as we have seen, present throughout the
ancient Near East, but among the Hebrews it took on a more
accentuated form, for the primitive absence of any political
authority, and the acceptance of the authority whether of a Judge

or of a king only as that of one raised up by God, or of the
*
4
Lord s anointed", gave to even civil law a more properly

religious and theocratic aspect.
Although Hebrew law was systematic in the sense that it
civil
formed an organic part of an integral system for the ruling of die

citizen s life, it was, like other legal systems of the ancient Near
East, not codified on a systematic plan. Its various provisions are
remarkably fragmentary in character, and scon to be a collection
of particular decisions, without any dearly discernible ruling

principles.
1 Ecclodastes 1, 2 9.
155
In their content, Hebrew kws follow die common tradition of
die ancient Near East; they show affinities with Babylonian,
Assyrian and Hittite kws, and in particular with the celebrated
Code of HammurapL On the other hand, Hebrew had kw
beyond a doubt its own independent development, essentially
bound up with the conditions of Hebrew life, which were very
different from those of Mesopotamia. Whereas the ktter were
those of a settled form of life, in a highly-developed state, the
Hebrews wore still in half-nomadic conditions, between pastoral
and agricultural life. In such conditions the kw of property was
less
developed, commercial rektions were more primitive,
family organization was more patriarchal. In general the tribe
loomed larger in the life of die community, and the resulting
situation was much dbser than the
Mesopotamian to the ancient
Semitic conditions.
With these social peculiarities we find associated, in Hebrew
kw, a peculiar moral tinge, which is the outcome of the penetra
tion throughout of religious considerations. Notable, for instance,
are such provisions as that of the
Jubilee, whereby after each
period of fifty years all knd returned to its original
proprietors;
religious conception whereby the earth is God s
this reflects the
and men are butits tenants for a while. A similar moral

purpose
be discerned in the provisions
to
protecting strangers and
is
widows, orphans and die poor:
stranger shalt Aou not wrong, neither shalt thou oppress

"A
him: for ye were strangers in the land of

Egypt. Ye shall not
afflict
any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any
wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will hear their
surely cry;
and my wrath siiall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword;
and your wires sbaE be widows, and
your children fatherless.
If Aon fend
money to any of niy people with thee that is
poor, Ami sfcak not be to him as a cmEter neither shalt thou lay
:
him usury. If Aon at alt tate

Ay neighbour s garment to
156
THE HEBREWS
pledge, thou
shalt restore unto him by that the son goeth down
it :
for that is
only covering, it is the garment for his skin wherein
his :
shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me,
that I will hear; for I am gracious/*
1
The provisions of Hebrew kw

a#e set forth in various parts of
the Pentateuch. Here we have in the first place the ethical-
reiigious laws of Exodus 21, i to 23, 19 (the "Book of the Coven

These are extended and supplemented, with a particular
ant").
development of their moral aspect, in chapters 12 to 26 of

Deuteronomy. Another group of laws, of mainly religious
character, is that of the "Priestly Code", contained chiefly in
Leviticus and partly in Exodus and Numbers. Within Leviticus
can be distinguished a special collection of laws, the "Holiness
(chapters 17 to 26).
Code"
Recentstudies are emphasizing the fact that a long oral tradi

tion often preceded the written fonnulatioa of the laws. This
must have been die case with the most celebrated group ofJewish
laws, theTen Commandments, which is found in two redactions,
in Exodus 20, i 17 and in Deuteronomy 5, 6 21, and certainly
goes back to a very remote antiquity.
The distinction between patricians and plebeians, typical of

Mesopotamian society, corresponded to social conditions much
more highly developed than those of the Hebrews, among whom
existed between free citizens, who all
practically no distinction
enjoyed the same rights after attaining their majority, which
was
fixed in the book of Numbers (i, 3) at twenty years, and served
also as the lowest age for military service.
In addition to die free citizens Acre wane the slaves, whether
foreign or Israelite. The majority wcxe foreign* and for the most
also be bought: the
part prisoners of war, though
slaves might
slave trade was carried en especially by

die
*
10^22,2126.
157
In the ancient Near East, as we have seen, the skve was regarded
as a mere chattel of his master s. This conception is partly reflected
in Hebrew law, which fixes, for example, the damages to be paid
for the killing of another s slave, and does not punish the master
who beats his skve so violently as to cause his death some days
later. On the other hand, there are not lacking signs of a more
humane conception, and in certain points the law protects the
slave against his master. Thus the master who puts out an eye or a
tooth of his skve is

obliged to set him free (Exodus 21, 26 27);
the Sabbath is a day of rest for skves as well as for free men;
runaway skves must be harboured and protected, and not re
stored to their masters (Deuteronomy 23, 15 16).
The condition of Israelite skves was naturally better than that
of foreign ones; they had the prerogative of regaining their
liberty after seven years of service. Israelites might be enslaved to
their creditors for non-payment of debts, and fathers of families
had the right, in case of need, to sell their children into skvery.
In addition to the skves there was another social class which
did not enjoy the same rights as the free citizens, namely the
foreigners. The Hebrews divided foreigners into two classes:

those who were linked with the Hebrew tribes, and had some
ckim to their protection, and those who had no such ckim. The
former were of course a comparatively favoured class, but did
not enjoy that equality of rights which was accorded in Meso-
potamiaa kw.
The uncircumcised were excluded from participation in the
Passover rites, and from mtomamage with Hebrews. Hebrews
moreover could not become, in the full sense, skves of foreign
masters: they had to be ransomed at the earEest
opportunity, and
in the mem time must be treated as paid servants.
To an even greater degree, if possible, than was the case in the

ancient society, die real nucleus of Hebrew social life
iM>fnadk
was the iamily. As was usual, die father s authority was here
158
THE HEBREWS
supreme. Polygamy was legalized, and betrothal took place in the

usual Semitic manner, of whkh we have
already spoken: the
bridegroom pays the marriage-price and so obtains authority
over the bride. Formal contracts are attested but do not seem to
have been necessary for the validity of the marriage.
Marriage within certain degrees of kindred was prohibited by
a series of provisions, while others forbade
marriage with aliens.
Deuteronomy s
particular insistence on this latter point shows
its
preoccupation with the danger of assimilation to other peoples.
This prohibition, however, fell into desuetude in the course of
time, or at least was not rigorously observed in for
practice,
Hebrew history is of mixed marriages. After the return from
full
the Exile, Ezra had a hard struggle to obtain the dismissal of the
people s alien wives.

A
notable nrntrimonial law was that of the levitate, according
to whkh the widow of a man who dies childkss was obliged to
marry her late husband s brother.

Divorce, whkh in the more highly-evolved Mesopotamian
society was in certain cases the wife s prerogative, remains in
Hebrew law exclusively that of die husband. He can divorce his
wife by simply pronouncing the formula: "This woman is not
my wife, and I am not her husband"; the custom also existed of

drawing up a letter of dismissal The book of Deuteronomy,
however, sets certain limits to the right of divorce, with the
evident intention of safeguarding and strengthening the institu
tion of marriage: a man who unjustly accused his bride of not
being a virgin was not ooly obliged to pay a fine, but also
precluded from ever divorcing her ; similarly , the man who violated
an unbetrothed virgin was obliged to marry her and could never
divorce her. Adulterers were condemned to death by stoning,
along with the woman, if she had consented,

Notwithstanding the nomadic inspiration of ancient Hebrew
social institotiom, the status of woman was not so inferior as it
might scan to haw been. Though dhc wife belonged to her
159
husband, a woman was held in considerable honour, especially
as a mother; the commandment to "honour thy father and
thy
mother" makes no distinction between the two parents.
On the ancient right of inheritance in the Hebrew family we

have but scanty fragments of information; we know however
that the inheritance was divided among the sons, and that the
firstborn had a double share (Deuteronomy 21, 17).
Sons of concubines also must have had a right to inherit, as k
shown indirectly by the episode in which Sarah induces Abraham
to drive away his concubine Hagar and her son Ishmael, in order
dhat Isaac may not have to share his inheritance with the latter
{Genesis 21, 10). There is however no indication of die extent of

such a right.
The of women with regard to inheritance was a very
position
precarious one. A
man s wife inherited nothing from him,
indeed there are even indications whkh seem to show that at one
time sJbe was famelf regarded as part of die inherited property;
with this statt of affairs we may contrast die provisions of the
Code of Hammurapi* whereby the widow retained her dowry and
made to lier by her kte husband- Daughters likewise had
the gifts
no right of inheritance in the Old Testament, except if there
wore no sons to inherit
The childless widow, if not taken in marriage by her kte
husband s brother in accordance with the levirate kw, returned
to her fetter s home and might marry again: this custom is
vouched fee by the first

chapter of the book of RutL
CoiBHiercial activity in ancient brad was much more limited

in scale aad
primitive in organization than in Mesopotamia,
wiicre the Code of Hammiirapi and other legislation presuppose
a idatiitly JMgjb. degree of industrial and commercial develop-
ment. Btiyiag and selling was carried oa in a very
simple fashion,
and k does not seem to fawe bem necessary, as in
Babyioeia, to
1 60
THE HEBREWS
draw up a written contract. The first such contract mentioned in
the Bible is in so late a source as Jeremiah (32, 9 12).
In the absence of written contracts, however, witnesses were
indispensable as an effective guarantee

of the observance of the
verbal contract.
Loans and credit are treated in the ancient Hebrew system in a
very elementary fashion, such manners of commercial operation

being highly uncongenial to the character
of dbe people. Gcmally
speaking, Hebrew legislation in
such matters shows a tendency to
protect the poor on grounds of religious and moral justice.

Usury among Hebrews was simply prohibited, and loans
CHI
terms (Exodus 22,

security were restricted to the mildest possible
25 27). Every seven years saw not only the freeing of all Hebrew
slaves, but also the remission of all debts.
There is
very little certainty as to the extent to whkh these
provisions were put

into practice,
but the protests raisedby the
prophets show that infractions of them were by no means rare,
Jeremiah gives us a characteristic example

when he rdates bow
under king Zedekiah, after the liberation of the Hebrew slaves,
their mast/era subjected them oner more to servitude 0ercmiah

34, 8 1
1).
In Hebrew ancient phase,

criminal law, especially in its more
the forms of private law still prevailed to a krge extent; the
election of a penalty was often left to the direct action of the
injured party, who couM also waive hi rights.

The "Book of the Covenant** explicitly
formulates the law of
retaliation the fundamental principle of peoal law. Ttlis
as
principle, repeated
and confirmed in otter parts of the Hebrew
the
body of law, is derived from the custom that prevailed in
as we have already seen, came
primitive tribal organization, and,
itself in andem
through the Code of Hammurapi to establish
Near Eastern It is ooeiiected with the principle of
legislation.
collective responsibility, in that dbe entire femily (or dan or
161
tribe, as the case may be) isinvolved in the duty of avenging one
of its members for a wrong done by a person not belonging to
the group. God himself punishes sin, even in the sinner s
posterity,
as he in even larger measure rewards virtue.
just
The law of retaliation is mitigated by allowing the injured
the payment of damages. This alternative is
party to accept
excluded in the case of homicide (Exodus 31, 35), but
oqpBcitly
the right of sanctuary.
involuntary homicides might profit by
Not was such sanctuary offered by all sacred buildings and
only
precincts,
but the book of Deuteronomy (19, 3) mentions the
institutionof cities of refuge offering a like protection. The
the right to demand that
avenger of an intentional homicide had
the murderer be expelled from his place of refuge; but, as the
book of Numbers lays down explicitly (35, 22 25), the avenger
may not, if the murderer has found sanctuary, take the kw into
own hands by being judge in his own case; the community
his
must decide whether the killing was really murder or not.

As in the Code of Hammurapi, the law of retaliation did not
apply in the case of slaves.
Here the penalties are much lighter;
but a master who maltreated his slave might be forced to set him
free.
Hie penalties
attached to violations of the right of property are
ranarkably mild, especially as compared with the frequency of

die death penalty for this class ofcrime in the Code of Hammurapi.
Tlikrves arc obliged to make restitution, often ofmore than die
amount of die theft, or, if they are unable to do so, are reduced
to slavery like other insolvent debtors. Similar pemlties are
assigned for embezzlement.

Tide commotiest form of capital punishment was death by
stoning. The condemned person was taken outside the camp,
m Ac nomad period, or outside die city, in later times, and the
fkst stones war cast; by the witnesses. Other forms of exscution
were raiar. There B mention in some cases of hanging, and in
punishment for certain crimes die culprit was burned alive: so
162
THE HEBREWS
for the prostitution of a priestess or of the daughter of a priest,
or for incest (Leviticus 20, 14). This last crime meets with a like
punishment in die Code of Hammurapi.

Corporal punishments mentioned in the Bible, apart from
those resulting from the application of the law of retaliation,
include flogging, to which however a limit of forty blows was
set (Deuteronomy 25, 13).
Fines likewise are commonly connected with the law of
retaliation, in that they take the form of damages as an altar-
native to the application of that law; but they were also inflicted
in certain other cases, as for the crime of calumniating a young
maiden.
This system of penal law, taken as a whole, is remarkable for
the absence of certain common features of modern legislation.
For example, the penalty of imprisonment is unknown to it;
imprisonment, as a means for the defence of society, is almost
entirely absent
from the juridicial tradition of the ancient Near
East.
The Bible tells us that Moses himself was the supreme judge of
his people, and that he appointed, from among the elders and
chiefs of the various tribes, subordinate judges for various sections
of it. During the monarchial period, judicial authority belonged
to the king, who sometimes conferred it on the priests. After the
division of the kingdom, the administration of justice in the
kingdom of Israel was of local notables, whereas in

in die hands
that of Judah king Jehoshaphat reformed the judiciary system (2
Chronicles 19, 5 9) by the establishment in each city of a
tribunal composed of and lay judges, with a supreme
Levites
court at Jerusalem. After die Exile, Ezra reorganized the adminis
tration of the law, whkh eventually came to be in die hands of
the Sanhedrin.
Legal procedure was exceedingly simple.

The judges used to
sit at the
city-gate; die establishment
of acourt of in a room kw
of the palace was an innovation introduced by Solomon. Contend
the judge, and pleaded
ing parties presented themselves before
their own cases. Where there was no plaintiff, there was no trial;
the machinery of the kw was set in morion only "by request".
The judicial inquiry was carried out verbally, and the agree
ment of at least two witnesses was required for the establishment
of the evidence. Heavy penalties were assigned
for false witness,
but for all that the distressing story of Naboth s

vineyard (i
it was not to
Bangs 21) shows that impossible procure the ccm-
demiiation of an innocent man by suborning witnesses.
The so-called "judgement of God", of which great use was
made in Babylonia, is rare among the Hebrews. Traces of it
are to be seen in the case in which a man accuses his wife of
infidelity but can not bring forward proof of his assertion
(Numbers 5, n 30).
A passage in the book of Deuteixmomy (25, 2) shows that
penalties had
to be inflicted immediately after the passing of
sentence* before die eyes of the judge who had pronounced it.
AKT
We have already seen how the religious prohibition of repre

sentation of the godhead hindered the development among the
Hebrews of sculpture and painting. Something may however be
said of architecture and of relief-work as representative of ancient
Hebrew art.
Archaeological investigation has brought to light in several

parts of Palestine the remains of citadels and of palaces: the citadel
of Saul at Gabaa, excavated by Albright in 1922 and 1933 ; the
much moi and higâly^cvolved o^ at T,adikh, where
elaborate
Starkey oocavated from 1932 to 1938, and several others. The

detailed archacologicdi study which has been mack of Samaria
merits especial mention laefe. In 1908 1910 Harvard University
cscpeditkms brought Do light the royal palace, built in the form of
164
THE HEB1EWS
a series of courtyards surrounded by rooms, that is to say on die
same plan as the Mesopotamia!! palaces, but on a much more
modest scale. The excavators were of opinion that the oldest
portion
of the building was to be attributed to Omri, the founder
of the city, a later addition to Ahab, and a still later one to
Jeroboam II; but the excavations conducted by Crowfoot in
1931 1935 showed that the constructions cover a much longer
period: the oldestportion may be attributed to Omri and Ahab
2. Plan of Solomon s
temple.
to Jehoahaz or Jeroboam II, and the

together, the first addition
third to the hellenistic period.
As to religious architecture, the detailed description of
Solomon s in the Bible makes up for the lack of
temple given
archaeological data. A
gate flanked by two bronze pillars gave
access to an entrance-hall leading in its turn into the central hall,
the altar of incense and dbe

rectangular in shape and containing
table of shrwbread. From this hall a curtained doorway kd into
Ark of
Holy of Hoiks, a dark cubical chamber containing
the the
the Covenant. In the court in front of the temple were the altar
of sacrifices and die great laver of bronze*
165
The most remarkable feature of Palestinian art was die reliefr-
work on seals or on ivory plaques. Seals have been found in great
all over Palestine. The
quantities prevailing form is that of the
scarab, borrowed from Egypt, and most of the designs are like
wise of Egyptian inspiration: gryphons and winged sphinxes,
winged scarabs, uraera-serpents, winged solar discs. Animal
figures are frequent enough, and include a magnificent specimen
of a lion; human and divine figures are rarer, the latter being of
foreign origin. The style is static and ornamental; the designs
(usually only one on each seal) and the brief inscriptions giving
the ownen* names are mostly framed and separated by lines.
The subjects of the ivory-reliefs are similar to those of the seals.
Such rdkis have been found by Crowfoot at Samaria, in the
northern sector of the walls; they probably come from Ahab s
**ivofy house" of whkh the Bible speaks.
166
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE ARAMAEANS
the north of the Arabian desert lies a broad strip of land
A interposed between Canaan and Mesopotamia, and extend
ing to the outermost southern bastions of the Anatolian mountains.
This intermediate zone played at one rime an important part in
the history both of Canaan and of Mesopotamia. For Canaan it
acted in turn as a confining and as a balancing force in the pky of
short-range politics; for the Mesopotamian powers, it represented

the road to the sea, and the gateway to Palestine and Egypt
Such a regkm could not see the rise of any great or lasting native
political power; like the rest of the SyropaJestmian area, it
was a
place of passage for military and cultural movements.
The bold marauders of Semitic stock who arc already attested
from the second millennium before Christ as occupying Upper
Syria and thence raiding the neighbouring regions played the part
assigned to them by geographical cceditions. Without ever
developing beyond the status of little local kingdoms, they ex
panded during the period of decline of Mesopotamian power, and
were overwhelmed in the ensuing reconquest. At a later period,
after they had lost their independence, it was their singular
fortune to pky an essential part in accomplishing the oîe positive
function allowed to them by the geographical conditions of dbeir
land, namely that of affecting, and transmitting through the
medium of their widdy-diffiised language, a synthesis of the
tivili2atiQii of the ârounding regions.
HISTOfiY
Aramaean sources for the more ancient period of hisfcocy are
167
rare; they consist of a number of inscriptions, for the most part
recently discovered, belonging to the ancient sites of Guyana (the
present-day Tell Halaf), Sam al, Arpad
and Hama.
Indirect sources are more plentiful, in the
first
place cuneiform
texts recording the movements of the Aramaeans and the pres
sure exerted by them cm the frontiers of the Mesopotamia
states; from another quarter, the Bible records the Aramaean

contacts of the Hebrew people in the wrious stages of its history,
and preserves, in its more ancient accounts and genealogical lists,
the tradition of an original blood-celationship between die two
peoples. The period of the monarchy is especially rich in informa

tion about the Aramaean states, who repeatedly pky a part in the
political history of die Hebrew kingdoms.
The word **Aram", as the name of a region or of a state, first
appears in the twenty-third century before Christ, in a cuneiform

inscription of the AHra/î* king Naram-Sin; from the context
this Aram would seem to be situated in Upper Mesopotamia,
The interpretation of this inscription is not absolutely certain;

but a new mention of "Aram" is to be found soon afterwards on
a tablet from the commercial archives of Drehem, belonging to
about 2000 B.C., and referring to a city and a state near Esbnunna,
on the lower Tigris, Another Drehem tablet, a few years later in
date, contains the personal name Aramu, and the same name is
found again in a Man text of about 1700 B.C.
These are our most ancient references to the Aramaeans,
obviously msrfkieat to allow IB to trace their early history, but
suffidrat to demand a revision of the once received opinion that
that histOTy begins in the fourteenth century before Christ.
It is true, however, that more
precise information is forecoming
fee the second half of the fîl^rtniitfin- An inscription of the
Assyrian kmg Arik-dea-ilu speaks of victories over die hosts of

die **AJrbtame** y and this mme
reappears under subsequent
until Tiglath-piieser I announces diat he has routed the
168
THE A1AMAEAHS
Akhkmu-Aramaeans who came from the desert to infest the
banks of the Euphrates. Hie word "Akhlamu" may mean simply
"confederates", and it would seem that die Aramaeans formed
part
of that confederation. After Tiglath-pikser I there are
several other references in
Assyrian sources to Akhlamu and
Akhkmu-Aramaeam, but the simple term "Aramaeans" be
comes more and more usual, and finally is the only one in use.
The Assyrian inscriptions which have just been mentioned are
at one in the picture
they give of the ancient Aramaeans: like
the other Semitic peoples they make their first appearance in
history as nomads, whose movements correspond to the periodic

passage of the beduin from the outskirts of the desert into the
settled regions. As for the direction of their thrusts, the main lines
of their expansion were limited by the presence of already firmly

established Semitic populations in the east and in the west, in
Mesopotamia and in Canaan.
The Aramaeans attained their highest degree of political
importance in the eleventh and tmth centuries before Christ,

thanks to the decline of the Assyrian empire during diat period.
To the east, the Aramaean tribes invaded northern Mesopotamia,
and founded there a scries of Httk states, the chief of which, were
those of Bit Adini, with Bonippa for its centre, and Bit Bakhyani,
with Guzana (TeE Hataf) as centre. Further to the south, scroll
groups penetrated into central and southern Mesopotamia; here

an Aramaean usurper, Adadaplaiddin, seized at die beginning of
the eleventh century die throiie Babylonia, and on the shores
erf"
of the Persian Gulf ChaJdaean tribes* related to die Aramaeans,

founded several little states, the most: impoitant of wlikb was
that of Bit YakmL
On the other fomt of Aiaina*^ expansion to the west, there
arose at this time m Qticia the stale of Sa&i aL In Syria was
foooded, around Arpad and Akppo, a state which took die Baine
of Bit Agtdbi; at: Haim, fagfaok s excavations have kotsgli to
169
light an Aramaean stratum belonging to about 1000 B.C.; and

farther to the south other states were formed on the borders of
the Hebrew kingdoms, It is of these last states, thanks to the Old
Testament, that we have the fullest information: chief of them
were Soba and Damascus, which were conquered by David, but
die kingdom split into two.
regained their independence after
The Aramaeans* force of expansion, which stands out so clearly
in this period, was not, however, accompanied by the ability to
organize their conquests, or even, in general,

their own states,
The Aramaeans never made up an and

effective political unity,
their division into little which

local
kingdoms, was further deter
mined by the multitude ofheterogeneotis elements with which they
came into contact, was the decisive element of their weakness.
The end of the tenth century before Christ saw the recovery of
Assyria, and the beginning of the process of reconquest.
Assyria s first
step was to clear the invaders out of Mesopotamia,
This was done during the first half of the ninth century prin
cipally by Adad-nirari II, Ashumasirpal II, Shalmaneser HI,and
who in 856 B.C. conquered the state of Bit Adini, the last strong
hold of Aramaean power in Mesopotamia.
Shalmaneser next turned his attention to Syria, and after a
series of incursions, inflicted in 841 B.C. a severe defeat upon a
coalition of the Aramaean states, with which the king of Israel

also had Hie defeated states did not, however, lose
allied himself.
their independence for some decades to come: to this period

belong the inscription with which Kilamuwa, king of Sam al,
records his victories over his neighbours and the prosperity of his
kingdom, and Ac stele erected by Zakir, king of Kama, to com

memorate his success against a coalition under the leadership of
Damascus. Foe afl their boast of power, these inscriptions bear
unmistakable witness to that inomibk internal discord whkh
was noc the least cause of crisis foe tbese Mtde states,
fa the eighth century before Christ, Assyria ooce more took lip
170
THE ARAMAEANS
the offensive. In 740 B.C. Arpad, which the inscriptions found at
Sujin show
to have been the centre of opposition to Assyria, fell
to Tigkth-pileser IE. Next it was the turn of Sam al, where a
certain Azriyau had seized power and was raising an anti-Assyrian
coalition; the usurper was conquered and put to death in 738
B.G, and the throne was restored to the legitimate kingPanamuwa
II,whose son Bar-Rekub records these happenings in his inscrip
tions, Sam al was so brought within the Assyrian sphere of
influence; archaeological traces of destruction by fire, and die

cessation of all mention of this state in our sources, seem to indicate
that it came before long to a violent end. Further south, Damascus

was reduced to the status of an Assyrian province in 732 B.C.;
Kama, after a last attempt at rebellion, was overthrown by
II.
Sargon
The of the Aramaeans went on for some time
political life
longer in Babylonia, where the ChaMaean tribes

roused periodical
anti-Assyrian agitation and even succeeded in coming to power
with the Neobabylonian dynasty. In the centres of their direct
die end of the eighth century saw
political ascendancy, however,
their final collapse before thewestward drive of Assyria, from
this collapse the Aramaeans wore never to recover. Their inde
detail in the great picture
pendent history, an almost negligible
of the ancient Near East, so comes to an end, and Upper Syria,
the seat of their power, pases successively under the nik of the
great empires
which succeeded one another on the Eastern
Mediterranean coast. Nevertheless, the Aramaeans continual to
exist as a and their language remained* Hie historical
people,
is but slight, as compared
importance of the Aramaean states
with the exceptional cultural importance which was to be assumed,
in the course of the centuries, by die Arainak language.
LANGUAGE
The end of Aramaean indqxaadence was the beginning of an

era of a new kind of expansion: the energy that had so soon been
checked in the political sphere became transferred to that of
culture. By a curious paradox of history, the Aramaic language,
represented by
bat a few inscriptions from the period of political
independence, now extended itself far beyond the confines of the

Aramaean people.
The first phase of this expansion coincided with the
linguistic
thanks to its much simp-
period of Assyrian occupation. Aramaic,
la: form of writing, penetrated more and more deeply into tLe
Mesopotamia!* world. Quantities of contracts, receipts and
inscribed weights show how the use of Aramaic increased con
tinually among the Babylonians and the Assyrians. Aramaic

established itself also in diplomatic dealings, and took the place of
Akkadian an international language; for example, when the
as
representatives of king Hezekiah were parleying with the

Assyrian envoys during the siege of Jerusalem, they asked them
to speak in Aramaic in order that the people might not under
stand (2 Kings 18, 26; Isaiah 36, n); moreover, an Aramaic
papyrus pubMied in 1948 by Professor Dupont-Sommer, con
taining a letter from a Phoenician prince to the Egyptian pharaoh,

and datable with probability to 605 B.C., bears significant
witness to the westward spread of the new diplomatic
language.
The greatest victories of Aramaic, however, were rendered
possible by the Persian conquest* From the sixth to the fourth
century before Christ the extension of Persian rule to the entire
Syropakstinian coast brought about a temporary union of the
Nocdi-Semkk world, and in the resulting levelling of culture
Arainak became the official
language of die whole of that part of
Ac Persian empire which lay between Egypt and the Euphrates.
An official language of long standing tends to supplant the native
languages,and m
fact Hebrew, Phomician and die odio: Semitic
languages of the region wo^ as time went on more and more

by Ayafnîr^ One Ac greatest difficulties m die
THE ARAMAEANS
way of Hebrew restoration after the return from exile was pre
cisely the abandonment by part of the people of their original
language.
During the Persian epoch Aramaic-leaking colonies pene
trated also beyond the boundaries of Mesopotamia and of Syria
and Palestine. Aramaic inscriptions have found in various
$>een
parts of Aria Minor, such as Cilida* Lydia and Lycia, and also in
Persia and in Arabia. In Egypt die Jewish colony at Elephantine
has left us a series of Aramaic ostraca and papyri from the sixth
and fifth centuries before Christ; and we have also documentsoti
parchment, some of which, belongmg to the archives of a Persian
satrap of the rime of Darius n, were published in 1953 by Professor
Driver.
The advent ofhellcnisin, with its cultural conquestof die Near
East, produced a retreat on the part of Aramaic, but one that was
accompanied by an advance in another sedot, die north of Ac
&>
desert, where the Httk prcisbniic states of Petra and Palmyra took
over the Aramaic languages along with Aramaean culture, More
over even for this
period there are inscriptions from
Aramaic
Persia, from Cappadocia, and from Egypt.
The unification of the Near East undor the Roman Empire, and
later the spread of Christianity, brought about a recovery in the
fortunes of Aramaic. On the one hand, it was adopted by new

small states with Arab populations (so Hatra); and on the other,
from being the language of Christ, it became the official language
of the Syrian church, and as sadi was to establish itself for cen
turies to come and produce a gneat body of religious Eterature.
Finally, there are traces of Aramak-speaking groups throughout

the western world; these were merchants and soldiers and slaves,
who, among other things, brought about the difibskm in the
Roman world of various Near Eastsera cults.
The dismity characteristk of Aramaean history was naturally
reflected in the Aramak language, winch consisted of a group of
many dialects. A summary list of them will suffice to give an

173
idea of their diffusion and of their division. From the more ancient
period,
we have the inscriptions already mentioned, the Aramaic
of the Persian empire, and several passages in the Bible. About the
rime of Christ we can distinguish in Aramaic two branches. The
first of these, Western Aramaic, and representing an
called
evolution which does not depart far from the ancient Aramaic,
has several dialects: Nabataean, represented by the Petra inscrip
tions, Palmyrene, that of the Palmyra inscriptions, Judaean
Aramaic, in the postbiblical writings of the Palestinian Jews

(Targum, Jerusalem Talmud, Midrash), and Christian Aramaic,
that of the Christians of Palestine. The other branch, Eastern
Aramaic, differs more from the ancient form, and is represented
by the dialect of the Hatra inscriptions, by Syriac,the language of
the church of Edessa, with an ample literature from the second
to the fourteenth century, by the language of the Babylonian
Talmud, and by Mandaean, the language of the Gnostic group of
that name.
Even nowadays there are in Syria Aramaic-speaking communi
ties, and there are even larger ones in Mesopotamia and Armenia;
but the Arab conquest led to the almost entire supplanting of

Aramak by Arabic. So Aramaic was to disappear, after having
been for many centuries of vital importance as the vehicle of a
cultural synthesis.
CULTURE
A great part of die historical development of Aramaean culture

Iks beyond the limits of this book. The Persian occupation, and
above all helknism, brought about the passage of that culture
from the more properly Semitk sphere into a phase in which As
loss of national independence was followed by the formation of
an extremely composite civilization, with a multitude of trends of

foreign origin. Though die Aramaean basis still remained, and in
particular dbc Aramak language was the vehicle of tic new ctit-
ttire, tktt cukiiEe itself can no longer be called a predominantly
174
THE ARAMAEANS
Semitic one. Similarly, the Christian literature in Aramaic is the
product of a later cultural world, and has carried over into a

different historical setting its elements of Semitic origin.
The very life of the Aramaean peopk is marked by its destiny as

an agent of assimilation and transmission. This outstanding
characteristic of its cultural expressions is evident above all in
its
religion, the product of the impact upon its national teiditkm
of powerful influences exercised by die civilizations rotsnd about.
At the same time, Aramaean political disunion inevitably excluded
the development of religion on a common national basis, and
gave to each city in own religious evolution.

There were for all whose worship was not
that several deities
confined to this or that This all true of the
is above
city-state. god
Hadad, the equivalent of the Babylonian and Assyrian Adad, and,
in his functions, of the Hittite and Human supreme god. Hadad
was in origin the Idng of the storm, and manifested himself in
lightning and wind and also in the beneficent rain. The Greek
writer Locian tells us of his worship in his shrine at Hierapoiis, to
the south of Carcbemish, with rites whkh certainly go bock toan
earlier age. He was likewise
worshipped in Sam al, in Aleppo and
in Damascus, where three kings bear a name derived from his
(Bar-Hadad, "Son of Hadad *). Being the sky-god p&r exteUcmz,

he was later identified with the sun-god. He was represented
holding in one hand a thunderbolt and in the other an ajoe, and
standing on the back of a bull, which was his sacred animal As

die sun-god, he gained admission also into the Greek and Roman
worlds, whkh identified him
with Zeus and with Jupiter.
Along with Hadad we
find at Hierapoiis a goddess named
Atargatis, corresponding to the great Semitic fiartiEty-goddess.

This divine family was completed by their son Simios as the
third member of the natural triad.
Canaanite gods figure prominently in the Aramaean pantheon.
El is mentioned in Sam sd, along with the compound name
Rekub-El, and in Sujin with the name Elyon; and his name is an
element in those of many kings. Baal is to be found in Sam al as
Baal-Semed and Baal-Hamman, and at Hama as
Baalshamin,
"Lord of the heavens". At Palmyra Baal (Bel) the supreme
is
deity; but the religion of Palmyra, as also that of Petra, will be

dealt with in the next chapter* for the people of these little states
were Arabs; their civilization,
dx>ugh
Aramaean in language and
predominantly so in culture, was of a mixed nature.
The Hebrew God Yahweh must also have been worshipped
or at least known, since proper names are to be found in various
places compounded with his name.

In the Nerab inscriptions there appear local gods, such as the
moon, the sun, and fire, whose names and attributes point to
Mesopotamian influence.
We have only a few indications on which to base a judgement
as to the forms of ritual; these would seem to be similar to those
of the Bdgfcbouring Canaanites, but beyond that we cannot
go-
In coodiuskm, Aramaean religion follows the general lines of
Semitic religious thought, and represents a
complex growth in
which there have been grafted onto the native trunk branches
derived from the iiri^bbmiring cultures of Asia
Mesopotamia,
Minor and Canaan.
Littk need be said of Aramaean literature for the more ancient

aside the various historical
period. Leaving inscriptions, includ
ing the funeral ones found at Nerab, we
are left with
only one
text ofthis period which can be called in the proper sense a
literary one, namely the story of Ahiqar, which has come down
to us in
papyri of the fifth century before Christ, but whose ted:
probably goes bock to die preceding century. The story is that of
a wise and virtuous man Ahlqar, chancellor at the court of die
Assyrian kiagi Scamsdbcrib and IkiAadyoii. Having no son of
1m own* he adopts a nefiliew, Nadin, and passes cm to his Mm
176
THE AIAMAEAHS
office. Nadin
high requites him ill* for by a calumnious denunci
ation he induces Esarhaddon to cxmdemn Ahiqar to death. The
executioner, however, connives at his escape, and he is able to
rehabilitate himself by exposing his nephew s intrigue. To the
story appended a series of sayings attributed to Ahiqar, which

is
are highly interesting in that they belong cm the one hand to the
traditionof ancient Near Eastern didactic literature, and CHI the
other hand, make use of fables, a device which was to be devel
oped in Greek literature. Here arc some examples of sayings:
**My son, chatter not overmuch, utter not every word that
comes into thy mind men s eyes and ears arc fixed on thy mouth.
:
Beware lest it be thy undoing. Above all other things set a watch
upon thy mouth, and over what thou facarest harden thy heart,
For a word is a bird: once it is released none can recapture it ...
The wrath of a king is a burning fire. Obey it at once. Let it
not be enkindled against thec and bum thy hands, Cover the
word of the king with the veil of thy heart Why should wood
contend with fire, flesh with a knife, a man with a king?**1
A&ble:
ft
Th leopard met the goat who was cold, and he said to her:
Come, Iwill cover thee with my hide. The goat answered:
What need have I of that? Do thou not take my hide ! For tbou
greetest not, save to suck Hood.***
The gist of some of Ahkjar s fables is repeatied in the celebrated

ones attributed to Aesop, and even Aesop s biography has bean
influenced by that of the ancient oriental sage.
The artistic
production of dbe little Aramaean statics was
limited in ejctmt, and* lite Aramaean
religion,
shows a combin
ation of Hittitse, Human and Mesopotamian dements, and tvrn
TiL *
Ai^ col. via.
177
Egyptian ones. There can be litde originality, and the style

depends principally on the political conditions prevailing at the
given time and place.
The Aramaeans have left traces of their penetration into Meso
potamia in the culture of Tell Halaf, where von Oppenheim has
found a large collection of statues and of pylons carved in relief.
Aramaean work can be identified by its custom of representing
die human face with the beard shaved above and below die lips.
The subjects of the are mainly animal figures, fantastic
reliefs
bongs, and hunting scenes, with a certain rough effectiveness.

all this follows the main lines of
Naturally Mesopotamian art,
and may legitimately be included under that heading.
Of the Aramaean cities of Syria, Sam al is perhaps the one whose
hybrid character bears the clearest witness to the evolution
brought about by the passage of time and the changes in the
and its most ancient statuary
historical situation. Its architecture
are derived from Hurrian and Hittite models. The city was
surrounded by a double line of walls, and in its midst was the
acropolis with die military buildings, die royal palaces and the
temples, A characteristic feature of the palaces is the colonnaded
portico (bit khilani), which we have already met with in Assyria,
and which, according to Professor Frankfort s studies, originated
We in Syria. The entrance-gateway was flanked by two great
lion-figures, with open jaws and pendent tongues; and there

were many sphinxes. The statues of gods, kings and animals,
which, as has already been said, began by imitating Hurrian and
Hittite modds turn at a late: period to Assyrian ones, even to
the extsent of dropping Ac traditional Aramaean form of the
beard. To die Assyrian period belong the reliefs of Bar-Rekub,
of which one represents trim standing, and anodier seated, with a
servant before him. Hie %OTC$ are awkward, and the positions
of Ac bodies and frfie aims art subject to the same conventions
as in
Mesopotamian art.
Damascus was in all probability the place of origin of a series
178
THE ASAMAEANS
of ivory carvings, bearing the name of "our lord HazadT
{which was the name of a king of Damascus), and found at
Arslan Tash, near Borrippa, whither they must have bom brought
by the Assyrians as spoils of war. As was usually the case, the

reliefs, while somewhat awkward in the human figures,were
most successful in the animal ones, for example in those of a
hind drinking, and of a cow stickling her calf. These ivories
find an artistic parallel in the Hebrew ones from Samaria and
Megiddo.
On the whole Aramaean before the hellenistk period, had
art,
a rough provincial aspect, though it was not without a certain
creative spontaneity. It docs indeed possess certain features of its
own, but for all that it

may be classified within the artistic
tradition of Asia Minor and Mesopotamia.
Of the various forms of Aramaean civilization, the essential

one is
language. A
language, however, is not an idea, or a cul
tural outlook, but only a means for the acquirement, expression
and dissemination of culture; and in fact the Aramaean contribu
tion to civilization consisted essentially in this process. The
Aramaeans were not in a position to produce great artistic
creations; their land was the clearing-house for the cultural
productivity of the stronger states about them, and their langu

age was the instrument of a work of cultural assimilation and
dissemination, which goes beyond the limits of their local history,
and becomes an element of Mediterranean civilization. The
Greeks and Romans knew die Near East mainly through the
Aramaeans, for it was they who united and canalized the sources
of its culture, bringing together Babylonian, Persian and Hebrew
dements and transmitting them to Christianity, and with
Christianity to the West. From the West, at a later date, the
Aramaeans were to bring to the East Greek culture, especially
philosophy, which became known to the Arabs through the
medium of Aramaic.
The ultimate foundation of die characteristics of Aramaean
civilization was therefore, as we said at the beginning, the
geo
graphical situation; the land shared to an accentuated degree die
fate, as an area of communication, of the Syropalestinian region,
of whkh it was an integral part.
180
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE ARABS
with the îgorous and changeful history of
northern Semitic regions, the picture presented by the
Arabian hinterland is one of remarkable immobility. The desert
which covers the greater port of the surface of the peninsuk
offers an obstacle to the movements of armies or traders, and
preserves almost unchanged throughout the centuries the charac
teristicsof its inhabitants and of the conditions in whkh they live.
Hence, while CM the one hand it seems likely that it was hare
that the Semites took on those features with which they first
appear in history, and it is true that the Arabs have preserved,

better perhaps than any other people, the most ancient of those
features, on the otho: hand the inhabitants of Arabia make their

own appearance in history at a fairly late period* thousands of
years after the political establishment of other Semitic peoples.
The union of Arabia may be said to have bmi brought about
by the great religious movement whkh was initiated in the
seventh century of the Christian era by the preaching of Moham

med. The figure of the prophet thus marks a dear division in
Arabian history: before him was dispersion and division, after
him came and expansion far beyond the

solid political unity,
bounds of Arabia. Before Mohammed there were only small
local states* along the tnideHrocitGsaiidaiiti^
area, and the life of these states was limited in time as well as in
space. The only essoeptioii an csDocptioii

in time, that is, be
cause in space we ait still
dkafag with small entities was Ac
south-western coastal region, Arabia Felix, whoe the exjceUence
of the soil and the consequent possibility of settled culture
181
182
THE ARABS
the organization of lasting and prosperous
permitted political
units. This region had therefore a life of its own, until after a
period
of continual decline it was absorbed into the rising
Islamic state.
Outside the settled groups, who were but a small minority,
the beduin tribes passed over the desert in their periodic migra
tions in search of pasture and water. Unstable and changing as
nomad lifemay seem to be to a short-term view, it is in fact
immutable in the monotonous recurrence of its movements,
year after year and century after century, and die whok region
so takes on a static and isolated aspect as compared with the
historical evolution round about it.
SOUTHERN A1ABS
Our knowledge of Arabia Felix is still far from complete.

Many problems remain to be solved before we can be sure of dbe
history of the various states and of their relations with one another
.
Great progress has been made, however, since the first attempts,
made towards the middle of the last century, at the decipher
ment of South Arabian documents. The voyages of HaMvy and
Gkser in the second half of the century brought to Europe a
large number of copies and tracings of inscriptions, and
since
then the number has continued to increase up to about four

thousand documents, whik many more are to be expected as a
of the recent explorations carried out by the University of
result
Louvain (1951 52) and by the American Foundation for die
Study of Man (195053).
The inscriptions are in an alphabetic script which was probably
imported from Canaan, although the letters do not bear much
external resemblance to those of dbe North Semitic alphabets:
of the known Semitic alphabets, they show an especial affinity
with the Mriopk. Tie language* or nrther the group of various
dialects, is likewise related &>
E&iopic, The reasoa for this is
183
dear enough: Ethiopia civilization is an ofishoot of South
Arabian, since Abyssinia was colonized by immigrants from the

Yemenite coast.
Hie matter of Ac South Arabian inscriptions is made up of
votive and sepulchral dedications, binHing-inscriptions, records of
historical events, decrees, economic texts. From all this material
it is
possible to reconstruct lists of the kings
and of the principal
events in the life of eadh of the states, and further asastance is
given by certain indirect sources. There is a very extensive pre-

iskmk Arabic tradition, but as this is for the most part legendary
in character, it is
poor in reliable material. Certain allusions are
to be found in the Bible, notably the celebrated account of the

visit
paid to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba; Assyrian cunei
form of hints; and from the third
inscriptions give us a couple
century before Christ onwards we have important references in
the works of ciasskal historians and geographers, and in several
religious tods in Syriac or Ethiopia
In the first millennium before Christ various states appear in

south-western Arabia. Outstanding among them are the king
doms of the Minaeans, of the Sabaeans (Sheba), of Kataban and
of Hadramaut.
The JMinaean kingdom, in the northern Yemen, has been the
most discussed from the chronological point of view. It was in
the past uncertain whether it was prior to the Sabaean kingdom,
or contemporary with it. Recent ecscavations, and the applica
tion of the radiocarbon process, point to contemporaneousness:
the rise of die kingdom seems to be datable at about 400 B.C.
Hie Minaeans are especially noteworthy for their development of
trade wilt the nordi: tliey established
important colonies along
dbe Red Sea coastal route Palestine and the Mediterranean.
&>
Towards die caid of the firsfc century before Christ the Mioaean
kingdom was absorbed in the Sabaean one, which had meanwhile
been cptriMtiiig its
power in the region further south.
IS4
THE AIASS
Cuneiform inscriptions of the eighth century before Christ tell
us that Sabaean chiefs and kings oflfered tribute and gife to
Assyrian monarchs. The Sabacans in question most have been

colonists in northern Arabia, a feet which indicates die flourishing
condition of the state at so early a date. Hie most ancient Sabaean
inscriptions show IB, at die same period, a remarkably high degree

of cultural development.
The Sabaean state evolved from a religious form of govern
ment to a secular one. At an earlier date its rulers bone the title
mwfeflrrii, which may be rendered "high priest**. Towards the end
of the period of the mukarribs the capital of the kingdom was

fixed at Marib, where an enormous dyke was meanwhile being
constructed to contain the river Adhanat and divert its waters for
die purpose of irrigation. About the fifth century before Christ
came the transition to a lay form of government, based CHI the
oligarchy of a small number of military and landed families. At
die head of the state were kings, under whom die Sabaeaos
progressively extended their dominion. At the end

of die seeoed
century before Christ die kings of Sheba added to their tide
that of king of Raidan, and a new capital was established at
Zafer. At the same time the tribe of the Himyarites began to
take foremost place in die state, and their name, in the form
Homeritae, is found widi increasing frequency in classical
audiors alongside or in place of diat of Sabacans.
Towards the aid of the first century before Christ, as we said,
the Minaean kingdom was absorbed into die Sabaean, The same
fate befell Kataban, whose history, according to the new chrono
logy, is to be placed approximately between 400

B.C, and 50
B.C., and some time later Hadramaut, whose history, according
to the same system of dfaroiiolDgy, Iks between 450

B.C. and die
secoiid century after Christ Tlie mseripdoos of bodi of these
states mention mukarribs, whida leads to the siipjXKitkm that dick
original form of gowmnirat

was similar to diat of the Sabaeans,
By die third ceattMy of the Christim era ribe Sabacans had welded
185
southern Arabia into a angle strong state, the largest political
unity formed by the southern Arabs.

lids kingdom was soon fiercely attacked by the Ethiopians. In
the fourth century it was for a while occupied by them; later it
recovered freedom, but internal dissension, due principally to

its
the introduction ofJudaism and Christianity, now began to said

it down the path of decline. The Jewish element became stronger
and stronger, and the last Sabacan king, dhu-Nuwas, attempted to
impose Judaism cm hs people, and began a violent persecution of
the Christians. This led the Christian Ethiopians in 525 to invade
and occupy the Yemok
Undo: the Ethiopian occupation the crisis became intensified.
While the Christian governors were building churches, and
seeking to thrust northwards with the celebrated Abraha (who is
nowadays thought to have governed the Yemen as an indepen
dent sovereign), the cocmtry fell ever more and more into decline
owing to die dying-oot of the commercial activity which was

largely bound up with its very existence. A development of the
use of die sea-routses competed disastrously with the caravan
trade, and finally in 542 the collapse of the Marib dyke brought
devastation to the flourishing irrigated lands and dealt the death
blow to Yemenite prosperity.
Abyssinian dominion came to an end in 575, and was succeeded
by that of Persia, which was finally in its turn to be supplanted,
during the last years of Mohammed s life, by Islam.
The South Arabian inscriptions record a host of names and

epithets of gods, which give us the impression of an extremely
complex pantheon. The local character of the majority of the gods,
and the custom of referring diem anonymously or by their
tx>
epithets add to the researcher s difficulties. However, the exist

ence of certain general coiiceptioos, around which die multitude
of gods can fee grouped, is beyond doubt.
AM astral triad, wiridi we have already seen in Mesopotamia, is
186
THE AIABS
predominant in southern Arabia: the god of the morning-star,

the moon-god and the sun-goddess. It would be an exagger
ation to seek, as Nielsen did in his celebrated thesis, to reduce all
the deities to terms of this triad, but it is true that it

played a
leading part in the South Arabian pantheon, and that many of tihe
various divinities are but its manifestations.
The name of the star-god is common to the whok region:
Athtar, a variant of the weE-known Jshtar of the Babylonians
and Assyrians, and Astarte of die Canaanices. Charaoeristic,
however, is the fact that Ac South Arabian Athtar is a mak
religions have
a female one.
deity, whereas
all the other Semitic
The moon and the sun appear under different names. The
former, who is Wadd and flumquh for tbe
for the Minaeans
Sabaeans, is Amm,
in Kataban calledand in Hadramaut Sin {as in
names the has in Kataban and
Babylonia); along with other
sun
Hadramaut that of Shams, a form related to Ac Mesopocamian
Shamash. Such correspondences confirm the interdcpeodeiMX,
among the Semitic peoples, of many religious dements.
Alongside the common deities was
a wfaok host of particular
ones, of of tribes, or even of families. These are

patrons places,
often referred to simply as name we have already met with
bifal, a
Not all these
among the Camanites, meaning "master, patron".
divinities came from the national stock; some were borrowed
from neighbouring in accordance with an asdmilative
peoples,
readiness common among the southern Arabs, whkh in the later
their history was to facilitate die introduction of Jewish
phases of
and Christian belids.
The South Arabian pantheon contains many nameless gods,
who are invoked, or collectively, by the use of such
iinMvideally
formulas as "the god" or "the
gods"
of a particular place or group
of peopk.
name common to the
be mack of a
Special mention may
fl,
entire Semitic pantheon: Akkadianfl, El, Hebrew GismBits

Ebfaim, Arabic Afiak Hie Yemenite also
kocw this name, and
187
used it for the most part as a common noun, "god**, which
indeed it was in origin. It is occasionally found, however, as a
proper name; and is
very frequent as an element in personal
names.
Tfacophoric pecsoml names are the principal source of our
knowledge of die attributes tmder which the southern Arabians
wore accustomed to invoke the gods. Among the commonest are
the titles: father, lord, king, mighty, just, steadfast. Man s sub
jection is
emphasized; a constant characteristic of this
religious
outlook is man s seeking after divine protection.
In Southern Arabia religion entered into every form of life. In
consequence of die conception of the necessity of divine protec

tion for die success of every being and every act, not tribes only
and families, but also states andagricultural and commercial
all had their
groups tofceiary deities.
Propitiatory and dedicatory
coranoeks weie performed in connection with any activity of
any importance. Temples and aqueducts, laws and official acts,
all war
funeral stebe, put in the care of the gods, who were to
avenge any vioktioa or profanation of them.
In such an envirotiment, temples were of
primary importance.
Tithes and other sources of income were allotted to them in
order to ensure ample foods for their maintenance. The
upkeep of
the temples was the task of the priests, who were numerous and
well organized. Pedbaps their functions also included that of
emitting oracles in tfae name of the gods; but here our information
does not permit us to be certain. The
temple personnel also in
cluded sacred pix&titiJijes. These were for the most
part foreign
slaves, who wtue offered fco the gods and consecrated themselves
entirely to Ack service.

Sacrifices wene offered of various animafc including O3seu and
steep, aim in gocal aiiiiafca>s. Tte
in the form of libations and die offering of incense.
A wry interesting institution was that of pilgrimages to holy
188
THE ARABS
places; the similar practice of central Arabia was later to pass into
Moslem religious tradition. Similarly, although the practice of
the circuit of holy places is not
making explicitly attested, there
are several indications which suggest that it existed in a form
not unlike that which prevailed among the othex Arabs.
Private prayer, in the sense of
prayers not associated with
religious functions or fixed hours, must have been widely prac
tised. Its object was above
the imploring of divine protection
all
and hence of fraitfulaess for one s land, of success in one s trade,

of freedom from want and from disease, Infractions of the con
ception of purity, which was highly developed in connection
with were followed by public omfcssion. We have ex
ritual,
amples of such confessions made by tribes to various deities, and

of public penance on the part of kings.
Jewels, goblets, seals, and objects of every sort have been found
in South Arabian tombs. This points to a belief in survival; but
here, as elsewhere, we cannot ascertain the details of that

belief.
As a whole, the religious life of southern Arabia is dbal of a
highly developed settled culture wkh its own dcarcut individual

ity and independence within its environment. It offers a contrast,
very marked in many ways, with dbe ccmditicffis of Ac nomad

Arabs further south.
It is not easy to build up a picture of the political aad social

lifeof populations who have left us no other records but votive
and commemorative inscriptions. The latter are nomarom
enough, however, to allow us draw certain cautious conclus
&>
ions in this respect. On the other hand, Ac division of Ac region

into various states means that: in spte of die conquerable degree
of uniformity ova: dbe whole area, cmdhsiQiis formed foe one
state are not necessarily valid without: exception or qualifeatkm
for odher state.
states took die
The political organization of the South Arabian
form of strong, unified monarchies. The head of the state was
the king, whose authority mainly underwent an evolution from
the to the secular sphere. The recent studies of
religious
have traced for us the outline of political
J. Ryckmans develop
ment in the Minaean and, especially, in the Sabaean kingdom.
Here, under the rule of the mukarribs, the tribes formed religious
communities under the patronage of their own deities; in his
legislative
functions the ruler was assisted by an assembly of the
people. In the period

of the kings the assembly still remained at
first; special hereditary magistrates,

whose tide was kablr
saw to the administration of the law in each tribe.
("Grandee"),
About the beginning of the Christian era, with the expansion of

Sabaean conquest, the power of these Grandees grew increasingly
until they became a privileged class within the tribes, with great
territorial the popular assembly disappeared, die

possessions;
royal authority diminished greatly, and so there grew up a sort
of feudal system. In military affairs authority seems at all times to
have been in the hands of the ruler the inscriptions recording war
:
like enterprises generally state that they were carried out at his
order, and the assemblies do not seem to have had any say in
the matter. From the religious point of view, Sheba seems, even
in the period of die mukarribs, to have had a more secular type of
government dian the Minacan kingdom or Kataban, where the

activity of the priesthood was more prominent.
The king s successor seems regularly to have been his son, or,
failing that, his brother. A typically South Arabianof institution,

Minaean or Katabanian origin, probably taken over by Sheba
after its conquest of Kataban, was that of co-regency,
whereby
die king associated with himself in the government of the state
the son wlio was to succeed Mm, or, at a later stage, several of
his sons, including idb heir.
The aodtority of die ting and of local chieftains was ultimately
founded hence die administration of di
ota territorial possession;
sfcate was based cm landed property, and largely directed towards
190
THE ABABS
its interests. The temples likewise had their estates, from which
a great part of their prosperity was derived.
We have some data about the fiscal administration. Taxes were
levied on commercial transactions and on landed property, and
there were special taxes for military expenses. The rate of tax
ation seems not to have been fixed, but to have varied
according
to the harvest and other factors.
In addition to its
highly-developed agricultural resources, the
economic of southern Arabia was founded on international
life
trade. In particular, Arabian perfumes were famous

throughout
the world: they were exported by sea or by the caravan-routes
which led to Mesopotamia and Palestine. In the commercial
field, southern Arabia also pkyed an essential as a centre of
part
exchange. was
It the landing-stage of the Indian Ocean for track
with the Mediterranean. The trading-bases planted by the
Sabaeans on the coasts of India and Somaliland gave them a
monopoly over the exchange of gold, of incense, of myrrh and

of ornamental woods which those regions exported to the north.
Commercial interests and needs therefore penetrated the entire
policy of southern Arabia: without any great political expansion
it was able to reach far-off lands
through its colonization and its
commerce.
Southern Arabia has not yet been so extensively explored as

East, The great temples and magnifi
have other parts of the Near
cent palaces whose memory is preserved by ancient writers still
lie in
part in ruins beneath the sandhills whkh for centuries have
covered the remains of that vanished civilization.
Southern Arabia is rich in granite, whkh furnished admirable
building-stone, from whkh great square blocks and strong pillars

were hewn, while the extensive fortsts of ancient times provided
timber. Brick was also used, and the frequent use of a step-
foonation ia the capitals of pillars and in roofi recalls the similar
features of maay Mesaf*>tamiaa buildings,
191
Imperfect as it is, our knowledge of South Arabian architecture
permits the description of

certain of its characteristics.
great The
stone blocks were so accurately finished and fitted together that
the joins were often imperceptible. Even the pillars were firmly
sunk into sockets in dbrir bases and architraves. The walls are
generally smooth, bill we know that they were also built with
ribbed surfaces. This technique gives the impression of having
drawn inspiration from brickwork,
its and on the whole recalls
Babylonian architecture* A
remarkable amount of care went into
the adornment of walk and pillars with bosses of gold or of other
metals, in whkh southern Arabia was rich.
Great use was made of pilasters and columns. Tall monoliths
were erected, often bearing inscriptions. Capitals of pillars wore
often square, and sometimes multiple, superimposed in step-
formation; the pillars themselves might be square or octagonal or
sixtem-ricbi
Temples wore elliptical or rectangular in plan. A good

example of the former type is the great sanctuary at Marib
brought to light by the American mission. The precinct-wall, in
the form of a rough ellipse, has been found, and a later con
struction built into it has been explored in detail. This edifice has
a front with eight pilasters; an entrance of three doorways side
by ride gives access to a peristyle hall, from which a single door

way leads into the temple-precinct itself. A good example of the
quadrangular type is the sanctuary of Khor Rory in Oman, also
foimd by the American mission. The walls are extremely thick
(ten feet and more), and within the northern wall three others
have been added, HK^C is but one entrance, and that a narrow
OK, set in the eastern wall. Within the temple-precinct thereare
two altars and a well fitted with a cistern.
Odbo: buiUiags besides religious ones have also been brought
to ligbt, bulk of stooe blocks or of brick: many-storeyed castles,
walls and &>IPCIX A particularly important branch of civil archi
tecture was die cc^nndMi of dykes, one of whkh, that of
192
THE ARABS
Marib, was of primary importance to the political well-being of
the country. The excavations in the Tirana zone have brought
to light a whole system of dykes with canals and cisterns, ensuring
the irrigation of a wide stretch of
country.
3. Plan of temple at Marib.
Sepulchral edifices were the object of especial care. Funeral

chambers, mausoleums and stelae have been found, often bearing
a portrait of the dead man and an epitaph, Stone tombs, hollowed
out of the rock, with funerary furniture and yet more inscrip
tions, wore found at Tirana by the recent American mission-
Sculpture did not rise to such heights as did architecture. The

is that of small statuettes of persons, to be set in
prevailing type
temples as votive offerings. Some fine bronze statues have been
found, as for example that recently discovered at Marib, about
193
three feet in height, of a man wearing a lion-skin on his back,
or that of a horse, which is now in die Dumbarton Oaks collar-
don at Washington; but in general this art is of a rough and
primitive type. Hie same applies
to the reliefs: human figures
generally present a frontal view of the body
and a profile one of
the feet, and the faces are poorly executed. Differences in the
statusof the persons represented are indicated, as in Mesopotamia,
by differences of size. The problems of perspective proved
insurmountabk for these artists, who simply superpose or
juxtapose their subjects. As usual, the reliefs of animals, flowers,
garlands and geometrical designs are more successful: there is,
for example, in the British Museum a very fine relief representing
a camel.
Tlie South Arabians were very successful in the production of
small works of art. Classical authors have sung the praises of
Sabaean gold and silver goblets and vases. Unfortunately, though
naturally, few such objects have been preserved;
we have how
ever, for example, a very fine bronze lamp, bearing on its upper
surface a design in the form of a leaping goat. Scenes of struggles
between animals and gods, recalling Babylonian and Assyrian
seals, are to be found on bronze brooches and bosses.
Many articles of jewellery of great value were made with the

gold which was plentiful in southern Arabia. Money was also
coined in great quantity, a practice derived from the Greek world,
whose influence is to be seen in the coins themselves.
In conclusion, the art of southern Arabia, like the other mani
festations of the culture to which it belonged, gives proof of a
remarkably advanced stage of prosperously and

civilization,
solidly established in settled conditions,and not merely indepen

dent of the rest of Arabia, but mari&edly contrasting with it in
many ways.
OBHTSAL AMD NOKTHERN ARABS
The history of preislamic Aratia, if we except the southern
194
THE ARABS
region, is that of the vicissitudes of little political groups which

arose in succession along the fringe of the desert, from the coast
of the Red Sea to the edges of Palestine, Syria and Mesopotamia.
Unstable in their structure and shortlived, these little states are in
reality no more than a by-product of the process of contact and
transitionbetween the nomad zone and that of settled culture.
They were not only the meeting-grounds and stage-points of the
periodic
movements of expansion originating within the desert,
but at the same time the protective screen thrown up by the
surrounding regions.
In addition, however, to this geographical factor, economic
forces went to form the history of Arabia in ancient times. The
is bordered, as we have
peninsula already said, by two main
linesof passage, along which merchandise travelled from the
Indian Ocean to the ports of Palestine and Syria, following die
edge of the desert. One ofthese trade-routes went from the Yemen
into southern Palestine,and the other from the Persian Gulf
entered the Mesopotamian valley and thence turned off into
Syria, making for Damascus. It was along these routes that the
little Arabian frontier-states up, and the operation or the
grew
closing of those routes, according to the Near Eastern political
situation, determined the fate of those states.
Except in so far as they pass into these border-states, the nomads

as such rarely appear on the historical scene. They are the in
exhaustible reserve of the Arab people; with their infiltration into
the settled regions and so into history, they cease at once to be
wholly nomads, and yield their place in the desert to others who
will in due course follow them over its borders.
Hebrew tradition, with its tale of die

of Joseph by his
selling
brediren to Arab merchants, gives us perhaps the most ancient
reference to these people, a substantially significant one, in that
it is as raiders and caravaneers that die most disparate sources of
antiquity mention tiie sons of die desert. The Assyrian annals for
195
their part record, from die ninth century before Christ, royal
expeditious against the nomad raiders of the northern desert
From Shalmaneser HI to Ashurbanipal, Assyrian policy was
directed towards maintaining the security of the frontier and of
communications with the West, without however aiming at the
permanent subjection of the Arabian hinterland. The bas-reliefs
of AshurbaaipaFs time give us pictures of these campaigns, in
which we see the bedirin fighting on camel-back, and their tents
being burned. Several times there is mention of the names of

queens, a remarkable feet, which has led to the supposition that
the ancient tribal organization contained an element of matri
archy.
The periodic migratory movement from the desert towards the
cultivated regions eventually led to the foundation, towards the
fifth
century before Christ, of the
first unified state on the outer
fringe of Ac Palestinian region. Its

capital was Petra, an important
stage-point: on the trade-route along the edge of the Sinaitic
peninsula; the American excavations conducted by Professor
Glueck have now brought to light many other centres grouped
around and dependent on Petra,
The people of this stafce, the Nabataeans, were largely influenced
the Aramaic language and culture, and so
by anticipated that
meeting of the Arabic and Aramaean civilizations which was to
be aoxraplished on so large a scale and bear such abundant
fruit when tibe Arabs, united
by Islam, set out to conquer die
wodkL Moreover, snore and more KnVs are being found between
the Nabataean civilization and die classical world.
Ourearliest infonmtion on Nabataean
history comes from
writersof the tdknistic period. The Nabataeans were
repeatedly
brought ino conflict witt the Jews, and hence Havius Josephus s
history tdk IB modi alx>ut them. Their state reached the height
o its
prosperity drong die period which preceded the Roman
occupation Syria m 65 B.C.; during whole
this period the
region m tlie casfc and south of Palestine came under Nabataean
196
THE ARABS
which extended southwards
rule, as far as the city of el~Hejr,
now Medain Salih.
Further to the south lay another political centre, Dedan, now

el-Ula, an ancient Minaean colony, and the northernmost outpost
of South Arabian civilization; here there arose the independent
kingdom of the Lihyanites, known to us from numerous inscrip
tions discovered in that region. This state reached its highest
point
of prosperity at the begirming of the Christian era or
perhaps somewhat later. In the same area there are other sets of
inscriptions similar to the lihyanite ones, namely those called

Thamudic, because attributed to the Thamud people, and those
called Safaitic, further north, to the southr-east of Damascus.
The alphabet used in all these inscriptions is of South Arabian type.
The Roman conquest of the Near East marked for the Nabat-
aeans the beginning of the period of decline: they came under
Roman hegemony, and fell victim to the Eastern polky ofTrajan,
who in 105 turned the Nabataean state into the Roman
AJ>.
province of Arabia. The Nabataeans have left noteworthy traces

of themselves in all that region, especially by their development of
the irrigation and agriculture of Transjordania; die extent of
their commercial and maritime enterprise is witnessed to by the
inscriptions found in the Aegean and at PuteolL
The breakdown of Nabataean power led to the progressive
abandonment of its trade-route in favour of the other one, that of
the Euphrates, and this in its turn brought about an increase in the
importance of the stage-{>omt on that route between the Euphrates

and Damascus: the oasis-state of Palmyra, which during the first
century before Christ grew steadily in power thanks also to die
diplomatic and comiriarcial importance of its position between
die rival Persian and Roman empires. Palmyra grew up, as
Petra had done, within die orbit of Aramaean tivflizatioii, and
adopted its language and die essentials of its cultural and religious
dioeght, while at the same time it took modi from the classical
world. Its power went on m/rragmg until towards the mkMk of
19?
the third century of the Christian era it extended over Syria and
die Roman Near East; but Queen Zenobia s policy of indepen
dence and hostility to Rome soon brought it to disaster: in 272
die Aurdian entered the city of Palmyra and put an end
Emperor
for ever to its
independence.
like Petra, Palmyra left its mark on the Mediterranean world.
Its merchants, and above all its soldiers, celebrated as bowmen,
wane to be found everywhere. Important and imposing remains
of die city itself, along with those of nearby Dura, contribute
notably to the reconstruction of its civilization.

The fell of Palmyra meant a temporary weakening of the
protective screen between the desert and the outside world; the
other little states of Arabian origin which were at that time in
existenceon the fringe of the Roman empire in Syria and Meso
potamia had no great defensive strength. The most important of
dbon was Hatra, where the recent excavations (1951 54) of Dr.
Naji have brought to light important remains of a com
a! Asil
art in which are combined classical and Persian

posite type of
elements. The historical life of Hatra lasted from the beginning of
die Christian era until its destruction by the Sassanids about 240
AD.
Meanwhile the nomads of Arabia were taking on a new vigour.
The decline of the Yemenite states had given rise to a northerly
emigration from that region of entire tribes in search of new lands,
and the eventual result of this movement was that Petra and
Palmyra were succeeded by newly formed little states along the
outskirts of the desert. In the fifth and sixth centuries there
flourished around Damascus the Ghassanid kingdom, and at the
same time* near die hanks of the Euphrates, the little Lakhmid
statr of Him. These two states were
dependent on the two great
empires of Byzantium and Pemi, instituting their advanced
otstposts on die desert frontier; but they declined and disappeared
the we of die onslaught of Islam, leaving the empires face to
<M
face with die new invaders.

198
THE ARABS
Even within the desert there were attempts at political organ
ization, such as the state of Kinda, which united under its rule
several central Arabian tribes. On the whole, however, the

nomads remained free from
all such forms of
organization;
united by blood-rektionship into tribes, dbey sought no further
unification, but wandered independently over their vast sandy

home. Moslem tradition has preserved the memory of their
rivalries and struggles: the so-called "days of the Arabs" are full
of batdes and vendettas originating in dispute over cattle, pas

ture or wells. Here the figure of the beduin stands out vividly
with those contrasting characteristics of courage and pride and
tenacity and guile, which were to play no mean part in the great
organization to which Arabia was to give birth.
Cities had grown up principally at the oases of the Hejaz. The
caravan route to the north was controlled by die predominantly
commercial centres of Yathrib, later to be called Medina, and,
further to the south, Mecca. Mecca was ruled by a merchant
oligarchy. On market-days and religious feasts there poured into

it
groups of Arabs from all parts of the peninsula; as a place where
die tribes met and mingled, no part of central Arabia was com
parable to Mecca. Here was born Mohammed.
The system of the ancient nomadic life has already been

social
sufficiently described in dealing

with the question of Semitic
origins; it remains here
to sketch the religious conditions of pre-
islamic Arabia, Hie which arose at various times on the
states
outer fringe of the desert had each its own local religious develop
ment, dependent upon die historical conditions of its formation
and existence. In the inner desert the nomads had by reason of
their manner of life
opportunity to develop organized
less
life tended to be less

religious systems, and hence their religious
intense, at least in its outward manifestations. On die other hand,
Arabia did not remain untouched by the great monotheistic
religions which grew op on its borders: Judaism and Christianity
199
penetrated into the desert and provoked curious reactions,
upon which was to work the preaching of Mohammed. Hence in

dealing with the spiritual patrimony of the Arabs before the
coming of Islam, one must speak of the religions of the Arabs
rather than of Arabian religion.
An Arabian foundation, local dements, and Aramaean in
fluences ra*TM together into curious syncretisms in the religions of
the Nabataeans and of die Palmyrenes. At Petra the national god
was Dusares, who was probably a form of the Semitic fertility-
deity. His spouse was the Arabic which means simply
"Alkt",
"goddess".
At Palmyra we have die Semitic Baal, in the form
Bel, whkh is of Mesopotamian origin, or Belsamin, "lord of the
heavens", a name whki we have already encountered in the
North-West Semitic area, and whkh is to be found also in the
Hatra. inscriptioiis. Composite forms, which evolved, however,

into independent deities, were Yarkhibol, Aglibol and MakkbeL
It is
probable that the form Bol is derived from an ancient local
god, later assimilated to the common Semitic Bel At Palmyra
ako we find AHat, and the astral triad common to so many
Semitic peoples.
The lihyanite, Thamudk and Safaitic inscriptions allow us to
reoûstriKrt certain elements of the religious system of those
peoples. From die stock they have retained the pan-
o>mmon
arabic Allah and

and to these they have added local gods,
Allat,
soch as dfau-Ghaba for the Lihyanites, Ruda for the Thamii-
denes and Safaites. Finally, there are several South Arabian,
Nabataean, Palmyreee and Aramaean deities.
Tiie nomad tribes of central Arabia knew a host of divinities:
nor wdi-de&aed gods or goddesses, with dneir own established
attributes and
mythologies, but rather die spirits ruling and pco-
tEctmg eada locality, somewhat after the manner of die various
Baals of Canaan. Hie beduin imagination gave souls to wells and
laws and stones, in wirict it felt the
pfesaicscf the divinity. Tfe
Hack staone at Mecca, the object of veneration for die
200
THE ARABS
world, is but one of the relics of die ancient pagan

entire Islamic
ism, taken over by Mohammed into his new faith.

The desert was populated by other local spirits as well as die
gods: a host of fantastic beings good and bad, possessing
the
to become invisible; to escape from molestation by them,
power
itwas necessary to propitiate them. Mohammed, returning from
an unsuccessful preaching expedition, relates that he converted
on his way several of these jinns (Koran 46, 28 31).
The multitude of die desert divinities is a consequence of die
state of dispersion in which the tribes lived, and of their pre-
dominandy centrifugal trend. Only in rare cases can a divinity

overcome these influences and extend its sway beyond the limits
of its own locality. Such was the case with the three goddesses
Alkt, al-Manat and al-Uzza, venerated around Mecca. Superior
to them was their father, AllaL Itis last name, as we have seen,
is
properly a common noun, meaning it was
widdy
"god";
used the Arabs not only for die supreme dtity in general, but
by
also for various particular gods. Mohammed was to take over
this name as that of the one God whom he preached.
The wells or trees or stones in which dwelt die spirits of the
divine protectors of various places were naturally the shrines and
die centres of the worship of those deities, The nomad manner of
life allowed only a limited and rudimentary development of
religious worship. In addition
to die fixed local sanctuaries, there
were also movable tribal ones. The latter wore carried about with
palladium in batde. The ground
the tribe and weije its about the
fixed shrines was sacred ground. At tibe appropriate times pil
grimage was iroclc to these shrines with song and music, and die
pilgrims would nm
many times round the holy place, boding
stones or uttering religious cries.
There was no place in such a society fix an organized priest
hood Sacred were looked after by groups of femifes or
places
tribes, but there was no reservation of the rigfet
to ofier sacrifice
or accomplish other ritual ads. A peculiar type
of diviner, tfee
201
kikm (the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew word kdhen, which
however means interpreted the will of the spirits by
"priest")
means of obscure oracles. These diviners also acted as judges and

arbitrators. Another notable religious figure among the Arabs was
that of the s&Jin or temple-guardian, whose functions were

similar to those of a priest.
Oily one religions locality among the many that existed in

central Arabia was of more than local importance, namely Mecca,
Its sanctuary, in which the black stone was venerated, was the
goal of pilgrimages from many parts of Arabia. The situation of

Mecca on the trade-route to the north made of it, as we have
already seen, a commercial centre and a market-city. Commercial
and religious importance together made it a meeting-place for the
dispersed forces of the Arabs, and a beginning of panarabic
cratralization. This permitted the formation, in the religious
and in the civil and commercial spheres, of a common national
nucleus of traditkm, which Mohammed was to turn to account
in bringing about the political union of die Arabs.
Alongside the pagan tradition, the desert received also that of
the two great monotheistic religions whose centre lay so near to
its borders. Jewish groups migrated southwards, probably from
the time of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, and formed
little colonies along the trade-route and at the oases of the Hejaz.
Their principal occupation was agriculture, and they brought to
dick new home the religious and cultural tradition of their
people. Their cultural level, modest as it was, must have seemed

miraculous to the beduin, who looked on them with mingled
envy ainl respect The Jews for their part, though they adopted
dhe Arabic language, faeki the Arabs in a contempt which was to
prove fata! for themselves when they met Mohammed,
Cbristimity awie into Arabia for a different reason and behaved
m a different fashion.
Its advent formed
part of the general move
ment of dbe propagation of tlie new faith, and was motivated by a
supra-national conception, thanks to which its
penetration into
202
THE ARABS
new lands was not merely a matter of the migration of Christian
spread of the gospel. The

groups,
but consisted above all in the
northern Arabic kingdoms of the Ghassanids and Lakhmids

embraced Christianity, and Christian colonies grew up also in the
Hejaz, at Mecca, and in the Yemen, where they were in contact
with the Christian Ethiopians. In addition to these lay Christian
communities, there were the monks of the desert.
Arabian Christianity was not entirely orthodox; there were
many monophysites, and representatives of various Gnostic sects.
The Arabs were indifferent to doctrinal distinctions, and while they
felt a certain admiration for the way of life of the monks and
hermits, they knew little of their faith. Mohammed, for example,

thought that Mary the mother of Jesus was the same person as
Miriam the sisterof Moses, and that the Trinity consisted of the
Father, the Virgin, and the Son. It is not dear, however, whether
these opinions were simply due to misunderstanding on his part,
or whether they correspond to Gnostic doctrines.
Belief in the one God took a certain hold in preislamk Arabia.
On the eve of the preaching of Mohammed, tradition tells us,
there were a few men who professed monotheism. Their preaching
served to prepare the way for the new religion that was about to
arise. On the threshold of the new era, Arabian religion was
represented by national traditions, Judaism, Christianity and

monotheistic aspirations; only a singularly receptive spirit could
have affected a synthesis of all these elements. Such a spirit was
Mohammed.
The preJslarrnc states have left thrir traces behind only in

inscriptions, often short and hence offering but scanty material
from a literary point of view. The inscriptions are for the most
part commemorative ones, listing their subject s name and
ancestry and occupation; there are also epitaphs, notices of pro
prietorship, and prayers. Their value is mainly religious,
in that
they record tie names of various deities.
203
Within the however, the nomads developed an inde
desert,
pendent poetry of their own, characteristic of their way of life and

of their outlook on eoristmce. These compositions have been
handed down to us in the works of Moslem authors, and the
important question arises, whether the latter are simply reporting
them in their traditional form, or have added and invented on
their own account One may assume that at least a good part of
the original creation of that heroic epoch of
this liteature is
Arabian paganism which Islam called the age of ignorance.

The Arabs have at all times been connoisseurs of language;
elegance of diction and pithiness of speech have always been
reckoned by them among the highest virtues. From ancient times
they must have had popular songs in crude rhyming prose, exalt
ing Ac battles and the exploits of the tribe and of its heroes: a
poetry of boasting and of daring, a poetry whose theme was man
and doings and conquests, man thinking and acting without
his
any concrete religious sentiment to guide him.

The poet was a singular and attractive figure. He was credited
with supernatural powers, and it was but a short step from die
war-song to the oracle. Speech had magical power against the foe,
and poetical inspiration was accounted a sort of magic, or a form
of possession.
Tlie Arabic poetry that has come down to us is not that of the
first
stages of literary evolution. It goes back no further than a
couple of centuries before the advent of Tslam, and its forms are
so precise and stylized that it is reasonable to see in them the result
of a bag period of formation. The usual type of
composition is
one which consists of an indefinite number of lines, of which the
im is
composed of two rhyming half-lines, and all the otters
rhyme together.
These poems are usually constructed on a conventional
plan,
fa die fe$ part die poet relate his visit to the encampment,
from which fe beloved has departed, and berwaik her absence; a
rich m
possibilities, bf& hampered by having become
204
THE ARABS
schematized and stereotyped in expression. Next follows the
poet s
journey across the desert, with its
descriptions of wild
nature. But neither danger nor solitude daunts the brave beduin:
he reaches his goal and finds those whom he seeks. Then follows
their praise or their blame- which is the real object of the whole
composition.
Into this general scheme various kinds of theme may be inter
woven. Unhampered by any great exigence of unity, the poet
follows his Muse down byways of description or reflection. This
poetry strikes a strongly subjective note, in which the strange

desert setting is seen transformed and coloured by the nomad s
vision- Camels, ostriches, jackals furnish material for striking
images painted with an unpretentious efficacy of expression which

the bare and obsessing simplicity of the desert.
reflects
A celebrated Arabian brigand, Shanfara, outlawed and perse^-

cuted for his crimes, has admirably expressed in a celebrated song
the proud struggle against all manner of privation and hardship for
the sake of an ideal of freedom:
"Somewhere thenoble find a refuge afar from scathe,

The outlaw a lonely spot where no kin with hatred bum.
Oh, never a prudent man, night-faring in hope or fear,
Hard pressed on the face of the earth, but still he
hath room to turn.
To me now, in your default, are comrades a wolf untired,

A sleek leopard, and a fell
hyena with shaggy mane:
True comrades, who yield not up die secret consigned
to them,
Nor basely forsake their friend because that he brought
them bane.
And each is a gallant heart and ready at honour s call,

Yet I, wfam the foremost charge, am bravest of all tlie
brave;
205
But if they with their hands outstretched are seizing
the booty won,
The slowest am I whenas most quick is the greedy knave.
save my generous will I rise to the height of

By naught
worth
Above them, and sure the best is he with the will to give.
Yea, w ell am I rid of those -who pay not a kindness back,

r
Of whom I have no delight though neighbours to me they

are.
Enow are at last: an intrepid soul,

companions three
A glittering trenchant blade, a tough bow^ of ample size,
Loud-twanging, the sides thereof smooth-polished, a

handsome bow
Hung down from the shoulder-belt by thongs in a comely
wise,
That groans, when the arrow slips away, like a woman
crushed
By losses, bereaved of all her children, who wails and
5J
ones . . .
"Bury
me not Me you are forbidden
! to bury,
But thou, O hyena, soon wilt feast and make merry,
When foes bear away mine head, wherein is the best of me,
And leave on the battle-field for thee all the rest of me.
Here nevermore hope I to live glad a stranger
Accurst, whose wild deeds have brought his people in
1
danger.**
Along with its merits, Arabic poetry has also its defects. The
stylizarion and artificiality of expression which it never shook off
often obscure the subjectivity of the inspiration, clothing it in
conventional garb. On the whole, however, Arabic lyric remains
SQaotrd from R. A. NidiolsGii, A Literary Hismjcfihe Aiabs, London 1907, pp.SO and 81 .
206
THE ARABS
highly original; its strong and weak points alike are derived from
the nature of the people who created it, for whom the desert was
a home and a shelter from the vicissitudes of the civilizations
which surrounded it.
Art does not flourish in the desert. In the northern states the
arts were developed, but as their inspiration was predominantly
hellenistic and Roman, they present little that can properly be
called Semitic, and need be mentioned here only summarily.
At Petra, the frontages of tombs carved in the lofty rocks are
striking for the vividness of their colouring. They are adorned
with columns, pediments and porticos, and with rich decoration
in the form of flowers and figures. Often they are built one
above the other, even to the very summit of the cliff, and stair
ways are hewn to them in the rock. Similar tombs are to be found
at el-Hejr, the caravan-station to the south of Petra, More inter
esting, because
more spontaneous, is the art of the rock-carvings
and paintings brought to light in the neighbourhood of Petra by
Glueck recent explorations.
s
At Palmyra a great part of the long colonnade at the entrance

to the city has been preserved, as also the remains of temples.
Here too, there is little originality, the style being mainly hellen
isticand Roman. There are funerary monuments of three types,
in the form of towers, of houses, and of underground vaults.
The sculpture is largely in the form of relief, especially on tombs,
and is dominated by the conventions of frontal representation, of
immobility and of symmetry; it is this more than anything else
which distinguishes it from its more advanced classical models.

There are also some paintings in the sepulchral vaults, and some
mosaics, characterized by the same features as the reliefs.
The art of Hatra, on which light has been cast by the recent
excavations, is
very similar, save that its
temples and statues and
bas-reliefs show a greater degree of Iranian influence, as was to be
expected on account of the city s position,
207
MOHAMMED AND THE RISE OB ISLAM
The teaching of the prophet of Islam has been handed down

in theKoran. This singular work, alone among the holy books of
the great monotheistic religions, is held to have been written
not merely under divine inspiration, lît at the dictation of God
himself; hence its spirit and its letter have at all times been deeply
venerated.
Mohammed did not write the Koran himself; indeed it is
doubtful if he ever learned to read or write. His words were

taken down by his disciples on palm-leaves, sheepskins and stones,
and, above aU, were committed to memory. Hence when the
first "bearers of the died in the struggle for the diffusion
Koran"
of Islam, the need was to fix in writing the whole body of

felt
revelation and so preserve it for future generations.

The official edition of the Koran was undertaken under the
Caliph Othman in 650 A.D. The editors scrupulously respected
the traditional text. Without in
any way altering the sacred words,
they simply arranged the various sections in descending order of
length. This principle of arrangement accounts for the chaotic and
inc<mseqiK3itial appearance
of the resulting book, whose elements
can however be sorted out by careful historical criticism.
Hie Koran exhibits a great variety of style and composition,
from the brief, brisk and brilliant apophthegms of the first revela
tions to the tedious casuistical
disquisitions of much of the later
legislation; but it
throughout faithfully reflects the
spirit
of its
author, who had a marvellous power of transforming and adapt

ing his thought to the changing circumstances.
In addition to the Koran, tradition carefully
preserved as much
as possible of die prophet s
history. His biography, written by Ibn
Isbaq, has come down to us in a later redaction by Ibn Hisham,
from the beginning of the third century of the Moslem era; and a
great number of his deeds and words were handed down from
generation to generation and committed to writing by annalists
208
THE ARABS
and collectors of tradition. Unfortunately, the very admiration
which the faithful had for the prophet led to the attribution to
him of much that is unhistorical, especially in order to lend his
authority to political movements or religious trends. The tradi
tional material must therefore be sifted cautiously, and it is not
always easy to distinguish between these pious frauds and the

genuine matter,
Mohammed was born at Mecca into the noble tribe of the

Koraish between 570 and 580 A.D. He lost his parents while still
a child, and was brought up, we are told, first by his grandfather
and later by an uncle. His youth must have been marked by
insecurity and difficulty; perhaps he was a herdsman, perhaps he
went with the caravans that left Mecca for Syria, where he is said
to have received, from a Christian monk, his first notions of
monotheism. It is certain that he had no first-hand knowledge of
the Scriptures; even if he could read, they were not accessible to
him in Arabic, and he certainly did not know Hebrew or Greek.
There were however in Arabia scattered groups of Jews and
Christians, who often came to Mecca on the market-days, and
belief in one God was professed also, as we have seen, by isolated
Arabs, who propagated it in their own circles.

When he was about twenty-five years old, an unexpected turn
of fortune changed the whole course of Mohammed s life. The
rich widowKhadija, in whose service he was, decided to marry
him, and so freed him from the need to struggle for a livelihood.
The marriage seems to have been a happy one; Khadija sym
pathized with her husband s

aspirations and helped him to realize
them, and he remained faithful to her as long as she lived.
When over thirty years old, Mohammed underwent the
religious crisis which was to decide his destiny and that of Arabia-
He went off in search of solitude. Islamic tradition relates how he
and devoted himself to meditation, and
Retired to a distant cave
there heard strange sounds and voices. One night the angel
209
Gabriel appeared to him and bade him recite, in the words which
the chapters of the Koran:
today form the beginning of one of
"Recite in the name of thy Lord who created,

Created man from clotted blood.
Recite, for thy Lord is most generous,

Who taught by the pen,
Taught man what he did not know/
1
This first revelation was followed by an interval, in which

Mohammed was a prey to deep depression; then came anew
message from Gabriel (Koran 74, I 7),
and after that, more
frequently, yet others.
He now began to preach; he converted his young cousin AH
and the Meccan nobleman Abu Bekr, and his message won him
more and more adherents, especially among the humbler classes.
So there grew up the first Moslem community, with the prophet
as its uncontested leader.
From of the one God occupied the fore

the beginning the idea
front of Mohammed s mind, along with that of his own mission
as the prophet of the Arab people. These two ideas formed the
basis of his first preaching. To them was added that of the uni
versal judgement, in which every soul shall receive the recom
pense of its deeds, the good shall be rewarded, and the wicked
punished. Mohammed is come to give the final warning of this
terrible event:
"When the heavens shall be rent,

Whm the stars shall be scattered,
When the seas shall be made to boil up,
When the graves shall be ransacked,
A soul shall know what it has sent forward, and what
kept back.
1
Koran 96, I 5 (tbe Koranic extracts arc <j*jote<i
in R. Bell s translation).
2IO
THE ARABS
O man, what has put dice wrong with thy Lord, the
Generous,
Who hath created thee, and formed thee and balanced
thee,
In whatsoever form He
pleased constructed thee?
Nay, but ye count false the Judgement.
But over you are guardians,
Noble, writing,
Knowing what ye do.
Verily, the virtuous are in delight;

And verily, the scoundrels are in a Hot Place,
Inwhich they shall roast on the Day ofJudgement,
And from it they shall not be absent.
What has let thee know what is the Day ofJudgement?
Again, what has let thee know what is the Day of
Judgement?
The day when one shall have no influence on behalf of
another at all, and the affair will then be in Allah s
1
hands."
The to good works, to prayer and atmsdeeds, is the com

call
munity defence
s
against the impending event. Islam, like the
other great religions in their initial stages, did not make a sever
ance between dogma and morals.
It was of Meccan society to react violently to the
in the nature
prophet s preaching: to object to monotheism, which was infidel

tale of a
ity to tradition; to repel the disquieting judgement; to
scoff at the claim to a divine mission unsupported by any tangible
evidence; and, not least, to be hostile to a religious revolution

which sapped at the basis of Mecca
honourable, and profitable,
s
religious ascendency. Mohammed

had to meet the instinctive
hostility of a society whose principles were utterly at variance

with his own, a society based on that privilege which he
1 Koran 86.
211
condemned, and aiming at die conquest of those good tilings
in which he saw the cause of perdition.
Opposition to the new preaching penetrated into the prophet s

OUTI family, and one of his uncles, Abu Lahab, became one of
his bitterest enemies. The prophet cordially returned his enmity:
"The hands of Abu Lahab have perished, and perished

has he;
His wealth and what he has piled up have not profited
him.
He will roast in a flaming Fire,
His wife the carrier of the fuel,
With a cord of fibre about her neck."
1
Meanwhile controversy was sharpening the prophet s powers of

argument To his unbelieving fellow-citizens he
replied by citing
the examples of his predecessors, Noah and Moses and others,
who were likewise in their day disbelieved and rejected but those ;
who disbelieved and rejected them were punished for their

folly. To the demand for proofs of his mission he replied by
pointing to the Koran: who, but one inspired, could have pro
duced such a work? Such was the effect of the hostility of Mecca:
as often in the decisive moments in the history of mankind,
opposition served to harden the resolution of the young move
ment, and to force it to define and develop itself and take a up
dear stand against all comers. This process has two great
phases:
diat of Mecca, of which we have
just spoken, and that of Medina,
where Mohammed was to come into conflict with the Jews.
It was natural
enough that the hostility of the Meccan ruling
class did not confine itself to
argument, but had recourse to
persecution. Many of Mohammed s followers,
mainly slaves,
fledova: the sea to take refuge in die Christian state of
Ethiopia.
This episode is not without its significance as indicative of the
stage which had been readied in the development and definition
in.
212
THE ARABS
of Islam, as a movement which had made a clean break with
paganism, but still looked upon Judaism and Christianity
as its
friends.
Mohammed himself most likely vacillated: the tradition that
he one day uttered words of praise for the three Meccan goddesses,
only to retract them next day as
inspired by the devil (Koran 53,
19 23), one
iswhich would hardly have arisen had it not been
true. Nor was he at first successful in his preaching elsewhere. An
unfortunate attempt to convert the neighbouring city of Taif

ended with the prophet s
precipitate flight.
The position was
rapidly becoming more acute, and it was at
that critical time that Mohammed came into contact with pil
grims from Yathrib (Medina). To them the idea of monotheism

was familiar
enough from their daily association with the Jews,
and they were anxious to find a mediator who might put an end
to the continual internal dissension with which their city was
racked. They showed themselves inclined to embrace the new
feith and accept and protect its prophet. Mohammed s genius
saw and seized the opportunity; shaking off the dust of the past,
he set forth in 622 with a few followers, for Medina. This was the
Hejira, the decisive point in the history of Islam, and the begin
ning of its era. It was useless to expect any resolution of the crisis
at Mecca; in the new environment everything might be hoped for.
Mohammed s fortunes changed abruptly with this flight. From
a persecuted visionary he became the respected head of a state, and
his genius was equal to the task of mastering the new situation
and turning it to his own aids.
first task at Medina was to bring unity into an

The prophet s
extremely unstable and faction-ridden political situation. The
mutual hostility of the two local Arab tribes was tempered only
by their common enmity for the Jews, who wore numerous and
influential. Moderate and conciliating in his impartiality,
and
gifted with uncommon diplomatic ability, Mohammed set about

213
quieting dissension
and turning the whole community into an
instrument in his own hands. In a celebrated decree he proclaimed
equality of rights for the various groups, and in the name of

Allah appointed himselfjudge of all disputes. The establishment of
his own authority was one with the introduction of a new bond of
Arabian unity: upon the tribal system he superimposed a relig

ious principle which was to work a revolution of incalculable
magnitude for the Arabs and their destiny, and weld them into a
nation setting forth to conquer the world.
Now however there arose the second of the crises which deter
mined the religious future of Islam, for Mohammed soon found
himself at odds with the Jews. His slight cultural formation had
led him to suppose quite sincerely that since he preached mono
theism both Jews and Christians were his natural allies. He had
made concessations to the ritual practices of the Jews, hoping in
that manner to ensure their support; hence the introduction into
Islam of the Kippur fast and of the custom of facing Jerusalem to
pray, as the Jews did. then should not the Jews accept him
Why
as their prophet?
They showed no inclination to do so. Their irony, and their
habit of posing difficult biblical questions, made it evident that
they did not regard him as a prophet, and indeed wished to dis
credit him publicly. Mohammed reacted on the one hand by
substituting the fast of Ramadan for that of Kippur, and prayer
towards Mecca for prayer towards Jerusalem; and on the other
hand, and principally, on the theoretical plane, by accusing the
Jews, and the Christians along with them, of having falsified the
Scriptures in which his mission was foretold. The argument was
not a brilliant one, but it fixed Islam s
independence of the
other revealed religions, and its attitude towards them; having
denounced Judaism and Christianity as falsifiers of the ancient
revelation* Mohammed now showed that its genuine continuator
was Mam, by declaring that the cubical shrine at Mecca, the Kaaba,
was the first temple erected by Abraham and his son Ishmad,
214
THE ARABS
and that was his, Mohammed s mission to restore the purity of
it
primitive monotheism,
This argument convinced the Arabs and justified
repression of
the recalcitrant Jews. Now that he was sure of his
power Moham
med threw aside his pacific and conciliatory attitude and showed
himself cruel and relentless. The Jews were subjected to a violent
persecution
which reduced themto slavery and destroyed their
community. From a historical

point of view, apart from moral
judgements, the anti-Judaic phase at Medina was the second of
the crises that determined the independence of Islam, while the
sad fate of the Jews was but another significant episode in the
tragic historical destiny of their people.
Mohammed s ultimate goal, from the time of his flight from

Mecca, had been the conquest of that city. With a grasp of strategy
equal to his political insight, he realized that the way to bring
Mecca to her knees was to strike at her life-line, the trade-route.
In 624 a caravan coming down from the north was suddenly
attacked near Badr by the Moslems. The army that was hastily
soit out from Mecca was routed in spite of its great numerical
superiority, and this

initial military success set the seal to the
s
prophet prestige in Medina and filled the hearts of his followers
with bold confidence.
This was soon to be shaken: scarcely a year had passed before
the Moslems suffered a severe defeat at Uhud. Mohammed, as
was custom, righted himself at the expense of the Jews, and

his
succeeded in this way in distracting the attention of his followers

and minimizing the effect of the disaster.
Meanwhile Mecca was preparing an attack in force. In 627 a
powerful army moved against Medina, but
was checked by a
trench which Mohammed had had dug around the city.
When
the besiegers gave up the attack and returned to Mecca, the defen
sive phase of the war was over for Mohammed, and the way to
Mecca lay open before him.
215
Wisely, he bided his time, and negotiated. The treaty of

Hudaybiya, though a disappointment for some of the Moslems,
was the crafty prophet s political cheffceuvre. The ten-year truce
which it established would not hamper one from scruples
so free
as he was; and in return he gained thepossibility of making
officially in
the following year the pilgrimage to Mecca along
with his adherents. Mecca had consented to come to terms with
the man it had persecuted and driven to flight; and in 629 he
entered his native city full of honour and prestige. By 630 he had
situation to such an extent that he was able to
profited by the
seize a pretext for breaking the truce, and enter Mecca as a con
a blow being struck.
queror, without
Once more he resorted to a policy of prudent moderation.
Instead of actuating plans of vengeance, he solemnly recon
secrated the holy places and passed off his conquest with piety.
The people accepted with relief this peaceful revolution.
All Arabia was now falling before the prophet s feet. Taif fell,
the Yemen fell; and the beduin tribes came one after another to
do homage to the new sovereign. Mohammed meanwhile
remained at Medina; he returned to Mecca only in 632, for his
last
pilgrimage. On the hill of Arafa, amid the emotion of his
old companions, he announced that his mission was fulfilled,
Satan would no more reign in Arabia. Soon afterwards he died.
He had had the fortune so rarely accorded to great men of declar
ing his task accomplished on the eve of death.
What was there in the personality of this man, or in his message,

which enabled him to remain master of events and bring about
this singular revolution and
shape the destiny of his people, weld
ing the scattered state and tribes into a nation with a mission?
He was not the bearer of any great new ideal for mankind It
is not difficult to find in
Judaism and Christianity and in the pagan
traditions of his own people almost all that went to make
up his
preaching, His genius was not so much creative as assimilative,
216
THE ARABS
Faced with contrasting trends, he brought them
together, and
his doctrine is essentially the result of a process of and
synthesis
accommodation.
Islam a middle way. Set between nationalistic
Judaism and
is
Christian internationalism, was Arab in origin and language,

it
and in the privileged position of the Arabs with

respect to their
but it was international in its itself to
subjects, scope, addressing
and drawing within fold peoples of
its
every origin and, in prin
ciple, embracing the whole world. Set between monotheism and
the pagan tradition, it
adopted the principles of the one and many
of the practices of the other, which it
pressed into the service of
Allah, Finally, while pointing heavenwards, it did not
forget the
earth. Unlike his more ascetic predecessors, Mohammed was a
man with vices and
passions, who
keenly appreciated the good
things of this world, and found a
place for them in his
religion.
Thus Islam, however revolutionary in its effects, is essentially a
religion of compromise. Its very mediocrity, regarded by many
as a defect, was, not so paradoxically, the primary cause
perhaps
of its hands of a genius.
success, in the
The man who built up Islam must have been a politician of the
greatest natural ability. Adapting himself to every circumstance,
he was by turns cautious and daring, merciful and cruel, sincere
and deceitful. Hisintuition enabled him to seize the most
expedient
course of action and apply it at the most favourable moment, and
to make the most of each turn of events. In
everything he was
moved by the tenacious
accomplish his own
resolution to
mission he : was
unwaveringly persevering in his aim, as he was
as
flexible in the choice of means to attain it.
Of his sincerity there can be no doubt: the short and
initial
impassioned revelations of the Meccan period have the authentic

ring of enthusiastic spontaneity. Later this sincerity became more
sophisticated; but in judging Mohammed we must take into
account his point of view: convinced as he was that he was the
217
messenger of the truth, he subordinated all other considerations

to its
propagation and triumph.
His character was of light and shade. Sensuality, cruelty and
foil
deceitfulness he had from his environment; they were the defects

of the people whose son he remained; and though the ideal
which illuminated him was an exalted one, the difficult conditions
in which he was called upon to realize it forced him to
adapt
himself to them. Mohammed was the genius of the middle
way;
other prophets have had greater human qualities, but no other
could have done for Arabia what he did.
Mohammed s death plunged Islam for a while into political

crisis. Abu Bekr s caliphate brought into operation the expansion
ist
tendency, whereby the young state, after settling its internal
difficulties, moved resolutely beyond the frontiers of Arabia.
Raids on the frontiers of the great empires to the north met with
so little resistance that they assumed the form of an ever more
ambitious movement of permanent conquest, which during the
decade of Omar s caliphate (634 644) advanced at a
headlong
pace. Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Mesopotamia and parts of Persia
in turn before the Moslem armies. At the
fell
beginning of the
following century the Arabs had crossed central Ada and were at
the gates of Chinese Turkestan, while in the west
they advanced
along the African coast and reached Spain, which they invaded
and overran, penetrating into France, where finally their advance
was checked by Charles Martel at Poitiers (732).
This gigantic eruption of forces that had lain dormant since the
beginning of history, this overwhelming of the declining powers

of the ancient empires by the fresh vigour of the desert nomads,
united under the banner of their new faith, was a
phenomenon
which carried the Arabs beyond the limits of strictly Semitic his
tory. In passing the frontier of Arabia, the Moslems opened a new

historical era, in which Islam was to transcend national bound
aries. New territories were annexed and new converts made.
218
THE ARABS
Within the newly won empire were many ethnical and cultural
elements of varied origin, which were taken up by the new re
into the formation of the history and culture of the
ligious unity
great forces of Greek and Roman civilization
new state. The and
of Iranian tradition penetrated into the Arab world through
Aramaic, which continued in this manner its function as a pur-
speaks well for the modest Arab people
that
veyer of culture. It
so far from being overwhelmed by this influx of the traditions of

ancient civilizations, were able to become the bearers of the
they
new cultural synthesis. Through its language and its political
privilege,
and in many spheres of thought and art, the Semitic
Arab element left its mark on the great empire to which it had
given birth. Accepting
what the surrounding world had to offer,
the Arabs accomplished a work of assimilation and organization

which showed them worthy heirs of their prophet.
219
CHAPTER NINE
THE ETHIOPIANS
ABYSSINIA
Over against the coast of southern Arabia, across the few miles
of the Red Sea, lies the coast of Africa. This zone is mainly moor
land, with green patches of pasture where there is water, but
towards the south the desert prevails in the Dankali country, which
to its own inhabitants seemed a veritable hell on earth.
Further towards the interior, the landscape changes abruptly.
Above the plain tower the lofty precipices of mountain walk
running from north to south, and descending gradually westwards.
The plateau so formed,
which in some places attains altitudes of
over 14,000 feet, is deeply furrowed by the river-valleys; its steep
cliffsform natural fortresses extremely difficult of access.
Theclimate and the vegetation of the table-land are in com
plete contrast
with those of the coastal strip. In the summer
months, while the lowlands are dry and parched, rain falls plenti
fully upon the mountains, and the lowland-dwellers migrate to
wards the interior.
The Abyssinian mountains are a place of refuge and isolation,

in which ethnic, linguistic and
political groups can shut them
selves up and develop individual and independent forms of civil
ization, and in which political power and independence can

build itself up and maintain itself throughout the centuries.
HISTORY
For the ancient history of Abyssinia we have both local and

outside sources. The local sources include South Arabian inscrip-
220
THE ETHIOPIANS
rions found in Ethiopia, Ethiopia ones, and Greek inscriptions of
the sovereigns of Axuin. The outside sources include South
Arabian inscriptions found in the Yemen and recording events
inwhich a part was played by the Axumites from across the Red
Sea; writings of classical geographers and chroniclers, often based
on personal visits to Ethiopia; and finally Islamic tradition, which
however, as for southern Arabia, must be used with great cir
cumspection.
The interests of international commerce which ruled the policy

of the southern states of Arabia
inevitably directed their activities
to the Ethiopian coast, and the riches of the African continent
incense were a strong added incentive to conquest
slaves, ivory,
and permanent colonization.
So it came about that at a remote period, and certainly by the
first half of the first millennium before Christ,
groups of southern
Arabs crossed the Red
Sea and established colonies and trading-
stations on the opposite coast. Periodic thrusts in the direction of
the zone of which the centre was the city of Adulis brought
about a continual extension of the colonized area, and nature it
self drove the colonists towards the desirable table-land. South

Arabian inscriptions found in the Axum region and to the east of
it, where the road from Adulis passed, show by the sbcth century
before Christ how

far Arabian influence had spread in Ethiopia.
Whether the Semitic colonization of the region was of
all
Yemenite origin is another question. In the past no doubts were

entertained in this respect, and on the Yemenite coast were
identified the places of origin of tribes such as the Habashat,
from whom the name of Abyssinia is derived, and the Geez,
whose language predominated among the Semitic population of
Ethiopia. Nowadays however, certain scholars
have questioned
die prevailing view, pointing out that there is no solid proof of
accuracy, and suggesting that the facts may be accounted for

its
by South Arabian influence exerted upon a Semitic population

221
Such a possibility cannot be re
already established in Ethiopia.
jected a priori , but not easy to see whence that Semitic
it is
population could have come.

A South Arabian inscription on an altar, recently found in
Tigrai by the archaeological mission of the Ethiopian govern
ment, and attributed to the fifth century before Christ or a little
later, mentions a mukarrib who was in all probability a local one.
If this is so, there was already at that time a local state.

Shortly
afterwards the first
Ethiopic inscriptions begin, in a script which
is still in a transitional stage; and a bronze votive offering from
the first century before Christ, also found in the excavations just
referred to, bears the name of one Geder (if that is the correct
vocalization of the consonants of the inscription) "king of Axum",
which shows that that city was already the centre of the Ethiopian
state.
Additional information about this state is to be found, from the

same period, in the "Periplus of the Red Sea", a Greek com
position of principally geographical character, which describes the
gate of Adulis, and mentions, at a distance of eight days journey
from the capital of the Axumites, as a great centre of the
it, ivory
trade. The author of the "Periplus" adds that Axuin was ruled
by
one Zoscales, a miserly man greedy for riches, well versed in the
Greek language.
Our next information comes from a Greek
inscription of the
second or third century of the Christian era, mentioning "the
king of the Axumites, the great Sembrutes". It is not clear whether

it is to this
king or another that we must attribute the great
enterprises spoken of in another Greek inscription, that of what is
called the Adulis monument, which have in a we copy made by

Cosmas Indicopleustes, of which the beginning is
unfortunately
missing. The inscription is attributed to the third century, and
the Axumite expeditions of which it speaks are on a truly grandi
ose scale, penetrating northwards towards Egypt, southwards into
Ethiopia, and westwards in the Yemen. This far-reaching policy
222
THE ETHIOPIANS
of the Axumites may find confirmation in the presence, attested
by the historian Vulpinus, of their soldiers in the army which
Queen Zenobia of Palmyra put into the field against the Romans.
At the turn of the third century of the Christian era, Axumite
expansion attained important territorial conquests on its principal
fronts ; on the one side, the Yemen was occupied for some decades,
as is seen from the tides of overlordship assumed by the kings in
their inscriptions; on the other, the kingdom of Meroe was in
vaded and shown by the fragments of a Greek
laid waste, as is
stele found in Meanwhile other names of kings are

that city.
supplied by coins; among them is Ezana, who came to the throne

about 325 and has left us both Greek and Ethiopic inscriptions,
recording various undertakings, of which the most important was
the expedition into Nubia.
When Ethiopia was so at the height of her territorial expansion,

there took place a revolutionary event: Christianity, brought
according to legend by two travellers, penetrated into the king

dom, and with the conversion of the sovereign became the state
religion. Ezana, who had dedicated his

earlier inscriptions to
pagan gods, begins the last one, which records the Nubian expedi
tion, with the words: "By
the power of the Lord of Heaven,
who is and on earth, the conqueror of all men."
in heaven
It is uncertain whether the king s conversion was influenced by
political motives; however

that may have been, it had the advant
age of favouring closer relations with Byzantium, the natural

protector of all the Christians of the East, At the
same time, the
Christian ization of Ethiopia -sharpened its rivalry with the non-
Christian Yemen; and Ae^ crisis between Abyssinia and southern
Arabia was in fact precipitated by religious considerations. The
persecution of the Yemenite Christians by Jewish king,
a which
gave an extensive Christian tradition in the stories of the
rise to
martyrs of Najran, and which is also attested by

Arabic writers,
was
provoked the intervention of the Ethiopians. The expedition
223
Kaleb, and its at Adulis were
commanded by King preparations
Cosmas It soon gave place to perma
witnessed by Indicopleustes.
nent occupation.
in 525. The conquerors
Southern Arabia fell under Axumite rule
form of the Christian churches
lefttheir traces behind them in the
which they built, and in the feme of their attempted expedition

northwards, probably with a view to talcing part in Byzantium s
This expedition, organized by the governor
Persia.
struggle against
not get very far, but
Abraha acting as an independent ruler, did
it did make a great impression
on the Arabs, who remembered
it as the "expedition of the elephant";
and Mohammed refers to
itin a chapter of the Koran. After Abraha, Islamic tradition
records the governorship of his son Yaksum, whom it represents

as a cruel tyrant. _
an episode in
The Ethiopian occupation of the Yemen was but
the periodical struggle between Persia
and Byzantium. It origin
and as such it came to an end in 572 with the Persian
ated as such,
That was a fetal year for the Axumite kingdom;
it
occupation.
of all expansion
marked the end of its conquests in Arabia, and
in that direction.
Islam, when it first arose, was in no wise ill
disposed towards
Ethiopia;
on the contrary it is well known that Mohammed was
the latter received
on the best of terms with the Negus, and that
in Mecca.
the Moslems who fled from persecution
hospitably
When however Islam established itself as a political power on the
of the Red Sea, it
western coast of Arabia and on the islands
or
the road to any further Ethiopian immigration
thereby barred
influence, and a few years later, by invading Egypt and North
between Ethiopia and the rest of
Africa, it set up a like barrier
Eastern Christianity. The Abyssinian state

was thus cut off from
the restof the Semitic world, and shut itself up more and more
in a purely local African policy. Its expansionist
aims had now to
a decisive manner towards the

find another outlet, and turned in
south. At this we must leave the history of Ethiopia.
point
224
THE ETHIOPIANS
MUGIONS
The most ancient religion of the Semitic population of Ethiopia
was a form of paganism which, though it possessed various South
Arabian elements, developed for the most part independently,
evolving and assimilating other forms of worship. The god
Athtar, proper to the southern Arabs, but going back to a Semitic
stock common to other peoples as well, appears in Ethiopia as
Astar,and gradually comes to stand for the sky, by analogy with
the chief deity of the Cushitic pantheon. Alongside Astar there
was Meder, mother earth, and Mahrem, the national war-god.
These form, in some but they are joined also
inscriptions, a triad,
by Beher, taken by some to be the sea-god, and by others to be a

variant of Mahrem. Minor deities and spirits completed the
pantheon of Ethiopian religion, coloured and diversified by a
series of local and imported elements.
Along with the pagans there were groups ofJews in Abyssinia

probably long before the introduction of Christianity. Perhaps
they came in groups from Arabia at the time of the first coloniz
ing movement, or they may have come from Egypt, across the
Meroitic kingdom. In the middle ages the Jews were congregated
in the zone to the north of Lake Tana, where they continued to
dwell for centuries, holding out against every form, of pressure,
and preserving their religious tradition even when they were no
longer distinguishable from their neighbours in language or
physical appearance,
In the Church History of Rufinus, who lived around the end

of the fourth century and the beginning of the fifth, we have the
oldest account of the introduction of Christianity into the king
dom of Axum. A group of sailors, on their way back from a voy
age to India, landed on the Red Sea coast* The local inhabitants
slew all of them save two brothers, named Frumentius and
Edesius, who were carried off as slaves to the royal court. This
took place about the year 320. Hie two brothers came to be well
22$
looked upon, at court, and important charges were entrusted to
them. Their first religious success was the obtaining of freedom of
worship for themselves and for the Greek merchants who visited
the country. In this manner the foundations were laid of a little
Christian community, and the patriarch of Alexandria conse
crated Frumenrius as its first bishop.
It is
probable that the conversions made by Frumentius were
not numerous and were confined to court circles; but what
was decisive for the history of Christianity in Ethiopia was the
conversion of King Ezana himself, which made it the state
religion. The fact of this conversion is confirmed by inscriptions

and the symbols on coins; though it may have been but super
ficial, it was destined to have far-reaching effects on the inter
national relations of the kingdom of Axum.

Abyssinian Christianity w as doubtless at the outset orthodox,
r
but along with the patriarchate of Alexandria it passed into mono-
physitism. Most probably monophysite were the famous "nine

of tradition, who came from Syria and carried on a great
saints"
apostolate by means of the translation and diffusion of sacred

books. Their work was to contribute much to the conversion of
Ethiopia, which continued with ever-increasing rapidity.
CULTURE
The ethnical assimilation of the Semitic immigrants to Ethiopia

was rapid and very complete. On the other hand, the newcomers
imposed on the local populations their own language and civiliz
ation. In spite of the changes wrought by internal evolution and
infiltration from without, the Ethiopian language is typically
Semitic, and its use penetrated to large sections of die Cushite
population. Similarly the culture of ancient Axum is a minority-

culture, the more advanced one brought by the immigrants, who
also took the lead politically, the Cushites being reduced to sub
jection and slavery.
226
THE ETHIOPIANS
At first South Arabian tradition, with a greater or less amount
of modification, was predominant in Ethiopia. Later, with the
establishment of Christianity, the inspiration derived from the
new religion pervaded Ethiopian culture in all its manifestations,
and supplied the themes of its literature and of its art.
Nothing is
known of any pre-Christian literary production, while pre-

Christian art was of South Arabian type, and its themes those
which the colonizers brought with them to their new
home.
On the whole, therefore, though it has certain characteristic
features of its own, ancient Ethiopian culture cannot be called
original. First depends on South Arabian models, and later it

it
adopts, along with die Christian faith, Christian cultural elements,
principally communicated through Egypt.
Ethiopian literature up to the seventh century consists of trans

lations from the Greek. Outstanding among these is the Ethiopic
Bible, of which the first books to be translated were probably the
Gospels. Although the Ethiopian church was ecclesiastically
dependent upon the Egyptian one, its evangelization, and the

translation of which we are speaking, must have been the work
of Syrian The text-form is not that of the Egyptian
missionaries.
recension, but that which originated in Syria and was adopted by

the Byzantine church; similarly the new religious vocabulary
shows Syriac influence, and although the translation was clearly
made from a Greek text, the translators seem to have been deficient
in their mastery of that language.
The translation of the Gospels was followed by that of the
Psalter,of the Pentateuch, and of the rest of the Bible (excepting
the books of Maccabees). An Ethiopian tradition maintains that
the Old Testament was brought back by the Queen of Sheba
after her visit to Solomon and translated directly from the
Hebrew. In fact it is clear from the text of the Ethiopic version

that it was made from the Greek Septuagint. It abounds in Greek
227
words and expressions, and has also been extensively revised in
later times.
The version of unequal value. Some books such as Genesis,

is
Leviticus, Joshua and Judges, are comparatively well translated,

and the Ethiopic text is here of use in critical and exegetic studies,
Other books were less fortunate, and abound in the misunder
standings of the Greek original which are a notable feature of the
Ethiopian scriptures, or are abridged, as for example the book of
Judith,
Along with the canonical books many apocryphal ones were
likewise translated, and several of these have come down to us
only in Ethiopic: so the book of Jubilees, or "Little Genesis",
the book of Enoch, the Ascension (or Martyrdom) of Isaiah.
Among the non-biblical texts translated from the Greek we

may note the Qerillos, a body of christological writings drawn
partly from the works of Cyril of Alexandria; the Physiologus,
the celebrated collection of information,
largely legendary, on
plants and animals, along with moral reflections; and die monastic
rules of St. Pachomius, along with an
appendix, which seems to
be an original Ethiopic creation at least, no source for it has
come to light describing a vision of the hosts of the good and
bad monks. The date of the composition of this appendix is
uncertain. It offers an interesting
example of a type of religious
prose which was to become common in Ethiopia, and we may
here quote a part of it:
"Wherefore the Lord in heaven showed me the ways of these

wretches, and of those others who are not like them. I saw five
hosts of the wicked: the first host was of hyenas, the second of
dogs, the third of wolves, die fourth of foxes, and the fifth of
rams. Then he showed me the five hosts of die
good: the first was
of ewes, the second of pigeons, the third of turde-doves, die
fourth of bees and the fifth of
she-goats. I said: Explain to me
diese hosts. He listen with attentive ear ! Tliose whom
replied:
228
THE ETHIOPIANS
thou seest in the likeness of hyenas are the monks that live with
their brethren, are coenobites in name, but their ways are like
those of hyenas. By day they fast like their
professed brethren,
but at nightfall, when it is time to go to sleep, instead of the night-
watch they go forth in the darkness like hyenas, they go to the
convent of the nuns after their greedy lusts, and being sated,
carry off the poor ewes of Christ, well knowing that they corrupt
women vowed they themselves are; and
to monastic life as
by them is the ship of their soul entrapped and the wings of

their monastitism broken. Woe unto them if they return not to
penance! Praise to Christ, who hath given penance for the

1
remission of sins!"
In a similar vein there follows the explanation of the other

hosts. This simple and expressive style was to become frequent
in Ethiopic, as in other Western Christian literatures,
The remains of ancient Ethiopian art are to be found in the

ruins which exist principally in the of Axum, Akkele
areas
Guzai, and north-eastern Tigrai. At Axum

excavations were
carried out by the Deutsche Axurft-Expedition at the beginning of
this century; also at Axum, and in north-eastern Tigrai, they have
been carried out by the recent mission of the Ethiopian govern

ment Over the rest of Abyssinia, less fully explored, are to be
found other zones of ruins, corresponding to the areas more
densely populated in the past.
Civil architecture is distinguished by certain general character
istics. In the first were set above ground4evd on
place, buildings
pediments in the form of steps. Moreover, they must have been
very lofty, and dwelling-houses must have had several storeys.
From the earliest period, the walls were of the characteristic
"monkey-head" type,
so-called because of the projecting ends of
the supporting beams. This type is reproduced on die large
*
Cf. A. DiiWEHi, Oitttmtt& Adaapk*, Berlin, L 2, 1950, p.65.
229
obelisks, which are one of our best sources for the reconstruction
of ancient Axumite architecture, giving us pictures of those
buildings of which the ruins, for example, at Enda Mikael, Enda
Semon and Tekka Mariam preserve only the pediments, with the
remains of the ground-floor pavement and the traces of the walls.
4. Reconstruction of temple at Yeha.
The most ancient of the religious edifices seems to be the

pagan
temple of Yemenite type at Yeha near Axum. This is
rectangular
in plan. The side walls are smooth, only the front wall being
adorned with a vertical
depression, in which is set the gate,
led to by an entrance-stairway. There are two windows in the
frontage.
As for the Christian churches, the earliest are
rectangular in
form, and built on the model of the Graeco-Roman basilica.
They have an outside forecourt, and their interior is divided by
230
THE ETHIOPIANS
rows of columns or pilasters into
three naves. The apse, semi
circular or rectangular in shape, is flanked by two niches or
chapels at the corners of the building. The pilasters are square in

section, with rounded edges, cut from rock and set on cubical
bases; they have square capitals, often in step-form.
At Axum, the chief centre of Abyssinian archaeology, large
numbers of the typically Ethiopian obelisks have been found:
long slender stone blocks, sometimes the rough, sometimes
left in
finished and polished, generally rectangular in section, and bear
ing designs representing many-storeyed buildings.

Another speciality of Axum are the stone thrones, which were
consecrated to the deities for them to rest upon, or were used by
kings and magistrates in public ceremonies. They are generally

made of separate stone slabs forming the various parts of the
throne.
Ethiopia is very poor in sculptural remains. Recent discoveries

include an interesting statue of a seated personage with a South
Arabian inscription. The statue is pocked with holes which are
supposed to have served for the incrustation of the garments with
gems. Much emphasis, perhaps too much, has been laid on the
Mesopotamian influence which seems to be discernible in this
statue. The same excavations have brought to light various
statuettes of bulls to add to those discovered in the past. Finally

there are other items of sculpture, whose purely South Arabian
manufacture is confirmed by the South Arabian inscriptions
which they bear; these include some remarkably interesting
sphinxes.
Relief is represented by incisions in stone, including the well-
known lioness of Gobedra. Dr. Franchini has now drawn atten
tion to graffiti on the rocks of
the Erythraean mountains: the
drawing is stylized, the subjects are for the most part animals of
the ox type; there is also a wild goat, which we know to have
been a South Arabian subject.
Of painting nothing has been preserved, save some coloured
231
drawings in caves, representing men and animals. In the excav

ations at Adulis and otter places on the table-land there have been
found various specimens of pottery, decorated in a very schemat
ized yet typically local style, whose designs have continued to be
reproduced down to our own day.

In conclusion, it is in its
buildings that we see the highest
degree of development and individuality of this art, in which the

Semitic element first imposed itself, only to be in its turn
subordinated to more advanced influences from without.
232
CHAPTER TEN
THE EPILOGUE
TpHE course of ancient Near Eastern history brought about a
A separation in culture and ways of life between the various
peoples of the Semitic group, whom economic and political
forces led into different lands and different situations. To the
north of the Arabian desert the Akkadians, penetrating into
Mesopotamia, found there populations of different origin and of
superior culture, and assimilated the social, literary and artistic
forms of that culture. At the other extreme the Ethiopians, soon
cut off from the Semitic world, shut tbemseves up more and
more within the African continent, and so became inevitably
imbued with its conditions. Nor were the Canaanitcs, dbe He
brews and the Aramaeans exempt from transformation and

On the contrary, their land, a place of passage and of
Infiltration.
conquest, reflects, in its continual superposition of people upon

people and culture apon culture, the fluctuating course of Near
Eastern history.Ônly the Arabs, in the poverty of their desert,
were sufficiently sheltered to be able to maintain through the
centuries thesame ways of life of their own.
Yet the term "Semitic" does not rest upon an empty abstrac
tion or a merely linguistic definition: the wide variety of situ
ations and developments is traversed by certain constant elements
and attitudes.
The fundamental bond of union is language. The strong organic
unity of the Semitic dialects would be very hard to explain with
out reference to the dose relationship between the peoples who
spoke them.
Another bond of union is
geography. Hie Semitic peoples
233
lived their historical lives in a contiguity that was not merely an
initialone, but one that was reaffirmed and characterized its
by
constancy.
Nor is this
geographical unity a mere external circumstance.
On the contrary, it points to a background of common social
life, whose existence may well be admitted, apart from any
genetic schematization, as a likeness of habitat and conditions
within the zone from which historical expansion took place. The
Semites, as we have seen, appear in the most ancient sources as
nomads of the Arabian desert, who push continually outwards,
infiltrating into the surrounding regions and establishing them

selves there: from the Akkadians, who are to be seen in Meso
potamia in the third millennium before Christ; through the

Amorites, who at the beginning of the following millennium
founded a series of states in Palestine, Syria and Mesopotamia, and
the Hebrews and the Aramaeans, who a few centuries later came to
fill vacuum left by the withdrawal of the "peoples
the historical
of the in Palestine and Syria; to thJÂrabs, who much later
sea"
emerged from their desert in a great movement of conquest

which carried them to the remotest regions. These, moreover,
are but selected names that stand out in die continual movement,
often raiobtn!sier-efofr^^ which for thousands of
years imparted a direction and an impulse to the course of events

in the Near East.
The nomads brought with them, as was inevitable, the traces of
their
primitive conditions. Hence we have sought in the ancient
social system of the Arabian desert the approximate outlines of
a cultural stage through which the Semitic
peoples must have
passed, agd~we-ha,,Y.f: te^4êêeeossdiiGt^^ in approximation,
the political and religious forms of that
society. These were, in
the sequel, the forms which, in more or less evident and more or
less accentuated manifestations, we noted from time to time in the
political outlook, in the beliefs or the ritual, in the laws, and even
in die art of the various While it is not of itself sufficient
peoples.
234
THE EPILOGUE
to explain their historical and cultural development, the nomad
heritage of those peoples remains an element essential
to the
interpretation of dMv
development, and it is the element
to
which we have given the name Semitic.

Other bonds of union, though their original unity was less
were brought to light by our subsequent inquiry: so many
clear,
gods with corresponding names or attributes among

several
Semitic peoples; so many recurring ritual practices. As do the

common linguistic features, so too these cultural ones justify us in
looking upon these peoples as a certain unity, without denying

the divergences brought about in the course of time by changes
of habitat and of conditions, and by the influence of the different
substrata.
Finally, there are bonds which unite the Semitic peoples not
only with one another, but with the other peoples of the
ancient
Near East. It would be a mistake to neglect these on the grounds

that they are not distinctively Semitic. They are for all that still
Semitic, and we would do well to see whether perchance they

do not include elements which may be regarded as Semitic
contributions to the history of civilization.
There is one constant line of thought which traverses the whole

of the ancient Near East and determines its attitude to existence,
other factors of
namely, the predominance of religion over all the
life, for which it is the common source
of inspiration. This
mental attitude corresponds to ^particular philosophy of history,
one which interprets the world as a single theocentric system.
There can be no doubt but that this conception is shared by the
Semitic peoples. It is that it is more characteristic of

possible
them in their dispersal than in the desert, but this is a question of
degrees and nuances, not one of concretely

identifiable phenomena.
Semitic history, literature, law and art are thus indebted to

for their content, and for their ends.
religion for their origins,
see the rise and the establishment of the idea of
Historically, we
235
universal kingship under thâegis of the god whose people pre
vailsover the others. Literature is full of the gods and their affairs,
and man plays in it only a restricted and subordinate part. In law,
conceived as divinely revealed, civil and religious legislation is
woven together. Art not only owes to religion its inspiration, but
depends on religion for its very existence, as is shown by the lack
of figurative art in Israel.
So far, the Semitic peoples share in an outlook which is general

ki their environment; but did they go further than that? Had they
their own specific contribution to make? This question finds its
answer in the brief synopsis which follows.
Semitic contributions to human culture have been many and

positive. In the first pkce, the very means whereby we express
our thought in writing, the alphabet, came into being in a Semitic
land, in Canaan. In other ways too the Semitic peoples have
influenced the cultural development of the Mediterranean basin:
the Akkadians have furnished literary themes, legal conceptions,
astronomical data, and mathematical lore; the Aramaeans gave
tteir language, which served as a vehicle for
bringing to the
West knowledge of its own culture and that of others; the
a
Arabs througji their political organization brought about the
conditions for the meeting, in the one great state, of diverse
civilizations, and made their contribution to
astronomy, mathe
matics, navigation and other sciences.
The human culture is however
greatest Semitic contribution to
the religious one. Here the general comparison, of which we
have spoken, between Semitic religion and that of the surrounding
world no longer holds good. Certainly, Akkadian or Canaanite or
Aramaean polytheism bears out the comparison; th^Semitic
contribution is
specifically that of one member of the group: the
Hebrews.
The conception, so revolutionary for the rich polytheism of
antiquity, of the oneness of God, of a single moral power in place
236
THE EPILOGUE
of and above the scattered forces of nature, formed the essential
kernel of Hebrew religion, as it was transmitted to the European
world by Christianity, and to Asia and Africa by Islam. These
three great religions of our world, Judaism, Christianity and
Islam, all came into being in a small area of the Semitic region,
and were professed and practised by Semitic believers before they
setout to conquer the world. When they did set out, their con
quest was impressive: the more complex religious structures of

peoples in other respects more advanced, such as the Greeks and
the Romans, collapsed before the onslaught, unsupported by
political pressure^ of the religions of the Semitic world
The triumph of monotheism comes as the conclusion of an
important evolution in ancient Near Eastern thought: the god
head is progressively dissociated from the political community,
and an independent spiritual community is formed. Christianity,
in which this process is carried to completion, forms the bridge
between East and West: Semitic in its origin, transcending the
Semitic because addressed to the whole of mankind without
distinction, it takes firmer and firmer hold in the Mediterranean
basin, and thence, resolutely, goes forth to all the world.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 1
GENERAL
History and cultures of the ancient Near East: H. Schmokel,

Geschichte des alien Vorderasien (Handbuch der Orientalistik, II,
3), Leyden 1957. Chronology: P. van der Meer, The Chronology

of Ancient Western Asia and Leyden 1955. Texts in transla
Egypt>
tion: J. B. Pritchard, AncientNear Eastern Texts Relating to the

Old Testament, 2nd ed., Princeton 1955. Monuments:}. B. Prit
chard, The Ancient Near East in Pictures Relating to the Old Test
ament, Princeton 1954. Bibliography: Bibliographie $mitique,
in Orientalia, 16 (1947), ff.
I. THE STAGE
Geography of the Semitic area: P. Birot-J. Dresch, La Mediter-

ranee et le
Moyen~Orient> II,
Paris 1956. Historical maps: L. H.
Grollenberg, Atlas of the Bible, Edinburgh 1956.
IL THE PLAYERS
Languages: C. Brockelmarm, Grundms der vergleichenden

Grarnmatik der semitischen Sprachen, 2 voL, Berlin 1908-13; H.
Fleisch, Introduction a Tltudz des langues semitiyies, Paris 1947;
G. Rinaldi, Le lingue semitiche, Turin 1954 {these books give
information on the various languages). Peoples: S. Moscati,
Chi furono i Setniti?, Rome 1957. Races: H. Field, Ancient md
Modern Man in Southwestern Asia, Coral Gables 1956.
1 Tfeis a selective list for furtiier

bibliography Is not complete and includes only
reading of some essential, general books, most of wbidi are of receut publication.
239
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ffl. THE PROLOGUE
Origins: S. Moscati, op. cit. Social conditions: R. Montagne,

La civilisation du dtsert, Paris 1947;
J. Henninger, Die Familie
lei den
heutigen Beduinen Arabiens und seiner Randgebiete. Ein Bei-
zur Frage der ursprungUchen Familienform der Semiten,
trag Leyden
1943. Religious forms: W.
Robertson Smith, Lectures on the
Religion of the Semites,3rd ei, London 1927; M. J. Lagrange,
Etudes SUT les religions semitiques, 3rd ed., Paris 1928.
IV. THE BABYLONIANS AND THE ASSYRIANS
Discoveries. Excavations: A. Parrot, Archeologie mtsopotamienne.

Les Stapes, Paris 1946. Writing: G. R. Driver, Semitic Writing
from Pictograph to Alphabet, rev. ed,, London 1954.
H. Schmokel, Ur, Assur und Babylon, Stutt
History. General:
gart 1955; S. A. The Antiquity of Iraq, Copenhagen 1956.
Pallis,
Sumerians: H. Schmokel, Das Land Burner, Stuttgart 1955; S. N.
Kramer, From the Tablets ofSumer, Indian Hills 1956. Hammurapi:
F. M.
T. Bohl, King Hammurabi of Babylon in the Setting of his
Time, Amsterdam 1946. Man texts: G. Dossin C. F. Jean
J.R. Kupper J. Bottero, Archives royales de Mart, Paris 1941

& Hittites: O. R.
Gumey, The Hittites, Penguin Books, Har-
mondsworth 1952.
Religion. General: J. Bottero, La religion babylonienne, Paris
1952; S. H. Hooke, Babylonian and Assyrian Religion, London
1953. Magic: A. A. van Proosdij, Babylonian Magic and Sorcery,
Leyden 1952. Divination: G. Contenau, La divination chez les
Assyriens et les Babyloniens, Paris 1940. Ritual: G. Furlani, jRitf
babilonesi e assiri, Udine 1940.
Literature. Goieral: R A. Brongers, De Hteratuur der Babylo-

niers en
Assyriers, Hie Hague 1954. Enuma elish: A. Heidel, The
Babylonian 2nd ed, Chicago 1951. Gilgamesh: A,
Genesis,
Heidel, The Gilgamesh Epk and Old Testament Parallels, 2nd ed.,
Chkago 1949. Lyric: A. Falkenstdn W. von Sodm, Sumerische
240
BIBLIOGRAPHY
und akkadische Hymnen und Gebete, Zurich-Stuttgart 1953-
Wisdom literature :
J. J.
A. van Dijk, La sagesse sumtro-akkadienne,
Leyden 1953.
Legal and social Laws: G. R. Driver J. C. Miles,
institutions.
The Assyrian Lam, Oxford 1935; id. id,, The Babylonian Lam,
2 vol., Oxford 1952-55. Social life: G. Contenau, Everyday Life
inBabylon and in London 1954. Authority: H. Frankfort,
Assyria,
Kingship and the Gods, Chicago 1948.

Art. General: H. Frankfort, The Art and Architecture of the
Ancient Orient, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth 1954. Man:
A. Parrot, Man, Neuchatel-Paris 1953. Babylon; W, Andrae,
Berlin 1952. Archaeology: A. Parrot, Aichlologie
Babylon,
misopotamienne. Technique
et
problems, Paris 1953.
V. THE CAKAANITES
Sources. Ugarit: C. F. A. Schaefier, Ugaritica I III, Paris
Le palais royal /Ugarit,

2
1939-56; J. Nougayrol (and others),
voL, Paris 1955. Alphabet: D. Diringer, The Alphabet, London

1948.
History. General: S. Moscati,
I pretfeczssm alsraek, Rome
1956; A. Die Welt der BibeL Funfjahrtmsende in Paldstina-

Jirku,
Phoenicians: G. Contenau, La civilisation
Syrien, Stuttgart 1957.
Paris 1949.
phSnidenne,
Religion. General: R. Dussaud,
Les religions des Hittites et &e$
Hourrites, des Phlnidens et Paris 1945 R. Largement,

<ks ;
Syriens,
La amantetwe, in M. Brillant R. Aigrain, Histoire des
religion
IV, Tournai 1956, pp. 177-99-
religions,
Literature. General G. R. Driver, Catamite Myths ml Legends,
:
Edinburgh 1956. Intepretation of the myths: T. H. Gaster,
Thespis, New York 1950.

Art. General: H. Frankfort, The Art ml Architecture of the
Ancient Orient, at., pp. 133-20*. Phoenician art: R- Dussaud,
L rfrf phtniden fa IP mllhmre, Paris 1949.
241
BIBLIOGRAPHY
VI. THE HEBREWS
History. General: W. O. E. Oesterley T. H. Robinson,

A History of Israel 2 vol., Oxford 1932; W. F. Albright, From the
Stone Age to
Christianity,
2nd ed., Baltimore 1946; M. Noth,
Geschichte Israels, 3rd ed., Gottingen 1956. Origins: H. H. Row
to Joshua, London 1950. Monarchy and prophets:
ley, From Joseph
A. C. Welch, Kings and Prophets of Israel, London 1953.
Religion. General: W. O.
E. Oesterley T. H. Robinson,
Hebrew Religion. Its Origin

and Development, London 1930; B. D.
Eerdmans, The Religion of Israel, Leyden 1947; H. H. Rowley,
The Faith of Israel, London 1956. Religion and archaeology:
W, F. Albright, Archaeology and
the Religion of Israel, 3rd ed.,
Baltimore-London 1953. Sacral kingship: A. R. Johnson, Sacral

Kingship in Ancient Israel, Cardiff 1955. Prophets:
T. H. Robinson,
and the Prophets in Andent Israel, 2nd ed., London 1953
Prophecy ;
A, Neher, L essence du prophfrisme, Paris 1955. Messianism:
J. Klausner, The Messianic Idea in Israel, New York 1955; S.

Mowinckel, He that Cometh, Oxford 1956. Cult: T. Chary,
Les prophetes et le culte a partir de I* exile, Tournai 1955.
Bible. In general: A. Bentzen, Introduction to the Old Testament,
2 vol., Copenhagen 1948; R. H. Pfeiffer, Introduction to the Old
Testament, London 1952; O. Eissfeldt, Einleitung in dasAlte Testa
ment, and Tubingen 1956. Canon: G. Ostborn, Cult and Can

ed.,
on, Uppsala 1950. Pentateuch: M. Noth, Oberlieferungsgeschichte

des Pentateuch, Stuttgart 1948; G. Holscher, Geschichtsschreibung
in Israel, Lund 1952; I.
Lewy, The Growth of the Pentateuch, New
York 1955. Poetical books: T. H. Robinson, The Poetry of the
Old Testament, London 1947. Sapiential books: O. S. Rankin,
Israel s Wisdom Literature, Edinburgh 1936. Dead Sea Scrolls:
M. Burrows, The Dead Sea Scrolls, New York 1955.
Legal and social institutions: A. Alt, Die Ursprunge des Israeli-
tischen Rechts,
Leipzig 1934; J. Pedersen, IsraeL Its Life and
Culture, 4 vol., London Copenhagen 1926-47.
242
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Art. General: A. Reifenberg, Ancient Hebrew Arts, New York
1950. Archaeology: W. F. Albright, The Archaeology of Palestine,
Penguin Books, Harmondsworth 1949.
VII. THE ARAMAEANS
History. General: A. Dupont Sommer, Les Arameens, Paris

1949; P. K. Him, History of Syria,
London 1951, pp. 162-75. The
Aramaeans in Mesopotamia: R. T. O Callaghan, Aram Naharaim,
Rome 1948; A. Malamat, The Aramaeans in Aram Naharaim and
the Riseof their States (in Hebrew), Jerusalem 1952.
Culture. Religion: R. Dussaud, La religion des Hittites et des
Hourrites, des Pheniciens et des Syriens, tit. Art: H. T. Bossert,
Altsyrien, Tubingen 1951; H. Frankfort, The Art and Architecture

of the Ancient Orient, tit., pp. 164-201.
VHI. THE AStABS
Southern Arabs. Discoveries :W. Phillips, Qataban and Sheba,

London 1955 P. Lippens, Expedition en Arabic centrale, Paris 1956.
;
History: Djawad Ali, History of the Arabs before Islam (in Arabic),
2 vol., Baghdad 1951-52. Political institutions: J. Ryckmans,
L institution monarchique en Arabie m&ridionale avant I lslam,
Louvain 1951. Religion: G. Ryckmans, Les religions arabes pre~
islamiques, 2nd ed.,
Louvain 1951 A. Jamme, La religion sud~arabe
;
preislamique, in M. Brillant R. Aigrain, op. ciL, pp. 239-307.

Art: Mohammed Tawfiq, Les monuments de Af^m, Cairo 1951.
Central and Northern Arabs. History: N. Glueck, The Other
Side of the Jordan, New Haven 1945; W. Caskel, Das altarabische
Konigreich Lihjan>
Krefeld 1950; J. Starcky, Palmyre, Paris 1952.
Religions: G. Ryckmans, op. at. Literature: R. Blachere,

Histoire de la literature arabe des
origines alajindu XF C
sleek de
J.C., Paris 1952.

Mohammed and the rise of Islam. Koran: A. J. Arberry, The
243
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Koran 2 vol., London Mohammed: W. Mont

1955-
Interpreted,
Muhammad at Mecca, Oxford 1953 id-. Muhammad
;
gomery- Watt,
The Arabic conquests: P.
K. Hitti,
at Medina, Oxford 1956-
the Arabs, 4th ed., London 1949; B. Lewis, The Arabj

History of
in History, London 1950.
DC. THE ETHIOPIANS
History: E. A.
A
W. Budge, History of Ethiopia, I, London
Storia d"Etiopia, I, Milan 1928; J. Doresse,
1928; C. Conri Rossini,
UEthiopie, Paris 1956.
Religions: C.
Conti Rossini, op. tit., pp. 141-65.
Culture. Literature: E. Cerulli, Storia della letteratura etiopica,
Deutsche Axum-
Milan 1956. Arts: E. Littmann (and others),
Paris 1955,
Expedition. 4 vol., Berlin 1913; AmaJes d Ethiopie, I,
pp. 1-58 (recent discoveries).
X. THE EPILOGUE
et leur rdle dans I histoire re-

G. Levi Della Vida, Les Semites
Paris 1938.
ligieuse,
244
INDEX
I. SUBJECTS
Abraha, 186, 224 Anat, 104, 114, ii^ff.
Abraham, 126, 141, 144, 160, 214 Antilebanon, ij
Absalom, 130 Ami, 58, 68, j$ t 113
Abu Bekr, 210, 218 Apsu, 67
Abu Lahab, 2 1 2 Aqhat, 104, 118
Abyssinia, 184, 220 Arabia, Arabs, 13^., 23f., 27, 36, 39, 4if.,
Accho, 1 10 179, iSiff., 221, 224, 227, 233^, 236
1
Arabia Felix/ set, Yemen
"
Adad, $8, 114, 175

Adadaplaiddin, 169 Arabic, 26f., 2^f., 35, 174
Adad-nirari II, 170 Arafa, 216
Adapa, 74?. Arallu, 64, 70
Adhanat, iSr, Aram, 23, i6S
Adonis, 114 Araraaeam, 23, rjf., 101, in, 124, 128,
Adoption, 83 133, i67fF. ? I96f., 200, 233f., 236
Adulis, 2 2 if., 224, 232 Aramaic, 30, 171^*., 179, 196, 219, 236 ;
Adultery, 83, 159 Christian Aramaic, 174; judaean
Aegean, in, 197 Aramaic, 174
Aesop, 177 Aramu, 168
Africa, 24, 36, in ,
Aghbol, 200 Ark of the Covenant, 128, 130, 1371*., 165

Agriculture, 841". Armenia, 36
Abab, 133, ifi^f. Armenoid race, 32f.
Ahiqar, i76f, Arpad, i^Sf., 171
Ahiram, 107 Arsian Tasfa, 1 79
Akhkrau, i6Sf. Xitaiiu, 61
Akhlamu- Aramaeans, 169 Asherah, 114
Akkad, Dynasty of, 50, 88 61
.7s/3ipu,
Akkadian, 29, 79, 172

46!"., Ashtarodb, see Astarte
Akkadians, see Babylonians and Assyrians Aîtoreth, s Astarte
Akkele Guzai, 229 Aâir (god), 59
Alalakh, 102, I2if, Ashtsr (son vi. Siera), 23
Aleppo, 109, 169, 175 Ashur (tcywn), 94
Alexandria, Patriarchate of, 226 Asburbanipal, 53^., 96, 196
Ali, 210 Ashurrusirpai II ^3, 94, 170 ,
Allah, 187, 2oo. f 211, 214, 217 Aihurubaliit, 53

Allat, 2oof. Assyria, Assyrians, 16, 19, 23, 29, 41,
Alphabet* 48, 103, io6fF., 236 436"., 80, 83, inf., 134. i* *7o-i
Amenopbls HI, 105 i?9 iS. 196, *33f- 2 3^
Amenopbis IV, 105: Astar, 225
American FomadatkHi fee the Study of Astarte, 114, 119, 187
Man, 183, i92f. Astrology, 62
2 36
Amm, 187 Astronomy, 63* 75
Ammonites, 101, ill* 114, 128 Atargatis, 17 j
Amoritea, 51, $3, 109, 234 Adâtr. 187, 225
Amos, 133. 140 Atlante, 120
Amurru, zio
245
INDEX
Amilurn, 8 1 Charles Martel, 218
Axum, Axumites, 24, 22 iff., zsgff. Chemistry, 79
Azriyau, 171 Cherubim, 137
Christians, Christianity, 125, 141, i43 t
Baal, 40, 104, 114, u6rT., 122, 176, i$7, 186, 199, 2o2f., 209, 2*3f., 216, 223,
200 22jff., 237
Baal-Hamman, 176 Chronicles, 78
Baal-Semed, 176 Chronicles, Books of, 148
Baalshamin, 176 Chronology, o
Babvlon, 51 1 3^-* 65, 78, 94, 112, 136 Cilick, 1 1 1
Babylon, First Dynasty of, 5 if., 65, 70, 86 Circumcision, 137
Babv Ionia, Babylonians, 16, 19, 29, 41, Coins, 123, 194
43$., So, us, ii, 156, 169, 171, Columns, 93, 192, 207, 231
236
233f. Commerce, 4f., 156, 160, 191
Badr, 215 Confession, 189
Baghdad Museum, 4$ Contracts, 159, 161
Baiawat, 97 Co-regency, 190
Barak, 127 Cosmas Indicopleustes, 222, 224
Bar-Hadad, 175 Creation of the world, 67, 118, 140,
Bar-Rekub, 171, 178 *44-
BJrij, 62 Crete, 120
Beduin, 38, 169, 183, i99f., 216 Cuneiform writing, 47, 108
Bdaer, 225 Cushites, 22$f.
Behistun, 46 Cyril of Alexandria, 228
Bel, 176, 200 Cyrus, 4f., 136
Belsamin, 200
Ben Strach, see Ecdcsiasticus Damascus, 17, 21, no, 133, 170, 17$,
Bethel, 132 J78f., 198
Bilalama, Code of, So, 86 Dan, 132
Bit Adini, \6$L
Daniel, iiSf.
Bit Agushi, 169
Daniel, Book of, iro
Bit Bakhyani, 169
DankalOand, 220
Sir kkilam, 93, 178 David, 1276"., 138, 141, 148, 170.
Bit Yakini, 169 Dawn and Sunset, Poem of, 117
Bol 2oo Dead, Cult of the, 116
*
Book of the Covenant," 157, 161 Dead Sea, 18
Borappa, 169 Dead Sea scrolls, 143
Botany, 79 Death penalty, 8f, 162
Britain, 17 Deborah, 127, 147
British Museum, 45 Dedan, 197
Byblos, no, 114 Demons, 78
598".,
Byzantium, 16, 198, 223f. Desert, Desert life,i$f., 18, 20, 31, 33,
3f- 396"., 140, 169, 181, 183, 19$,
Calendar, 63, 65 *99 233 f-
Caliph, 42 Deutero-Isaias, 13^
Camel, 3 6f. Deuteronomy, Book of, 144, 146!"., 159
Canaan, Canaanites, 30, 996"., 127^, 133, Deutsche Axum-Expedition, 229
*3* H7, i7^. 183, 233 dhu-Ghaba, 200
Canaanite, 30 dhu-Nuwas, 186
Canak, 19, 84f. Divinadou, 62f., 78, 115, 138, 2oif.
Canon of tke Old Testament, 148 IMvorce, 82, 1^9
Carchemish, 109 Drehem, 168
Cartfaage, 102, in Dura, 198
Casaates, 52, 54 Dusares, 200
* 63, 169, 171 Dykes, 185, 192^
246
INDEX
Ea, 5, 74#- France, 218
Earth-gods, 58 Frumentius, 22^f.
Eber, 23 Funeral ceremonies, 63
Ebih-fl, 94 Future life, 64, 74, 140, 189
Ecclesiastes, Book of, 1 54
Ecclesiasticus, Book of, 1 52 Gabaa, 164
Edesius, 22 j Gabriel, 2o^f.
Edessa, 174 Galilee, 18
Edomites, 101, in Geder, 222
Egypt, Egyptians, i6ff., jj, 105, lo^f., Geez, 221
115, 120, 126, 166, 218 Genesis, Book of, 37, 126, 144, 228
El, 40, 113, iiyff., 175, i87 Geography, 79
Elephantine, 173 Gezer, 107, 1 10
Elijah, 133, 140 Ghassanids, 198, 203
Elishi, 133 Gideon, 128
Elohim, 145, 187 Gilgamesh, 7 iff,, 98
"Elohist" Codex, 14^, 147 Glassware, 123
Gnostic sects, 203
Elyon, 176
Enda Mikael, 230 Gobcdra, 231
Enda Semon, 230 Gospels, 227
Endogamy, 38 Great Flood, 74
Enki, sEa Greece, Greeks, 57, 63, 11$, no, 123,
EnHdu, 71, 73f. i 4, 177, *79 i?4
Enlil, 8 Gudea, 51
Enoch, Book of, 228 Gutians, ri
En&ma dish, 67 Guzana, i68f., 178
Ereshkigal, 7of.
Esarhaddon, 53, I76f. Hahasbat, 221
Esau, 38 Hadad, 175
Esther, Book of, 148 Hadramaut, j84f., 187
Etana, 75 Hagar, 160
JEtSEcmznJb, 94 Kama, i68fiT., 176
Ethiopia, Ethiopians, 33, 56, 184, 186, Hammurapi, 51, ^3, ^9, So, 88
203, 212, 22off., 233 Hammurapi, Code of, 51, 79^-* 9* J 56
Ethiopic, 26, 30, 183

Euphrates, 18, 21 Haran, 126
Eusebius of Cacsarea, loj Harvard University, 1 64
"Execration-texts," 105, 109 Hatra, i73f., 198, 2oo, 207
Exile, 134, 142 Hazael, 179
Exodus, i26f., 137 Hazor, 122
Exodus, Book of, 144 Hebrew, 30, 172
"Expedition
of the elephant," 224 Hebrews, 18, 23,41, 77. !o *
F"^ 223
Ezechiel, 135, 142, 149 Hejaz, 15, 2i 199
Ezion-geber, 131 rîra, 213
Ezra, i $9, 163 d-Bejr, 197, 207
Ezra, Book of, 148 Hellenisfn, 173^
Heptoscopy, 78
Fables, 177 18, 54
Hero<k>tiB,
Family, 37, 82, 156, if 8 Herods, 136

Fertility-cult, $8f., 114, n6f., 122, 175, rfero-myths, 71, 11$
2oo Heskxi, 120
Fire-gocb, 58, 176 Hexatetidi, 145^
Flavins Joscphus, io, 196 Hezekiah, 134, 172
Fortresses, 92, 121, 164
247
INDEX
Hieroglyphic writing, 106, 108 Jews, Judaism, 23, 2c, 32, 12$, 136, 143,
Himyantes, i8c 1 86, 196, 199, 2o2f., 209, 2l2ff., 22C,
Hira, 19 II 237
Historical books (of the Old Testament), Jinns, 201
142, i46f. Job, 77, 154
Hittites,
"
2f., 104, no, 120, 156 Job, Book of, 135-, ic3
Holiness Code,"157 Jordan, 17, 144
Homeritae, set Himyarites Joseph, i 9 c
Homicide, 162 Joshua, 126, 147
Horeb, 140 Joshua, Book of, 14$, 147, 228
Hosea, 133 Josiah, 134, 146
Hudaybiya, 216 Jubilee, 137, i$6
Hurruns, fj Jubilees, Book of, 228
Hurriya, 119 Judaea, 1 8
Hvksos, 1 10 Judah, Kingdom of, 54, 132, 134, 148, 163
Hymns, 7$, 78 Judaism, see Jews, Judaism
Judgement, Day of, 2 1 1
Judges, 87, 202; (in Israel), 127, 138, 147,

Ibn Hisham, 208
Ibn Ishaq, 208
Judges, Book of, 147, 228
Ideographic writing, Judith, Book of, 148, 228
Idrimi, i 22
Jupiter, 17 c
II, 187
Iliad, 120
Kaaba, 214
, 84
Kabir % 190
Ilmnquh, 187
K5/UJJ, 202
iiushuma, 52
Kaleb, 224
Irahullu, 68
Kaluy 63
Immortality, 74
India, 8j, 19 1 Karatepe, 101
Inheritance, 37, 83, 160 Kataban, 184!,, 187, 190
Iranian race, 3 if. Keret, 104, i i9f.
Isaac, 38* 160 Kliadija, 209
Khor Rory, 192
Isaiah, 134!., 140, 148
Isaiah, Ascension of, 228 Khorsabad, 43, 50, 94
Ishmael, 160, 214 Kiiamuwa, 170
Ishtar,
Kinda, 199
8f., 7ofT., 97, 114, 187
Isin, i Kings, Books of, 131, 148
Islam, 24, i2j, 1
86, 2o8ff., 224, 237 Kifcgs&p. 79 87, 190, 236
Israel, see Hebrews Kingu, 69
Israel, Kingdom of, i32ff., 163
Kippur, 137, 214
Ivories, 97, 122, 166, 179
Kiricuk, 4^
Kohen, 202
Koraish, 209
Jacob, 38 Koran, 2c, 30, 208, 210, 212, 224
JeboaKaz, 133, 16^
jehoshapiiat, 163 Lachish, 107, 164
Jehu, 133 Lagash, ci
Jeremiah, 134, 140, 148, 161 Lakhmlds, 198, 203
Jeroboam, 132 Lamentations, Book of, 151
Jeroboam U, 133, i6c Larsa, ci
Jerusalem, 18, 2c, 54, no, 127, 130, 132, Law, see Pentateuch
134, 138, ici, 163, 172, 214 Lay Codex, 147
Jerusalem, Temple of, 132, 137, 142^, 165 Lebanon, 17
Jesse, 141 Legal procedure, 87, 163
JewellerT, 97, 123, 194 Lerirate,
248
INDEX
Levites, 138, 163 Moses, 126, 136, i44ff., 163, 212
Leviticus, Book of, 144, 228 Mot, 117
200 Mother Earth, 40, j8, 225
Lihyanites, 197,
Linguistics, 79 Mukanib, 185, 190, 222
Code of, 80 Mushkeamxt t Si
Upit-Ishtar,
Uttle Genesis," see Jubilees, Book of
Louvain, University of, 183 Nabataean, 174
Louvre, 45 Nabataeans, i96f., 2oo
Lucian, i?r Nato, 139
Lugalzaggisi, 50 Nabonidus, rr
Nabopolassar, 54
Maccabean period, 136, 142 Naboth, 164
Maccabees, Books of, 148 Nadin, I76f.
Magic, 6 if. Najran, 223
Mahrem, 225 Namrassit, 75
Malakbel, 200 Namtar, 70
Malta, in NaranvSln, 9, 168
Manasseh, 134 Nebuchadnezzar, 54, 94, 134
al-Manat, 201 Nehemiah, Book of, 148
Mandaean, 174 Nerab, 176
Maqlu, 78 Nergai, 7 of,
Marduk, 51, J4f., 59, *c, *7 ^f. New Year festival, 65, 78
Mari, 45, 51, 926"., 97 Nimnid, 45, 94
Mari ardiives, o, 53, loy, 168 "Nine saints," 216
Marib, i8$f., I92f. Ninigiku, 76
Mary, Virgin, 203 Nineveh, 43, $4, 94
Mathematics, 63, 79, 236 Noah, 23, 212
Matriarchy, 37, 196 Nomads, Nomadism, 16, 31, 37?., 4o
Mecca, i99#., 209, 2iiff., 224 56, 88, 112, 133, 136, 140, 169, 195,
Medain Salih, see el-Hejr 1986"., 204f., 218, 234*.
Meder, 225 Nubia, 223

Medes, $4 Numbers, Book of, 144
Medicine, 60, 79 Nusku, 58
Medina, 199, 2i2f., 2i$f.
Megiddo, no, 128, 131, 17?
Obelisls, 2 3 of.
Melqart, 114
Mer-ne-Ptah, 126 C%ssey, 120
Old Testament, 2f, 4Jt 74. **
Meroe, 223 ic>4
136*., 24, 36, 436% 105, J2rf., i43ff,, 168, 170, 214, 227
Mesopotamia,
170, 218 Onar, 218
Messaanism, 135, 14^. Osori, 165
Micah, 133 Opfeir, 131
Midiaaites, in, 128 Oracolax literauare, 78
Midraii, 174 Oriental race, 3 if.
Milkom, 1x4 Oroiites, 17
Minaeaus, i84f., 187, 190, 197 Otirnua, 208
Minet d-Beida, 102
Miriam, 203 Pacbomius, 228
Mitamri, $$ Passat, 119
Moabites, 101, in, 128 Pamtmc,949^M i, H3 1^4, 207, 231
Mohammed, iSi, i99ff. zoSff., 224 Palaces, 92, 94, 9*. J2i s 164
226 Palestine, 138., 24, 53, 99, 105, inf.,
Monophysites, Moooj^sitOTii, 203,
Monotheism, 40, 135, 139, 203, lo^ff., i2of., 12^., i3^- 136, lit
Pabayra, Pafeayrenes, 17, ai, J73*- 7*
213,215, 217,23^.
Moon-gods, 58, 115, 176, 187 19^., 200, 207
Z49
INDEX
Palmyrene, 174 Rufinns, 225
Panamuwa II, 171 Ruth, Book of, 148, 1 60
Passover, 40, 137
Patriarchs, 126, 144 Sabaeans, i84f., 187, I9of., 194
Patricians, 8 if., 86f. Sabbath, 137, ir8
Penal law, 86, 161, 163 Sabbatical year, 1 37
Pentateuch, 126, 142, i44fF., 157, 227 Sacrifice, 64, 116, 188
"Peoples of the mountains," 2 SoJin, 202
"Peoples of the sea," no, 124, 234 Safaites, 197, 200
Persia, Persians, 16, 4f., 112, 136, 172, Sam al, 178
i68ff., 17^,
186, 198, 218, 224 Samaria, I33f., 164, 166, 179
Petra, i73f,, 176, 196, 198, 2oo, 207 Samaria (region), 18
Philistines, no, 128, 130 Samson, 128
PKilo of Byblos, lorf., 118 Samuel, Books of, 148
Philosophy, 179 Sanchumiaton, 106
Phoenicia, Phoenicians, i7f., 2 of., 24, 99, Sanhedrin, 163
ioif,, ic^rT., in, 116, inff., 131, 157 Sarah, 160
Phoenician, 172 Sarcophagi, 122
Phonetic writing, 48, 106 Sardanapalus, set Ashurbanipal
PkfSlolaffVK, 228 Sardinia, in
Pictographic writing, 47, 106 Sargon, 50
Pilgrimage, 188, 2oif., 216 Sargon n, 53, 76, 94, * 34, 171
Plebeians, 81, 86f. Sassanids, 198
Poitiers, 218 Satan, 216
Polydaemonism, 39 Saul, I28ET., 138, 164
Polygamy, 37, 159 Seals, 97f., 123, 166, 194
Porphyry, io Scmbrutes, 222
Pottery, 97, 232 Sennadicrib, 134, 176
Prayers, 6rf., 75, 78, 150, 189 Shcbhu dth, 137
Priesthood, 115, 127, 129^, 138, 142, Shalmaneser in, 97, 133, 170, 196
163, 188, 201 ârnash, 7^"., 187
"Priestly Codex," I46f., 1^7 Shams, 187
Property, 38, 83^ 156, 162 Shamshi-Adad I, 53
Prophets, Prophetism, 5-4, iir, 12 j, 129, Shanfara, 20 r
J32ff. t I38ff., i 4 2f., 161 Sheba, i84f., 190
Prophetical books (of the Old Testament), îcba, Queen of, 184, 227
142, 146, 148, I$Q Shechem, 107, no
Proverbs, Book of, 152 Sfaem, 23
Psalms, Book of, 150, 227 Siiloh, i27f.
Puteoh, 197 SActrpu, 78
Sicily, 24, in
Qatna, 109 Sidon, nof., 122
Qml/os, 228 Silili, 73
Simios, 17^
Raidan, 18$ Sin, 6of., 64, 74, 140
Ramadan, 124 Sin (god), 187
Ras Shamra, xs Ugarit Sinai, 18, 144
Rebecca, 38 Sinaitic inscriptions, 101, io6f.
Rekub-EI, 176 Sinuhe, 10^
Relief, 94!?., 122, 166, 194, 207, 231 Sky-gods, 40, 58, i 7r
Retaliation, 38, 81, 86, ifciff. Slaves, 8iff., 86f., i^ 7 f., 162
Righteous suffering, 77, 153 Soba, 170
River-ordeal, 87, 164 Solomon, i28f., i3if., 138, 143, 164,
Ritual prostitution, $9, 116, 188
184., 227
Rome, Romans, 25, 197^ Sofxialiiand, 131, 191
250
INDEX
Song of Songs, Book of, 1 52 10 iff., io6ff., i io, inf., ii^f.,
Spain, 24, in, 2 1 8 1 1 8, I2off., 146
Spells, 62, 78 llhud, 21^
Stone thrones, 23 1
el-Ula, see Dedan
Storm-gods, 58, 114 Umma, 50
Sujin, 171, 176 Underworld, 64, jof., 74
Sukkdch, 137 Ur, 126
Sumer, Sumerians, 46f., 498"., f., 58, Ur-Namjmu Laws of, So, 86
66, 70, 74, 76f,, 85, 88ff. Uruk, 71
Sumerian, 79 Utnjpishtim, 73^
Sun-gods, 8, nr, i7f., 187 al-Uzza, 201
Swedish school, 146 Uzziah, 134
Symbolism, 91
Syria, Syrians, isff., 24, 36, 53, 101, 105, Veil, 83
noff., i2of., I3of., 167, i70f., 218 Venus (planet), 40
Syriac, 174 Venus-divinities, 58, 187
Vulpinus, 223
Tabernacle, 137
Taif, 213, 216 Wadd, 187
Talmud, 174 Wandering hero, i 20
Tammuz, 59, 73, 114 B au-Jma, Si
Targum, 174 War-gwis, 22 5-
Tekka Mariam, 230 Wisdom, Book of, 152
Tel! Amarna, io, no Wfedom literature, 76, i
50, 1^4, 177
Tell Halaf, see Guzana Woman, Statia of, 1 3, i9?.
Temples, 92, 94, 102, 115, 121, 188, Writing, 47f., 106; see aim Cuneiform
i92f., 230 writing, Ideographic writing, Phoiietic
Temple-towers, 94 writing
Ten Conunandments, 157
Tnamudenes, 197, 200 Xenophon, 54
Tiamat, 67ff.
Tiberias, Lake of, I7f. Yahweii, 126, 132, 134, 136, 13 if., 142,
Tiglath-pileser $3, 168
I, 145, 176
Tiglath-pileser El, 53, 171 **Yahwist** Codex, 145, 147
Tigrai, 229 Yaksum, 224

1 8, 21 Yam, 1 1 6
Tigris,
Timna, 193 Yarkhiboi, 200
Tobit,Book of, 148 Yathrib, set Medina
Tombs, 193, 107 Yatpan, 1 19
Trajan, 197 Yeha, 230
Tnbes, Tribal life, 15, 31, 37^* i^f., Yemen, i, 21, iSiff., 2i6, 222^.
132, 156, 158, 183, 190, 199, 201, 214
Trinity* 203 Za&T, 185
TukuJti-Ninurta, 53 Zakir, 170
Turkestan, 218 Zeisofeia, 198, 223
Tyre, uof., 114 Zeus, 17^
Tyre, Annals of, loj Ziqqwat, 94
Zoology, 79
Udum, 1 19 Zoscaks, 222
251
INDEX
D. MODERN AUTHORS
Albright, W. F., 36, $o, I0 7 242f. Glueck, N., 131, 196, 207, 243
Alt, A., 242 Grolkaotberg, L. H., 239
Andrae, W., 241 Guidi, I., 36
Arberry, A. ]., 243 Gurney, O. R., 240
210 Haldar, A., 139

Bell, R.,
Halevy,]., 183
Bentzen, A., 146, 242
Heidel, A. t 240
Birot, P,, 239
Henninger, ]., 240
Bbchere, R., 243
Hitti, P. K., 2 4 3f.
Buhl, F, M. T. 240 T
Holscher, G., 242
Bossert, H. T., 243
Hooke, S. H., 240
Botta, P.-E., 43
Bottero, J., 240
Ingholt, H., 169
Braidwood, R. J., 45
Brockelmann, C. t 239 Jamme, A., 243
Brongers, H. A,, 240 Jean, C.-F., 240
Bodge, E. A. W., 244 Jirku, A., 241
Burrows, M., 242 Johnson, A. R., 139, 242
Caskel, W., 243 Klausner, J., 242

Ceruili, E., 244 Kramer, S. N., 74, 240
Chary, T. 242 Kupper, J. R,, 240
Contenau, G
Conti Rossini, C,, 244 Ugrange, M.-J., 240
Cornelius, F,, o Largement, R., 241
Crowfoot, J. W., i6rf. Layard, A. H., 43
Levi Delia Vida, G., 244
van Dijk, J. J. A., 241 Lewis, B., 244
Dillmann, A,, 229 Lewy, I., 242
Diringer, D., 241 Uppens, P., 243
Djawad AH, 243 Littmann, E., 244
Doresse, J., 244
Dossin, G., 240 Malamat, A., 243
Dresch, J,, 239 Mallowan, M. E. L. 45, 97
Driver, G. R., 173, 24of. van der Meer, P., 239
Dupont-Sommer, A., 172, 243 Miles, J. C., 241
Dissaud, R., 241, 243 Mohammed Tawfiq, 243
Montagne, R., 240
Eerdmans, B. D., 242 Monômery Watt, W., 244
Elssfeldt, O., 147, 242 Moscati, S., 2390*.
EngBell, L, 146 Mowinckei, S., 242
Naji al Adi, 198

Falkenstein, A., 76, 240
Held, H., 239 Neher, A., 242
Heisdh, H., 239 Nicholson, R. A., 206
Flinders Petrie, W. M., 106 Nielsen, D., 187
Fraaciiini, V. f 231 Noth, M. t 147, 242
Frankfcat, H., 178, 241, 243 Nougayrol, J., 241
Friedridh, j., 9 9
Furfaai, G., 240 R. T., 243
G., 242
Osd>om f
Caster, T. H., 118, 241 Oestericy, W. O. E., 242

Glaser, E., 183 Ton OppmhHm, M., 178
252
INDEX
Pallis, S. A., 240 Robinson, T. H., 242
Parrot, A., 45, 24of. Rowley, H. H., 242
Pedersen, J., 242 Rycknuns, G., 243
Pfeiffer, R. H., 242 Ryckmans, ]., 190, 243
Phillips, W., 243
Pritchard, J. B., 76, 239 Schaeffer, C. F.-A., 103, 241
Tan Proosdij, A. A., 240 Schmokcl, H., 2 39 f.
von Soden, W., 76, 240
von Rad, G., 147 Starcky, ]., 243
Rankin, O. S., 242 Darkey, J. L., 164
Rawiinson, H. C., 46
Reifenberg, A., 243 Welch, A. C., 242
Renan, E., 122 Welihausec, J., 14 tf.
Rinaldi, G., 239 Wiseman, D. J., 54
Robertson Smith, W., 240
Genesis:
10 172
21, 10
26, 34-35 163
28, 1-2
Exodus:
3t 14
20, 1-17
21, I -23, 19
21, 26-27
22, 21-26
22, 2-27
3
3I>
Leviticus: IS3
17 26 -
20, 14
Numbers:
i 3
141
172
Deuteronomy:
5,6-21
12 26 13$
161
19, 3
161
21, I?
23. *-**
2 152
i-3
25, 2
150
Judges:
2, 11-13
29
S, 2-5
i
Kings:
19, 11-13
21 164
INDEX
3. Akkadian
Enuma disb: Code of Hammurapi :
IV, 3S-*03 69 art. 21 j-22o 86

229-232 86
Gilgamesh-Epic :
83 Code of Bilalama:
art. 26, 31 82
Code of Hammurapi:
art. 60, 64 84 Laws of Ur-Nammu :
128 82 linn. 330-334 86

I2 9 83
138 82 Middle Assyrian Laws:
159, l6o 82 Tabl. A, 4- S
196-198 Si, 86
3.
Ugaritic texts : II
Aqhat VI, 26-33 118
49, H, 27-37 Keret 289, 300 119
4. Aramaic
AHqar:
coL Tii 177
Tiii 177
5. Arabic
Koran:
46, 28-31 201 86 211
213 96, 210
74* 210 III 212
254
S-
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Ancient-

Finuaa [19 57:

All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may

Library of Congress Catalog

This work was originally published in Italy

MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

following scholars for help in obtaining permission

Avigad and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem; Prof.

IV THE BABYLONIANS AND ASSYRIANS 43

Lyric Wisdom literature Prose,

VI THE HEBREWS 124

VH THE ARAMAEANS 167

Vffl THE ARABS 181

DC THE ETHIOPIANS 220

CULTURE: General characteristics Literature Arts.

X THE EPILOGUE 233

I Ziqqurat of Nabonidus (Sir Leonard Woofley s reconstruc

n Lion from gate at Nimrud (British Museum).

IV Hunting-scene from AshurbanipaTs palace (British Museum).

VI Hie negro and the lion (by courtesy of the BKITISH

DC Baal stele (Louvre).

X Golden dish from Ugarit (Louvre).

XII One of the Dead Sea scrolls (Hebrew University, Jerusalem).

Xffl Hebrew seal (British Museum).

XV Relief from TeH Halaf (Bn&ft Museum}.

XIX South Arabian relief of camel (British Museum).

XXH Fragment of Koranic manuscript (Vatican Library).

XXffl Obelisk from Axum (Rome; photo Alinari).

XXIV Ethiopic statue (Archaeological Department, Addis Ababa).

XXV Alabaster bull from Haulti (Archaeological Department, Addis

XXVI Lioness from Gobedra(fr0m DEUTSCHE AXUM-EXPEDITION).

ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT

cherished memories. May my colleagues who invited me to

this, no more can be given than a sketch of the salient features of

point in loading the text with names and numbers; better to

There was also the question of chronological limits. I have here

Rome, March 3ist, 1957.

peoples who were the actors in these dramatic episodes played

The whole coastline of the Arabian peninsula is marked by its

opposite in the form of a vast commercial system and of move

they coveted. Only the decline of Byzantine power and the

Very and consequently in its

powers of Mesopotamia and Egypt, was the inevitable outlet and

Mesopotamia and Egypt are almost entirely destitute of building

region dotted with oases, around which grew up important

Phoenicia extends soudi beyond the Lebanon range, as farasthe

boundary of Palestine proper. Here too the mountain bulk is

Palestine and of the continent of Asia. Sinai forms a

Herodotus called Egypt a gift of the Nile; a similar

plain, and here, where sand succeeds to rock, their impetuous

ating point in spring and summer, when the increase in the

extremely cold, whereas Babylonia in the south swelters from

lead, ironand copper are to be found there in remarkable abund

bitumen; the latter was widely used in ancient times by the

Nature made Syria and Palestine the inevitable meeting-place

explanation save the remark that

point on he may follow that river, or cross it and follow its

artery of trade there was a more modest caravan-route which

prosperous states of Arabia Felix, knew also from the earliest

"writer", kitab is "book"; ma-ktab is a "writing-place",

written before then").

incompleted or habitual or prospective action, the "imperfect"

am was will be writing")

"said Zaid to his

understood, for example "Zaid wise",

ductory "subordinating" particles. A typical example is furnished

similar are what are called "circumstantial" clauses, for example:

you above all creatures",

ed you ..." A striking example of this Semitic omission of sub

whereas ye were servants of sin, ye became obedient ..."

original Semitic", and this reconstruction brings out the dose

"We now come to the racial