the Assyrian empire. Nebuchadnezzar, its mightiest monarch, resolved on the conquest of western Asia; and one of his earliest efforts was the expulsion of the Egyptians from Car chemish. Nécho tried to check the progress of this formidable opponent; but he was defeated with great slaughter, and stripped of all his possessions in Syria and Judea, to the very walls of Pelúsium. Jeremíah's prophetic description of this important battle has all the minute accuracy of history.*

During his wars in Syria, Nécho did not neglect the improvement of navigation. A Phoenician fleet, equipped at his expense, sailed down the Red sea, passed the straits of Bab-el-Man'deb, and, coasting the African continent, discovered the passage round the Cape of Good Hope, two thousand years before the rediscovery of it by Diaz and Vasco de Gama. The expedition returned to Egypt through the Atlantic ocean, the straits of Gibraltar, and the Mediterranean, after an absence of three years.

During the reign of Psam'mis, the son of Nécho, a remarkable circumstance occurred (B.c. 600), tending to prove the ancient connexion between the institutions of Greece and Egypt, which has been denied by the modern historians of the German school. An embassy was sent from the city of E'lis to obtain directions for the management of the Olympic games; and the regulations suggested by the Egyptian priests were implicitly obeyed.

A'pries, the Pharaoh-Hoph'ra of Scripture, immediately after his accession (B.c. 594), attacked the Phoenician states, and conquered Sidon. He entered into a close alliance with Zedekíah, king of Judah, promising to aid him in his revolt against Nebuchadnez'zar. A'pries, in fulfilment of his engagement, led an army into Judea, and Nebuchadnezʼzar, on receiving intelligence of his approach, broke up the siege of Jerusalem, and hastened to meet him: but the Egyptians were afraid to encounter the Babylonian forces, and retired, without striking a blow, to their own country, leaving their allies to bear the brunt of Nebuchadnezzar's vengeance. For this act of perfidy, God, by the mouth of his prophet Ezekiel,† denounced severe vengeance on the Egyptians and their sovereign. Not less distinct is the prophecy of Jeremiah: "Behold, I will give Pharaoh-Hoph'ra, king of Egypt, into the hands of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah, king of Judah, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, his enemy, and that sought his life."‡

The accomplishment followed close upon the latter prediction. A Grecian colony, established at Cyréne, being strengthened by fresh bodies of their countrymen, under their third king, Bat'tus the Happy, attacked the neighboring Libyans, and seized their land. An'dican, one of the dispossessed princes, applied for aid to Pharaoh-Hoph'ra, who sent a large army to his relief. The Egyptians were routed with great slaughter by the Cyrencans; and the fugitives, to excuse their defeat, averred that they had been designedly betrayed by their monarch. This calumny was the pretext for a universal revolt. After a long civil war, of which Nebuchadnezzar took advantage to devastate Lower Egypt, A'pries was dethroned by Am'asis, and strangled in prison (B.c. 569).

• Jeremiah xlvi. 1–10. † Ezekiel xxix. 8-15.

Jeremiah xliv. 30.

The usurper was a man of mean birth, but his great abilities enabled him to overcome the Egyptian prejudice of caste, especially as he had the wisdom to conciliate the affection of the priesthood. Following the policy of his predecessors, he tried to establish his supremacy in western Asia, on the decline of the Babylonian power, and entered into close alliance with Cre'sus against Cy'rus. He was defeated, and compellled to become tributary to the conqueror. On the death of Cyrus, he attempted to assert his independence, and thus provoked the rage of Camby'ses, that monarch's successor. At the very moment when the Persian invaders were approaching, Am'asis quarrelled with Phanes, the commander of the Greek mercenaries, and his ally, Poly'crates, the king of Samos, both of whom tendered their aid to Camby'ses. But before the evil hour of the Persian invasion arrived, Am'asis died (B.c. 525), bequeathing to his son Psammen'itus a kingdom torn by internal dissensions, and menaced by a formidable enemy. Scarcely had Psammen'itus ascended the throne, when Camby'ses appeared on the frontiers of Egypt, and laid siege to Pelúsium. This important garrison was taken, after a very weak resistance; and the Persians advanced into the open country. Psammen'itus led an army, chiefly composed of mercenaries, against them; but was so completely overthrown, that he was no longer able to save his capital. Camby'ses, provoked by the murder of one of his ambassadors, put to death the chief of the Egyptian nobles, and reduced their wives and children to slavery. He was at first inclined to spare the life of the unfortunate king; but subsequently learning that he had incautiously expressed a desire for revenge, the cruel conqueror condemned him to drink poison.

Camby'ses was the deadly enemy of the religion and the priestly caste of the Egyptians: he slew their sacred animals, destroyed their idols, scourged their priests as slaves, and pillaged their temples.

The Egyptians, instigated by the heads of the sacerdotal caste, frequently rebelled against the Persians, but were never able to establish their independence; these insurrections were punished with the most relentless severity, and thus the awful prophecy of Ezekiel was fulfilled to the letter.*

SECTION V.-Egyptian Manufactures and Commerce.

THE monuments show us that the progress of the Egyptians in the mechanical arts was much greater than had been usually supposed, and that an accurate examination of their machinery might suggest useful hints for the present day.

Weaving was an important branch of industry, the cotton and flax being indigenous. It is uncertain whether silk was used. The stuffs were woven in large manufactories, under the superintendence of the priests, who had a monopoly of all the cloths used for sacred purposes, especially for the mummies. These stuffs were generally died in the wool, and many of them embroidered with thread of gold and silver wire; some of them are striped, others stained or flowered, and the

Ezek. xxx. 13-19.

colors of all exhibit those dazzling hues of the East, which we are unable to rival in Europe.

The manufactures in metal rank next in importance. Iron appears to have been but little known: nearly all the implements not made of gold or silver, were, it would seem, either copper or brass. The workmanship of the Egyptians, both in metal and wood, was superior to that of any other ancient nation. The forms of their couches, harps, &c., the elegance of the spindles and work-baskets of the ladies, inspire a high idea of the refinement of their domestic life.

Egypt produced excellent clay for pottery, and earthen ware was used, not only for domestic purposes, but for preserving the mummies of the sacred animals. Their vases, in the indescribable variety and beauty of their shapes, rival the choicest specimens of Grecian or Etruscan art.

Ship-building did not become common in Egypt, until its rulers became masters of the Phoenician forests; but they manufactured vessels of burden for navigating the Nile.

The Thebaid was the central point of trade between southern Asia and the western regions, and between Ethiopia and northern Africa. Besides the advantages of its position, the most ancient and productive gold mines in the world were in its neighborhood. From Ethiopia and the Negro countries were brought gold, ivory, ebony, skins, and slaves; from Arabia, incense, and from India, spices; and these were sold to the Greek and Phoenician merchants. The native commodities exported were principally corn and cloths: the corn-trade must have been particularly valuable, for Egypt was regarded as the granary of the adjacent countries.

CHAPTER II.

THE ETHIOPIANS.

SECTION I.-Geographical Outline. Natural History.

THE eastern districts above the Nile, now called Núbia and Sennáar, have been possessed from a remote age by two different races, the Ethiopian and the Arabian, which are even now but partially blended. The country is full of historical monuments, chiefly erected on the banks of the Nile. There were, in these countries above Egypt, all the gradations from the complete savage to the hunting and fishing tribes, and from them to the wandering herdsman and shepherd; but there was also a civilized Ethiopian people, dwelling in cities, possessing a government and laws, acquainted with the use of hieroglyphics, the fame of whose progress in knowledge and the social arts had, in the earliest ages, spread over a considerable portion of the earth.

The Nile, before its confluence with the Astab'oras (Mugrúm), runs through a very irregular valley formed by two chains of hills, which sometimes retire back, and sometimes advance to the very margin of the river. The soil of this valley was once as fertile as the richest part of Egypt, and where protected, it still continues so; but the hills. on both sides are bordered by sandy deserts, against which they afford but a scanty protection. The Nubian valley below the junction of the Nile and the Astab'oras appears to have been sometimes subject to the Ethiopians of Meroë, and sometimes to the Egyptians. The navigation of the Nile is here impeded by the windings of the river, and by the intervention of cataracts and rapids; so that intercourse is more generally maintained by caravans than by boats. At the southern extremity of the valley, the river spreads itself, and encloses a number of fertile islands. Along the whole course of the Nubian valley is a succession of stupendous monuments, rivalling those of Thebes in beauty, and exceeding them in sublimity.

The productions of the Ethiopian and Nubian valleys do not differ materially from those of Egypt. The island of Meroë, as it was called from being nearly surrounded with rivers, possessed an abundance of camels, which, as we have seen, were little used in Egypt; but the ivory, ebony, and spices, which the Ethiopians sent down the river, were probably procured by traffic with the interior of Africa. Meroë had better harbors for Indian commerce than Egypt: not only were her ports on the Red sea superior, but the caravan-routes to them were shorter, and the dangerous part of the navigation of that sea was wholly avoided.

The wild tracts in the neighborhood of Meroë are tenanted by animals whose chase afforded employment to the ancient, as it does now

to the modern hunting tribes; especially that singular creature the giraffe, or camelopard, so recently known in Europe. The elephant is found in Abyssinia, not far from the southern confines of the state of Meroë.

SECTION II.-History of the Ethiopians.

THE early history of Meroë is involved in impenetrable obscurity. Its monuments bear evident marks of being the models for the wondrous edifices of Egypt; but, shut out from all intercourse with civilized nations by the intervention of the Egyptians, it is only when they were invaded, or became invaders, that we can trace the history of the Ethiopians. It has been already mentioned that several of the Egyptian monarchs carried their arms into Ethiopia, and became for a time masters of the country. In the eleventh century before the Christian era, the Assyrian heroine Semir'amis is reported to have attempted its conquest; but there is some doubt of the truth of this, as indeed of many other exploits attributed to this wonderful queen. But we have certain information of the Ethiopians being a powerful nation (B. c. 971) when they assisted Shishak in his war against Judæa "with very many chariots and horsemen." Sixteen years after this, we have an account of Judæa being again invaded by an army of a million Ethiopians, unaccompanied by any Egyptian force.* From the Scripture narrative, it appears that the Ethiopians had made considerable progress in the art of war, and were masters of the navigation of the Red sea, and at least a part of the Arabian peninsula. The kingdom must have been also in a very flourishing condition, when it was able to bear the cost of so vast and distant an expedition.

The Ethiopian power gradually increased until its monarchs were enabled to conquer Egypt, where three of them reigned in succession, Sab'bakon, Sev'echus, and Tar'akus, the Tirhákah of Scripture.† Sev'echus, called So in Scripture, was so powerful a monarch, that Hoshéa, king of Israel, revolted against the Assyrians, relying on his assistance; but was not supported by his ally. This, indeed, was the immediate cause of the captivity of the Ten Tribes; for "in the ninth year of Hoshéa, the king of Assyria took Samária, and carried Israel away into Assyria," as a punishment for unsuccessful rebellion. Tirhákah was a more warlike prince: he led an army against Sennach'erib, king of Assyria, then besieging Jerusalem; and the Egyptian traditions, preserved in the age of Herod'otus, give an accurate account of the providential interposition by which the pride of the Assyrians was humbled.

In the reign of Psammet'ichus, the entire warrior-caste of the Egyptians migrated to Ethiópia, and were located at the extreme southern frontier of the kingdom. These colonists instructed the Ethiopians in the recent improvements made in the art of war, and prepared them for resisting the formidable invasion of Camby'ses.

2 Chron. xiv. 8-13.

† Mr. Hawkins, in his recent work on Meroë, identifies Tirhákah with the priest Séthos, on what we deem very insufficient grounds.

2 Kings, xvii. 4.

§ 2 Kings, xix. 9.