DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.25500#0054
24
COMPARATIVE ARCHITECTURE.
built. Their sculptures in alabaster exhibit considerable
technical skill and refinement, while the repousse pattern
work on bronze bowls, shields, and gate fittings is also
noticeable.
The cuneiform inscriptions consist of groups of strokes
in the form of wedges, placed upright and horizontally,
hence the name. These characters were impressed on clay
tablets or cylinders, while still moist, with a triangular ended
instrument of wood, bone, or metal. Libraries of these
strange MSS.' were formed on a large scale, and by their
translation our knowledge has been acquired.
vi. Historical.—From the study of Assyrian history
we can glean certain facts which considerably assist us in
forming our divisions of the periods. The earliest Baby-
lonian king mentioned in the cuneiform, or arrow-headed,
inscriptions was Eannadu, who reigned b.c. 4500. The
empire thus founded gradually extended its dominion to
the north, following the course of the great river Tigris.
In b.c. 1700 Assyria, the northern part of the early Baby-
lonian empire, asserted her independence and became the
great power of Western Asia.
Of the Assyrian kings, among the more celebrated was
Sargon (b.c. 722-705), who erected the great palace at
Khorsabad. This Sargon was the first Assyrian king who
came in contact with the Egyptian army, then in alliance
with the Philistines, a combination which, however, he
defeated. The Assyrians conquered and occupied Egypt
in b.c. 672, sacking the ancient city of Thebes in b.c.
666. Egypt, however, finally shook herself free from the
Assyrian yoke. The destruction of Nineveh took place
in b.c. 609, and the great Assyrian kingdom was divided
among its conquerors, Assyria being handed over to the
Medes. Babylon then took the leading place until it was
finally conquered by the Persian general Cyrus in b.c. 539,
from which date it remained under the rule of the Persians
until the time of Alexander the Great about b.c. 300, when
it became a possession of the Greeks. About a thousand
years after Alexander’s invasion and short-lived conquest,
the Arabs overran the country and settled there—Bagdad
forming a new capital of great magnificence. A few
COMPARATIVE ARCHITECTURE.
built. Their sculptures in alabaster exhibit considerable
technical skill and refinement, while the repousse pattern
work on bronze bowls, shields, and gate fittings is also
noticeable.
The cuneiform inscriptions consist of groups of strokes
in the form of wedges, placed upright and horizontally,
hence the name. These characters were impressed on clay
tablets or cylinders, while still moist, with a triangular ended
instrument of wood, bone, or metal. Libraries of these
strange MSS.' were formed on a large scale, and by their
translation our knowledge has been acquired.
vi. Historical.—From the study of Assyrian history
we can glean certain facts which considerably assist us in
forming our divisions of the periods. The earliest Baby-
lonian king mentioned in the cuneiform, or arrow-headed,
inscriptions was Eannadu, who reigned b.c. 4500. The
empire thus founded gradually extended its dominion to
the north, following the course of the great river Tigris.
In b.c. 1700 Assyria, the northern part of the early Baby-
lonian empire, asserted her independence and became the
great power of Western Asia.
Of the Assyrian kings, among the more celebrated was
Sargon (b.c. 722-705), who erected the great palace at
Khorsabad. This Sargon was the first Assyrian king who
came in contact with the Egyptian army, then in alliance
with the Philistines, a combination which, however, he
defeated. The Assyrians conquered and occupied Egypt
in b.c. 672, sacking the ancient city of Thebes in b.c.
666. Egypt, however, finally shook herself free from the
Assyrian yoke. The destruction of Nineveh took place
in b.c. 609, and the great Assyrian kingdom was divided
among its conquerors, Assyria being handed over to the
Medes. Babylon then took the leading place until it was
finally conquered by the Persian general Cyrus in b.c. 539,
from which date it remained under the rule of the Persians
until the time of Alexander the Great about b.c. 300, when
it became a possession of the Greeks. About a thousand
years after Alexander’s invasion and short-lived conquest,
the Arabs overran the country and settled there—Bagdad
forming a new capital of great magnificence. A few