EDUCATIONAL WORKS. Alden's ITatural Spealier, being Selections to aid the Student in acquirinj,' a Sim,i)Ie, Natural, Business-like Style of Speaking. By Joseph Alden, D. D., LL. D., President of the New York State Normal School. 1 vol., 12mo. Elements of Intellectual Philosopliy. Arnold's History of Eome. i vol., 8vo. C70 pages. Lectures on Modern History. Large 12mo. 428 pages. Bain's English Composition and Rhetoric, l vol., l2mo. Mental Science. A Compendium of Psychology and History of Philosophy. I vol., 12mo. Moral Science. A Compendium of Ethics. 1 vol., 12mo, 2j-.- ,.-«»• 1.^^-.-.- •• •« «_.-•_.-■--•. ^jtij # LIBRA RY OF CONGRESS. # ||lmp.P..t.l. |orerigl,i ?[fcr p, I UNITED MATES OK AllKRICA | T^^, 611" iD'^'%'^'**''%^^<*y<^'5Sb'«.<%.'^'!^'%,ance, and it has since been adopted in all Christian countries. Time before Christ is denoted by the letters B. c; time after Christ, by a. d. {anno domini., in the ye^r of our Lorti). It is now, however, generally be- lieved that the Christian Era was by mistake lixed four ye^rs later than the birth of Christ. Tlie Jews, not recognizing the Saviour, number their years from the Creation, and some Christian writers use the same era for dates before Clirist. The letters a. m. (anno 777undi) mean " in the year of the world.^'' Mohaiimiedan nations reckon from the Hegira {?}C-Ji"ra), or Flight, 652 a. d., — ^the year in which the founder of their religion fled from Mecca. History may be distinguished as Ancient, Mediaeval, and Modem. Ancient History extends from the Creation, 4004 R c, to the overthrow of the Roman Empire in Italy by northern barbarians, 4T6 a. d. ]\Iedi;\?yal His- tory relates the events of the ^liddle or Dark Ages ; by which are meant the thousand years following the fall of Rome, and extending to a new era marked by the revival of learning and various great inventions and discoveries. With tliis new era Modern History begins. Tlie principal sources of history are, the Scriptures, which furnish the only authentic records of primeval times; the works of uninspired writers; and inscriptions and pictures on rocks, tombs, and the walls of temples. Important information is also frequently obtained from coins, medals, broken weapons, architectural ruins, etc. Particularly valuable to later historians have been the hieroglyphics, or ** sacred car\-ings,-^ found on the obehsks ryiBoiicciiogF- or tibe ^obe,it is of ti^ poDfto treat. TIk litde orno %ne m tke annk flf Idle laee jqipeais en dK rtage cMDijr ln> a dkort poiod daoB^ tlie fiist e^ontians and ae trkta te ana tibe gicatert jnfrfiprtual fonee, tikat kas ande tke autt pfogreas ia cnrifiiatioa, fcyialmc^ acKaee^ aad art^ tkat kas swajed tke gnat ca qaimfc o€ tke wodd. Takm^ a gamal viev of tke evcais v« aie to kick at in detail, we see, Haa at fint saleas aad kappj: obedient to God, and lafleA: Tken gmniag tin at faat orecwkebMsd bjdivneviaik maloodi :SMQak and bis faamkj saTcd, and frooa tkent tke At fet one ooniiini i j and to^ne: Tkem tke langnage eonConnded b^r tke Alaiigklj, and m tescd: Great naiians fotned: TTar in tke Tke Assnian, Bafayknian, Pc wodd-vide swaj: ob^ tkor woik: tkeir prestiste: Baff:>afiaii prowess mu ig eocnnifted 10 THE WORLD BEFOKE THE FLOOD. civilization: New but ruder kingdoms formed: Ignorance and vice settling- down on the nations: A thousand years of darkness, relieved here and there by bright but short- lived flashes: At length gleams of light ajDpearing: Day dawning : A gradual but finally complete intellectual revolution: Learning revived: The restless mind of man achieving further triumphs: A New World added to the Old : New nations springing into life : Inventions and discoveries whose name is legion: Social life regenerated: The thirst for conquest subordinated to the arts of peace : The voice of the people heard: Even conservative nations of the Mongolian race waking from their sleep and asking for light: Education recognized as the lever that is to move the world. CHAPTER I. THE WORLD BEFORE THE FLOOD. Ancient History begins with the Creation. The Creation. — A brief account of the successive steps of the Creation is given in the Bible. For centuries noth- ing further was known on the subject; but within the last hundred years, Geology, the science which treats of the earth's structure, has both confirmed the Scriptural ac- count and thrown new light upon it. It is now established that the days of creation were not periods of twenty-four hours, but indefinite ages. The first of these was marked by the appearance of light; the second, by that of the sky, separating the vapors above from the waters below; the third, by the rising of dry land from the waters, and the clothing of the earth with verdure. In the fourth age, the sun, moon, and stars appeared. The earth was now arrayed in beauty, THE CREATION. 11 but without inhabitants. So God created the fishes and birds in the fifth age; and in the sixth the beasts, and finally man in his own image. Our earth appears once to have been a ball of melted matter surrounded by a hot gaseous atmosphere. The outer part of this molten mass gradually cooled, and a crust was thus formed. The vapor in the air was next condensed into a great ocean, spreading over the whole Ideal Landscape of a Peehistoktc Age. globe. Under the action of the fiery heat within, floods of melted rock from time to time forced their way through the solid barriers that confined them. Thus continents and islands were upheaved, and vast hollows formed, into which the waters of the primeval ocean receded. Our knowledge of the plants and animals of the geo- logical ages preceding man's creation, is derived from 12 THE WORLD BEFOEE THE FLOOD. their fossil remains or traces left on rocks. Gigantic shrubs now unknown once flourished; strange fish and huge reptiles swarmed in the waters; and immense ani- mals, much larger than any modern species, roamed over the earth. The First Men. — The sacred narrative tells us that the first man, Adam, was placed in the pleasant and well- watered garden of Eden. Here he led a sinless life, en- joying intercourse with his Maker, and the companionship of Eve, whom God created as his helpmeet. His business was to 'dress the garden; and he was no doubt divinely endowed with all the knowledge necessary for this em- ployment or essential to his happiness. This blissful state, however, was of short duration. Our first parents, having disobeyed their Creator, were expelled from Eden, and they and their descendants be- came subject to death. Soon after two sons were born to them : Cain, who devoted himself to husbandry ; and Abel, who was a shepherd. Moved by jealousy, Cain murdered his brother; for which crime he was driven from the presence of the Lord, and became a fugitive on the earth. After the death of Abel, Seth was born. Among his descendants were the righteous E'noch, who was taken to Heaven without dying ; Methu'selah, who attained the greatest age on record, and died in the year of the Flood; and Noah, " who walked with God." We are further told in Scripture that the sons of God took wives from among the daughters of men, and that their children became mighty in the land. There were giants in those days; and wickedness increased to such an extent that God repented of having made man. So he resolved to destroy the de- generate race, except Noah an^ his family, who found grace in his eyes. Arts of the Antediluvians. — It is probable that the THE ANTEDILUVIANS. 13 Antediluvians, or those who hved before the Flood, made considerable progress in the arts. They were skilled in agriculture, and knew something of astronomy and archi- tecture. Cain built a city after his exile, and his descend- ants were the inventors of various handicrafts. Ja'bal was the father of such as dwell in tents; Ju'bal invented musical instruments ; and Tu'bal-Cain was a worker in copper and iron. The form of government was patriarchal; that is, the heads of distinct families, under the direction of God, exercised control. Commerce must have been exceedingly limited. We read of no vessels before the ark was built. The average duration of life before the Deluge seems to have been from eight to nine hundred years. It was probably thus prolonged, that the earth might become peopled more rapidly, and that rising generations might profit by the accumulated experience of their elders. One language was spoken throughout the world ; and this also was favorable to the spread of knowledge. The precise time of the Creation, the Deluge, and other early events, can not be determined ; still the student needs fixed dates to connect with great historical land- marks, and in this volume the chronology of Usher is fol- lowed, as that given in the margin of our Bible and most generally received. It is proper to say, however, that recent researches in Egyptian history indicate for these events a much greater antiquity than Usher assigns them. 4000 B. C— Adam and Eve. 3000 B. C. — Seth and his descendants to the seventh generation, still alive ; this patriarch may therefore have seen his great-great-great- great-great-grandson. Of the line of Cain, Jabal was probably leading a nomadic life with his flocks, Jubal playing on his pipe, and Tubal-Cain working in the metals— all three brothers in the prime of life, perhaps from 300 to 400 years old. — Men growing in wickedness. 14 THE DELUGE. CHAPTER II. DELUGE.— DISPERSION.— FOUNDING OF EARLY KINGDOMS. The Deluge (2348 b. c.).— When God, incensed at the depravity of his creatures, determined to destroy them, he instructed Noah to build an ark of gopher -wood (probably cypress), about 550 feet long, 90 feet wide, and three stories high. Into this went Noah and his family, and two of every kind of bird, beast, and reptile. Tor- rents of rain then descended for forty days and nights, the floods rose above the highest mountains, and every living thing on the earth perished. But the ark floated safely, and after the waters subsided it rested on Mount Ar'arat. Then all came forth, and Noah built an altar and sacrificed unto the Lord. Thereupon God made a covenant with him that the earth should never again be overwhelmed with a flood; and as a token he placed the rainbow in the clouds. Legends of the Deluge have been current in various nations. Ancient paintings and medals bearing the image of the ark have been found ; and some early nations showed their veneration for the mountain on which the ark landed by erecting sacred mounds. Of the American race, there is scarcely a tribe that has not preserved some tradition of the Flood. Their Noah and his wife escaped on the trunk of a tree; or on a raft, with the animals, drifting amid the Avaters. Tower of Babel. — After the Deluge, the earth was re- plenished with inhabitants by the three sons of Noah — Shem, Ham, and Ja'pheth — who, with their wives, escaped in the ark. As their descendants increased, they jour- neyed into the fertile plains of Shi'nar (see Map, p. 16), where they commenced building a city, and a " tower FOUNDING OF EAKLY KINGDOMS. 15 which should reach unto heaven." This tower was to be a monument of man's glory, and a landmark to prevent the separation of the different families. But the Lord confounded their language, so that they, could no longer understand each other. Their work was discontinued, and the human race was dispersed " upon the face of all the earth" (2247 b. c). The name of Ba'- bel, meaning confi(sio7i, was therefore given to the city. Founding of Ancient Monarchies. — The descendants of Shem (whose name signifies fame) spread over most of south-western Asia. E'lam became the father of the Persians, Asshur (ash'ur) of the Assyrians, Lud of the Lydians, A'ram of the Syrians, and x\braham of the Jews and Arabians. The children of Ham (hot or burnt) settled in parts of south-western Asia and Africa, and formed the most cultivated and powerful nations of remote antiquity. Nimrod, grandson of Ham, founded the Chaldean {kal- de'aii) monarchy; Misraim (miz'ra-im) was the father of the Egyptians, and Ca'naan of the Phoenicians, his son Si 'don having founded their great city of that name. Nes-ro nations were also derived from Ham. Of the posterity of Japheth {exjyansion), some mi- grated into Europe, and became the aborigines of Russia, Greece, and probably of Italy and Germany. Others peopled the regions about the Caspian and the Caucasus. To still other branches of his descendants the Celts, and it is believed the Tartars, owe their origin. Certain it is that Japheth was the progenitor of those nations of the Caucasian race that after a time gained, and for centuries held, the dominion of the then-known world, as well as those that are now foremost in physical said intellectual power. Thus has been fulfilled the prophecy of Noah,— "God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant." 16 THE GKEAT ASIATIC NATIONS. Noah lived 350 years after the Deluge, — long enough to see the first nations established. 2000 B. C. — Noah still alive, Shem 448 years old. Approxi- 'mate date of the birth of Abraham (1996). Egyptian, Chaldean, Assyr- ian, Chinese, and other monarchies, established. Sidon and Tyre flour- ishing cities. Aryans, descended from Japheth, in the plain of Iran (e' CHAPTER III. THE GREAT ASIATIC NATIONS, The Chaldean Monarchy. — Chaldea, or Babylonia, was one of the first monarchies, founded by Nimrod about 2234 B. c. It lay north of the Persian Gulf, and was watered by the rivers Euphra'- tes and Ti'gris. (See Map.) The city of Baby- lon was built near the Tower of Babel, from which it was called. Nimrod, whose name signifies impi- ous rebel, was a mighty hunter. A bold, unscrupulous chief, he overthrew the original patri- archal form of government, and established despotism in its stead. Some suppose that he introduced THE CHALDEAN MONAECHY. IT after his name of the worship of the heavenly bodies, and that death he was adored by his subjects under the Bel, or Be'lus. The most that we know of Chaldea for several cen- turies is that it maintained an obstinate struggle for the ascendency with the growing power of Assyria, but was at last obliged to acknowledge the supremacy of its rival. Attempts made from time to time by different monarchs to assert their independence were unsuccessful ; and as the result of one of these revolts, in 683 b. c. Babylon was sacked. The accession of Nab'onassar to the throne in 747 B. c. is made memorable by the adoption of this year as a fixed time to date from. It is known as the Era of Nabonassar. The Chaldeans were pioneers in the arts and sciences. They were well versed in arithmetic, astronomy, and par- ticularly architecture, using bricks for their buildings and the bitu'men of the country for mortar. They excelled in the manufactures of the loom, ex- hibited great skill in the engraving of precious stones and the fashion- ing of ornaments and domestic uten- sils, were acquainted with the use of letters, and stamped their legends on bricks. Commercial pursuits early engaged their attention ; and the "ships of Ur," one of their cities (see Map), traded with the neighbor- ing countries. The Assyrian Empire. — Nin'eveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, situated north of Babylon, on the river Ti'gris, was built by Asshur, who " went forth out of the land of Shinar." Little is known of Assyrian history till the time of Tig- lathi-nin {tUj'lath-e-nin')^ su23posed to be the Greek Ni'- Chaldean Brick. 18 THE GREAT ASIATIC NATIONS. nus, who reigned 1270-1250 b. c. He extended bis sway- over Babylon, and caused to be inscribed on his signet " Conqueror of Babylonia." The ambitious king Tig'lath-Pile'ser I. [in-le'zer) also made extensive conquests, but his brilliant reign was fol- lowed by a long period of obscurity. The darkness was finally dispelled in the ninth century.* This seems to have been the age of the " lady Semir'amis," the reputed conqueror of the East and one of the greatest legendary characters in history. Semiramis was probably a Babylo- nian princess, who wedded an Assyrian king and thus streng-thened her husband's claim to her native land. The marvellous tales of her conquests and public works are regarded as fabulous by later historians. The Assyrian Empire attained the height of its glory in the century preceding its fall. Tiglath-Pileser II., who reigned until 727, took Damascus in Syria, and received the homage of many kings. Shalmane'ser IV. several times invaded Palestine, and at last laid siege to Sama'- ria. This city surrendered to Sargon, the next monarch, who also engaged in successful wars with Egypt and Babylonia. Sennacherib (sen-nak' e-riU)^ the son of Sargon (705- 680 B. c), was one of the greatest of the Ninevite kings. After many victorious expeditions, Sennacherib blasphe- mously threatened Jerusalem with a great army; when, in one night, " the angel of the Lord smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand." Sardanapa'lus, grandson of Sennacherib, extended his empire beyond all former limits. His chief pleasure was to encounter the lion, and fierce beasts were let loose in his park to fall before his arrows and spear. Art and * The ninth century b. c. embraces the years from 900 to 800. The beginning of the ninth century would be the years 900, 899, etc. ; the close of the ninth century, 801, 802, etc. THE ASSYRIAN EMriRE. 19 literature, however, were not neglected. A magnificent palace was built at Nineveh, a royal library was estab- lished, and under Sardanapalus Assyria reached the zenith of her greatness. Sar'acus, the son of this mighty king, was dissolute and effeminate. He is said to have dwelt in his palace, imitating the dress and employments of his wives and fe- male slaves. At last the Medes and Babylonians revolted, and besieged him in his capital. Finding that resistance was vain, Saracus built a funeral-pile, and burned himself up with his wives and treasures (625 b. c). Nineveh was destroyed, and the conquerors divided between them the proud Assyrian Empire. The Babylonians now obtained the supremacy of western Asia. AssYKiAX Arts. — Nineveh was never rebuilt. Vast mounds, w^hicli for centuries covered the ruins of its once splendid edifices, have recently been excavated; and the wonderful remains, sculptures, and pictured walls, there found, have contributed much to our knowledge of the ancient Assyrians. Judging from these, they were skilled in engraving, metallurgy, embroidery, and the manufact- ure of glass. Their palaces were ornamented with elab- orate sculptures, prominent among w^hich Avcre colossal bulls with wings and human heads. Beautiful bass-reliefs represent the every-day life of the people, and many written memorials of the nation remain on slabs and obe- lisks. Other interesting specimens of Assyrian art are vases, bronzes, seals, glass-ware, enamelled bricks, carved ivory, and engraved gems. The Assyrians were acquainted with the arch, the lever, and the magnif ying-lens ; indeed, tow- ard the close of their empire, according to Rawlinson, " in all the arts and appliances of life they were nearly on a par with ourselves." The Assyrians were idolaters. They were engaged in THE BABYLONIAN MONARCHY. 21 Assyrian "Waeeiok. almost perpetual war. Among their exercises was hunt- injr the lion and wild-bull. The Babylonian Monarchy (Map, p. 16), after the con- quest of Nineveh, maintained its ascendency as capital of the eastern world for nearly a century (625- 538 B. c). The great- est of its princes was Nebuchadnezzar (604- 561 B. c), who triumphed over the Jews and Egyp- tians, and made Babylon "the lady of kingdoms." The capital, built on both sides of the Euphrates in the form of a square, was more than fifty miles in circuit. Its beautiful hanging gardens, and massive walls, 87 feet thick and 350 feet high, were counted among the Seven Wonders of the World. These gardens, eight miles in circumference, Nebu- chadnezzar constructed to delight his queen, who, tired of the monotonous landscape about her, pined for her native Median hills. They consisted of a succession of terraces, overtopping the city walls, and planted with trees and flowering shrubs. The whole was irrigated from a large lake on the top, which was filled by engines with water from the Euphrates. Across the river was the temple of Bel, decorated with the plundered wealth of the East. Nebuchadnezzar was made so proud by his conquests and the grandeur of his capital that God deprived him of reason; he was driven out from among men, and ate grass like oxen. After seven years his understanding returned; 22 THE GREAT ASIATIC NATIONS. taught by this judgment, he once more gave honor to the Most High, and was re-established in his kingdom. Fall of Babylon. — The last of the Babylonian kings was defeated before the walls of his capital by the Medes and Persians. His son Belshazzar was besieged in the city, which, however, was well provisioned and for a time defied their efforts. At length the enemy turned the Euphrates from its course, and entered the city through the bed of the stream, while the Babylonians were en- gaged in revelry, profanely drinking from the golden ves- sels which had been taken from the House of God at Jerusalem. At this very time the prophet Daniel was interpreting to their affrighted prince certain mysterious characters which suddenly appeared, written by the fin- gers of a man's hand upon the wall of his palace, an- nouncing the overthrow of the kingdom. That same night the besiegers penetrated to the royal banquet-hall. Belshazzar was slain, and Babylonia became a province of the Persian Empire (538 b. c). The proud capital is now a heap of ruins; and, as the prophet Isaiah jDredicted, wild beasts make their dens in its desolate houses. Customs, etc. — The Babylo- nians excelled in the manufact- ure of cotton and woolen fab- rics. Their dress was a flounced robe, reaching to the feet; they wore long hair and turbans. Herod'otus tells of some strange customs as prevailing among them. Once a year the mar- ria2:eable maidens in each village were collected and sold at auction as wives, the most beautiful bringing the high- est prices. Then the ugly damsels were disposed of, with marriage-portions obtained from the sums paid for their fairer companions. Babylonian Seal. INDIA. 23 Physicians were unknown among them. When a man was taken ill, his friends laid him in the public square, to be examined by all who passed. When one came along who had had like symptoms himself, he prescribed such remedies as he had found beneficial in his own case. India, which occupied the peninsula south of the Himalay'a Mountains, appears to have been inhabited in remote antiquity. About 1400 b. c, the valley of the Indus was overrun by an invading host from the plateau of Iran {e'rahn), corresponding with modern Persia, Af- ghanistan (ahf-gahn-is tahn')^ and Beloochistan [hel-oo- cMs-tahn'). This great table-land had become thickly settled with a civilized agricultural people, known as the A'ryans, whose surplus population wandered oiF in distinct bodies, at different periods, in quest of new abodes. The Celts, Slavonians, and Teutonic tribes, migrated to the north- west, and finally settled in different parts of Europe. Similarities of language show that these tribes, the an- cient Greeks and Romans, the Persians, Hindoos, Af- ghans, and Belooches, all had a common origin. They constitute the Aryan, or Indo-European, branch of the Caucasian race, — which has surpassed the other branches in mental activity, and has had most to do with shaping the world's history. Among the latest Aryans to leave their native seats were the worshippers of Brah'ma, who descended upon India, as just stated, and ultimately extended their power and religion over the peninsula. With them originated the sacred books called Ye'das^ consisting of hymns to various deities, written in that polished language, as its name imports, — the Sanscrit. A peculiar feature of Brahmanism was the institution of caste, according to which the people were divided into four classes, separated by impassable lines, and each hav- 24 THE GREAT ASIATIC NATIONS. ing its own duties and privileges. One of its leading doc- trines was the transmigration of souls : that at death the spirits of the good passed into a higher order of beings, as a reward for their virtues; those of the wicked, into inferior animals, as a punishment for their crimes. About 500 B. c. the simpler religion of Buddha arose, and contended with Brahmanism for centuries for the supremacy of India. The latter finally prevailed ; and Buddhism, expelled for the most part from the peninsula, took refuge in the island of Ceylon, and diffused itself through regions to the east, as far as and including China. At the present day. Buddhism, with its grotesque idols and fanciful pago'das, its sacrifices of fruit, flowers, and incense, and its prayer-mills, is the religion of nearly one- fourth of the population of the world. India was celebrated for its rich products, including diamonds, rubies, silk and cotton fabrics, which were eagerly sought after by early nations. Subterranean Interior of an Indian Cave-Temple. CHINA. 25 temples with inscriptions and sculptures, pagodas cut out of solid stone, and rock-hewn grottoes, whicli must have employed thousands of workmen for centuries, — are the remains of Indian architecture. China. — The Chinese claim for their empire the great- est antiquity. Fo-hi, generally regarded as its founder, was succeeded by Chin-nong, who invented the plough. The people then rapidly advanced in civilization. To one of their princesses belongs the honor of having first un- ravelled the cocoons of the silk-worm and woven the thread into a fabric. Confucius (kon-fu'she-us), who flourished about 500 B. c, is the most distinguished personage of Chinese his- tory. He became the great teacher of his countrymen, and by his elevated moral precepts, disseminated orally during his life and in writings which have been received almost as divine revelations by the Chinese and are still taught in their schools, has perhaps exerted a greater in- fluence than any other purely human teacher. An interesting anecdote of the youth of Confucius has been handed down. Becoming tired of study, he re- solved to abandon it for some other pursuit. As he was returning from school one day with this determination, he noticed an old woman rubbing an iron bar on a whetstone; and, when he asked her what she was doing, learned that she was trying to replace her knitting-needle, which she had lost, by rubbing down the bar. Filled with admira- tion of her perseverance, the young student exclaimed, " Shall an old woman have more resolution than I, within whose reach are the highest honors of the empire ? " He returned to his books with fresh vigor, and became, as we have seen, one of the greatest of sages. About 250 B. c. was built the Great Wall of China, designed to protect the country from the Tartars. It extends alons: the northern and north-western frontier for 20 ANCIENT AFRICAN NATIONS. 1,200 miles, is from fifteen to thirty feet in heio-ht, is wide enough for six liorsemen to ride on abreast, and is sur- mounted by strong towers forty feet high. Tradition says that it used to be defended by a million soldiers. It was built by the Emperor Ching-Wang, who also expelled the Mongols and consolidated the empire. 1800 B. C— Isaac yet living. Esau and Jacob 36 years old. Descendants of Islimael in Aral^ia. Celts moving westward. CHAPTER IV. ANCIENT AFRICAN NATIONS. Egypt. — Soon after the Deluge, the fertile valley of the Nile was settled by descendants of Ham. Historians record the name of Misraim, or Menes (ine'neez), as the first monarch, or Pharaoh (fa'ro), of Egypt. Several contemporaneous kingdoms appear to have been formed, the most powerful of which were Memphis and Thebes. These were conquered by a horde of in- vaders called " Shepherds," whose dominion lasted about 500 years. During their sway, Joseph and his kinsmen found a home in the land. A great national revolt headed by the Theban monarch finally broke out. The Shepherd Kings were expelled, and Thebes gained supreme do- minion over all Egypt, 1525 b. c. A brilliant period followed. Magnificent works of art were erected, and important conquests made. Thoth'mes III. carried on wars in Ethiopia and Asia, and is thought to have laid even Nineveh and Babylon under tribute. The remains of superb structures in all parts of Egypt still bear witness to his greatness. f:GYPT. 27 3rFJI>I TETlT.jLNFA N SEA u o .s^ n5>^c^ Am'iinoph IIT. was also noted for his conquests and for the grand temples which he erected. The site of one of these at Thebes is marked by the famous colossal statue called the Vocal Memnon, which was believed by the ancients to utter a mysteri- ous sound at sunrise. Sesostris, the most cele- brated of the Pharaohs, lived in the thirteenth century. Aiming at universal empire, he carried his conquering arms into the heart of Af- rica, northward into Thrace, and as far east as India. The Ethiopians paid him tribute in ebony, gold, and elephants' tusks; and his fleet scoured the Indian waters. The Nile and the Red Sea were connected with a canal; a long wall was built to pro- tect the eastern frontier ; and everywhere monuments perpetuated the deeds of Sesostris the Great. Under the successors of Sesostris Egypt declined, and about 730 b. c. it was conquered by the Ethiopians. It subsequently re-established its independence, and under Pharaoh Necho {tie'ko)^ 600 b. c, once more became pow- erful. Although much occupied in war, this enterprising prince labored to promote the commercial interests of the nation. He maintained fleets on the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, and under his auspices the Cape of Good — ANCIENT- r— EGYPT- 28 ANCIENT AFRICAN NATIONS. Hope was rounded, and Africa circumnavigated. The ex- pedition returned to Egj'^pt in the third year, through the Pillars of Hercules, now the Strait of Gibraltar. Food becoming scarce during the voyage, the sailors drew up their ships on shore and raised a crop of grain. The last of the Pharaohs was overthrown by Camby'- ses, King of Persia, 525 b. c, and Egypt was annexed as a dependency to that empire. Monuments op Egypt. — The valley of the Nile in Upper and Middle Egypt was in ancient times occupied by great cities, whose splendor is still attested by gigantic Pyramids and Sphinx. structures and massive ruins. Of these, the Pyramids, supposed to have been erected as tombs of the Egyptian kings, are the grandest monuments ever reared by man. EGYPT. 29 They are found in groups, and the most famous are those of Ghizeh {ght'zeli)^ near Cairo ijci'ro). Here, rising 450 feet above the sand, stands the Great Pyramid, attributed to Cheops (ke'ops), who flourished perhaps 4,000 years ago. It is built of immense stone blocks, and its base covers about thirteen acres. We are told that 100,000 persons were compelled to work upon this pyramid at a time, fresh laborers supplying their places at the end of three months. Near the Pyramids of Ghizeh is the Great Sphinx, or man-headed lion, a figure 188 feet long and 60 feet high, cut out of a projecting rock. Between its huge fore-paws were found the remains of a temple, in which sacrifices were offered to the monster. The magnificent ruins of Thebes, the hundred-gated capital, are scattered along the Nile for miles, at and near the modern villages of Luxor and Karnak. The vast palaces and temples, the colossal statues, the avenues of sphinxes, the obelisks, burial-grottoes, and royal sepul- chres, seem almost to have been the work of more than ordinary mortals. Arts, etc. — Egypt was pre-eminently an agricultural country. The soil, enriched by the annual inundations of the Nile, yielded abundant harvests with but little labor. Fruit-trees were culti- vated, the vine flourished, and wine was manufactured. Sesostris is said to have irrigated the land by means of canals, and throughout antiquity Egypt was the gran- ary of the surrounding states. The Egyptians excelled in massive ar- chitecture, in geometry, astronomy, chem- istry, and mechanics, in working the met- als, and other branches of manufacture. Their ointments preserved in vases for Egyptian Bottle. 30 ANCIENT AFRICAN NATIONS. 3,000 years still diffuse a fragrance that proves tliem to have been masters of the perfumer's art. They worked gold and silver mines, and carried on an extensive traffic with Phoenician and Arabian traders. They wore costly ornaments — armlets, necklaces, ear-rings, and amulets ; and the children amused themselves with dolls and vari- ous toys. The art of writing was known to the Egyptians at a very early date ; and on rolls made out of the paper- plant, papy'rus^ we have remains of their literature. The historical papyri give exaggerated accounts of the achievements of their kings ; the religious manuscripts, constituting the " Books of the Dead," consist chiefly of prayers and instructions as to the life to come. Religion. — The Egyptians worshipped a multitude of gods. Osi'ris was the personification of all good. His wife I'sis had so many titles that she was called " the goddess with ten thousand names." Certain beasts, rep- tiles, and even vegetables, were regarded as sacred. The bull A'pis, the cat, the crocodile, the ibis, and the beetle, were special objects of worship. When a cat died in a private house, the whole family shaved their eyebrows in token of their affliction. Division into castes was a part of the Egyptian religion. The Egyptians embalmed their dead, believing that in the course of ages the immortal spirit would re-animate the body ; and numerous mummies of men, animals, birds, and serpents, have been preserved to the present day. A debtor could pledge to his creditor the mummies of his ancestors, but was himself deprived of burial if he failed to redeem them. A peculiar custom was the trial of the dead. Judges were appointed, notice of the ceremony was given, and any who were so disposed could bring charges against the deceased. If it was proved that he had led an evil life, the ETHIOPIA. 31 body was denied burial. Even kings were subject to this solemn judgment, fear of which exercised a salutary in- fluence over all classes. Ethiopia, lying south of Egypt, between the Red Sea and the Great Desert, according to fable was peopled by savage tribes, — cave-dwellers, long-lived men, pygmies, — elephant, serpent, and tortoise eaters. But there were also civilized communities, famed for their progress in the arts. Their chief city was Mer'oe (see Map, p. 27), in what is now southern Nubia. It was governed by priest- kings, was distinguished for its commerce and wealth, and was in fact one of the great cities of its day. After the conquest of Egypt (525 b. c), Cambyses set out for the subjugation of Ethiopia; but his troops were reduced to starvation in the desert, and he was forced to abandon his design. 1700 B. C. — Chaldea and Assyria rival monarchies. Phoenicia the chief commercial and colonizing power. Jacob's family in Goshen, Lower Egypt. Silk made in China. CHAPTER V. THE HEBREWS AND PHCENICIANS. Palestine was occupied soon after the Flood by nations descended from Canaan, son of Ham. It was to this country that God called the patriarch Abraham, to be the founder of his chosen people, the Jews or Hebrews, 1921 B. c. In accordance with the divine command, Abraham, accompanied by his nephew Lot, crossed the Euphrates, and pitched his tents in the land of Canaan, which God promised to his descendants. 32 THE HEBEEWS AND PIKENICIANS. Here Abraham and Lot lived as shepherds, until, in consequence of the increase of their flocks, they were obliged to separate in search of pasturage. The former hxed his abode in He'bron ; Lot removed to the well- watered valley of the Jordan (see Map), where were Sod'om, Gomorrah, and the other " cities of the plain." The wicked- ness of the inhabitants provoked the Lord to rain down upon these cities lire and brim- stone; and the once beautiful vale was covered with the waters of the Dead Sea.* Lot was saved, and became the fa- ther of the Mo'abites and Am'monites. Ishmael, the son of Abraham by Han- gar his handmaid, was the ancestor of the w a n d e ri n g Ar'ab tribes. Isaac, his son by Sarah his wife, was the heir of the covenant. Isaac married Rebek^ah, a kinswoman, * The Dead Sea, about foi'ty miles long and nine Avide, is overshad- owed in parts by lofty cliffs, interspersed with frightful precipices. It receives the Jordan, but has no outlet ; and its waters are so salt that fish cannot live in it, nor plants grow on its shores. Sulphur abounds on its borders, and bitumen floats on its surfece. The whole surrounding region is one scene of desolation. THE JEWS IN EGYPT. 33 who became the mother of two sons, Esau, and Jacob or Israel. From the sons of Jacob sprung the twelve tribes of Israel ; and from Esau, the E'domites, who hewed beau- tiful tombs in the rocks, still to be seen in the ruins of Pe'tra. The Jews in Egypt. — Jacob loved Joseph more than his other sons. Moved by envy, they sold their brother to a caravan of Ishmaelites, who carried him into Egypt, where by his abilities and integrity he rose to the position of chief minister. Joseph saved Egypt from a disastrous famine. When his brethren, suffering at home in the land of Canaan, came down thither to purchase food, little thinking that in the ruler who received them they beheld the brother they had wronged, he made himself known to them, sup- plied their wants, and granted them the fertile district of Go'shen for their residence (1706 b. c). There the Israelites multiplied and prospered; but in the course of time they were cruelly oppressed by the Egyptians. At last Pharaoh, to prevent their further in- crease, ordered every male infant to be drowned in the Nile. One of these Hebrew children was rescued by the king's daughter, who named him Moses [from the water), and instructed him in all the learning of the land. Hav- ing slain an Egyptian for beating a Hebrew, Moses was compelled to fly into the deserts of Arabia, and for forty years he fed the flocks of Je'thro, priest of Midian. The Exodus. — At the end of this time, God directed him to deliver the Hebrew people from Pharaoh and lead them to the promised land of Canaan. Joined by Aaron his brother, Moses demanded the release of the Israelites, and on the refusal of the Egyptian king afflicted the country, by the divine command, with successive plagues. After the first-born of the nation were smitten with death, Pharaoh allowed the children of Israel to depart ; but 34 THE IIEBKEAVS AND PIKEKICIANS. afterward repenting, he pursued them, and was over- whehned with his host in the Red Sea (1491 b. c). Forty years the i*ngrateful Jews, murmuring at the hardships they were called on to endure, were comj^elled to wander in the Avilderness under the leadership of Moses. During this period the Ten Commandments were deliv- ered on Mt. Sinai, and the Tabernacle was erected. Moses, for rebellion against the Lord, was not per- mitted to enter *' the promised land." After viewing it from the top of Mt. Nebo, he died at the age of 120 years, and *' no man knoweth of his sepulchre to this day." Moses was the great law-giver of Israel, and the author of the first five books of the Bible. Conquest of Canaan. — Moses was succeeded by Joshua, a man " full of the spirit of wisdom." Under his direc- tion, the children of Abraham passed over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, their inheritance. The walls of Jericho fell down before them ; Al was taken by stratagem; and the inhabitants of both towns were put to the sword. Within five years Joshua had reduced an extensive territory, which was divided among the Is- raelites. After the death of Joshua (1426 b. c), the children of Israel often forgot the Lord and worshipped idols. To punish their sin, God allowed their enemies to reduce them to servitude ; and, when they repented, he raised them up deliverers called Judges. The Judges. — Among the most celebrated of these was the prophetess Deb'orah, Avho rescued the afflicted tribes from Ja'bin, king of Canaan. Gid'eon delivered his peo- ple from bondage to the Midianites, and Jeph'thah over- threw the Ammonites. Samson, the most remarkable avenger of his countrymen, slaughtered the Philistines (ft-l (Satins) Avith wonderful feats of strength, and at last killed himself and several thousand of their lords and KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. 60 people by pulling down the pillars of the house in wliicli they were assembled. Samuel, the last of the Judges, released the Israelites from subjection to the Philistines. When they desired an earthly sovereign, after vainly warning them of the tyranny of kings, he by God's command anointed Saul, of the tribe of Benjamin, the first monarch of Israel. Kingdom of Israel (1005-975 b. c.).— When Saul as- cended the throne, the Israelites were mostly engaged in pastoral and agricultural pursuits, and their territory was exposed to the ravages of the surrounding nations. The new kinir defeated the Ammonites, and routed the PhiHs- tines. In a subsequent war, with the Am'alekites, he dis- obeyed God, on which account his family was excluded from the throne; and David, the youthful son of Jesse, of the tribe of Judah, was secretly anointed by Samuel as the successor to the crown. David was comely, valorous, and skilled in the use of the harp. On the renewal of hostilities by the Philistines, he slew their great champion, the giant Goliath of Gath, with a stone from his shepherd's sling. For this feat David was honored as the hero of the day, and he thus incurred the eiivy of Saul. But Saul's son, Jonathan, be- tween whom and David a strong friendship had growni up, interposed in his behalf; and, after many narrow escapes from the resentment of the king, David withdrew to a foreign land. Saul and three of his sons fell in battle with the Phi- listines, 1055 B. c. His only surviving son Avas acknowd- edged king by all the tribes but Judah. Civil war fol- lowed, and it was seven years before the authority of David was established over all Israel. David at once began to enlarge the boundaries of his kingdom. He took Jerusalem from the Jeb'usites, made it his capital, and removed thither the ark of the covenant. 36 THE HEBREWS AND PIICENICIANS. The Philistines and Moabites were overthrown, Syria was conquered, and an empire founded which stretched along the Mediterranean from Phoenicia to Arabia, and was bounded on the east by the Euphrates. David's reign was disturbed by the rebellion of his two sons, Absalom and Adoni'jah. The former, caught by his head in the branches of an oak, was slain by Jo'ab, cap- tain-general of the army. The latter was excluded from the succession, which was secured to his younger brother, Solomon. Though David was not superior to human frailties, he is distinguished as " the man after God's own heart." His Psalms, written by the inspiration of the Most High, are full of sublime conceptions, and are recognized as masterpieces of lyric poetry. Solomon (1015-975 b. c.) raised the Jewish kingdom to the pinnacle of its glory. In his youth God appeared to him in a dream, and promised to give him whatever he desired. He asked for wisdom ; but God also conferred on him riches and honor, and he became celebrated through- out the East. Foreign princes, attracted by the brilliancy of his court, visited Jerusalem. The Queen of Sheba came with a train of camels, bearing as gifts, spices, gold, and costly jewels. So far did the riches and wisdom of Solo- mon exceed her expectations that she exclaimed, " Behold, the half was not told me ! " Solomon's name is connected with the magnificent Temple which he built at Jerusalem, with the aid of Phoenician workmen furnished by his friend Hiram, king of Tyre. In this sjDlendid structure, which was solemnly dedicated to Jehovah, rested the ark, surmounted by two golden cherubim. Solomon also built many cities, of which Tadmor in the wilderness (afterward Palmy'ra) was the most celebrated. He founded a navy, and carried on an extensive commerce in company with King Hiram. 38 THE HEBREWS AND PHCENICIANS. His ships returned from distant seas, laden with gems, precious metals, and curious plants and animals. Horses and chariots were bought of the Egyptians, and used for the first time in the armies of Israel. Solomon maintained seven hundred wives, many of whom were the princesses of neighboring idolatrous na- tions. In his old age they prevailed on him to worship their gods, and for this great sin the Lord decreed that af- ter his death the kingdom should be given to his servant. King Solomon died 975 b. c. He was among the greatest of the Hebrew writers. From his insjDired pen came the Proverbs of the Bible, with all their wealth of wisdom, the Song of Songs, and in all probability the Book of Ecclesiastes. He is reputed, besides, to have written a thousand canticles, and dissertations on various subjects. Arts, Customs, etc. — The early Hebrews cultivated music and poetry, but in general paid little attention to the arts and sciences. ^Agriculture was their leading pursuit, the vine and olive receiving special care. Every seventh year God ordered the land to be left untilled, and whatever grew of itself to be given to the destitute. The houses w^ere, for the most part, poor and low, built of sun-dried mud or unhewn stones, till the time of the kings, when more attention was paid to architecture. The street-doors were adorned with inscriptions from the Law of Moses. The windows had no glass, but were lat- ticed. The roofs were flat, and the people often resorted to them for cool air, and even slept there in summer. Domestic utensils were few and simple. Grain was ground by the women in hand-mills. Olive-oil was used in lamps for giving light. The towns, from the want of temples and public buildings, must have presented a mean appear- ance. The ancient books were in the form of rolls. By the original Hebrew constitution, God himself was PIICENICIA. 39 king of the nation; human governors merely ruled in his name. The tribe of Levi was set apart for the services of religion. Phoenicia, a strip of land north of Palestine, between the Libanus Mountains and the Mediterranean, was the great commercial country of antiquity. The Phoenicians colonized the coasts and islands of the Mediterranean, passed the Pillars of Hercules, founded Ga'des (Cadiz) on the Atlantic shore, and extended their voyages to the British Isles. From Spain they obtained silver and lead; from Britain, tin ; and they are even supposed to have entered the Baltic in search of amber, which was more highly valued than gold. The Phcx3nicians excelled in ingenious arts. They claimed to have been the first to manufacture glass, and to have invented letters, which they introduced into Eu- rope. The cloths of Sidon and Tyre were greatly es- teemed ; and Tyrian purple, a dye obtained from shell- fish, was renowned from the earliest periods. Judges of Israel. Oth'niel, 40 years. Abim'clech, 3 years. E'lon, 10 years E'hud. To'Ia, 23 " Abdon, 8 " Sham'gar. Ja'ir, 22 " E'li, 40 " Deb'orah. Jeplithah, 6 " Samson, 1137-1117. Gid'eon, 40 years. Ibzan, ^~*4 7 " Samuel, 1107-1095 CHAPTER VI. FOUNDING OF THE GRECIAN STATES. Ancient Greece was a peninsula in the south-eastern corner of Europe, corresponding with modern Greece and the adjacent parts of southern Turkey. In the north lay - '2;y'^-'^« 1 ^ ^^ mi m m i ft^CJJ) ft^ pi i 1 THE GRECIAN STATES. 41 Epi'rus, and Thes'saly celebrated for the beautiful vale of Tem'pe. (Find on the Map the various places mentioned.) The principal states of central Gi-eece were Acarna'nia, ^to'lia, Pho'cis, Boeo'tia, and Attica. The southern part was the Peloponne'sus (now the More 'a), connected with the main-land by the Isthmus of Corinth, and containing, besides minor states, Arca'dia, Messe'nia, Ar'golis, and the rugged Laco'nia. Greece was intersected by mountain-chains and trav- ersed by numerous rivers. Its coasts were indented by bays, affording excellent harbors. The adjacent waters were dotted with fruitful islands, the largest being Eu- boe'a, the modern Negropont {neg-ro-pont')^ opposite At- tica and Boeotia. Primitive Inhabitants. — In very early times Greece was occupied by kindred tribes, bearing the general name of Pelas'f/i. From the affinities of their language to Sanscrit, Celtic, and the Slav'ic and Teutonic dialects, they are sujDposed originally to have emigrated from the table-land of Iran, already mentioned as the home of the Aryans. Large bodies of them settled in Thessaly and Epirus ; others kept on to the south and peopled the Peloponnesus, where as early as 1856 b. c. In'achus found- ed Argos and Sicyon {sish'e-on). Others again made their way to the islands of the ^gean and the opposite coast of Asia Minor. The Pelasgi seem to have been a rude but peaceable people, engaged for the most part in agricultural pur- suits. To them are generally ascribed the massive archi- tectural ruins called Cyclope'an,* still visible in Greece. Immigrations. — Grecian legends tell us that from the * So called from the Cyclo'pes, a fobulous race of giants having a single eye in the centre of their foreheads. The ancients regarded them as the builders of structures that seemed too vast to have been reared by men. 42 FOUNDING OF THE GRECIAN STATES. sixteenth to the fourteenth century B. c. colonies arrived from Egypt, Phoenicia, and Phrygia (frife-d), bringing with them the civilization of those countries. Thus about 1550 B. c, Ce'crops came to Attica from Egypt, and founded Cecro'pia, afterward called Athens in honor of Athe'ne, or Minerva, its patron goddess. Cecrops is said to have introduced marriage and to have partially civilized the aborigines. About the same time, Cadmus, a Phoenician, colonized Boeotia, and laid the foundations of its capital Thebes. The fable runs that Cadmus sowed dragon's teeth, from which armed men sprung up and battled with each other till all but five fell. These were the ancestors of the The- bans. Cadmus is reported to have introduced weights and measures, and to have brought sixteen letters of the alphabet from Phoenicia into Greece. Pe'lops, a Phrygian adventurer, subsequently settled in southern Greece. His descendants became very pow- erful, and from him the peninsula derived its name of Peloponnesus, the island of Felops. The Hellenes. — About the beginning of the fourteenth century b. c. (1384), a new race, the Helle'nes, appeared in Thessaly. They soon subjugated the Pelasgi, and ex- tended their power over the whole country, which was from them called Hellas. The name Greece originated with the Romans at a much later date. The Pelasgians and Hellenes probably had a common origin. They eventually blended together, and the union of their kindred dialects gave rise to the Greek language. Where the Pelasgian element predominated, civilization and literature flourished most; the Hellenic element seems rather to have been identified with warlike tastes. The Hellenes traced their origin to Hellen, son of Deuca'lion and Pyr'rha, the survivors of their traditional Deluge. From the sons of Hellen sprung the four lead- THE HEROIC AGE. 43 ing branches of the Hellenic nation ; viz., the Do'rians, ^Eo'lians, Achaeans, and lo'nians. The Heroic Age of Grecian history was a legendary period of about two centuries, immediately following the appearance of the Hellenes in Thessaly. Greece was then divided into numerous petty states; and many heroes flourished, wdiose feats of prowess, whether facts of his- tory or fictions of the imagination, caused them to be re- garded as offspring of the gods. Her'cules, the impersonation of physical strength, was famous for his " twelve labors." The 'sens, the great Athenian law-giver, conquered the Am'azons, a mythical race of women-warriors, and vanquished the Min'otaur of Crete, a monster half man half bull, that dwelt in the Labyrinth and feasted on youths and maidens sent from Athens. Per'seus slew the Gorgon Medusa, whose fright- ful head turned all that looked at it into stone. Mi'nos was the Cretan legislator, and one of the judges in the lower world. Or'pheus, the Thracian musician, tamed wild beasts and moved rocks by his sweet strains. The Heroic Age is made memorable by the poets for a series of wars and expeditions. The greatest of these were the Trojan War (treated of in the following chap- ter) and the Argonautic Expedition. The latter was undertaken by Ja'son, a Thessalian prince, accompanied by many Grecian heroes, in quest of "the golden fleece." Most of these old stories are said to have a hidden mean- ing; and this legend seems to symbolize the endeavors of the early princes to secure the advantages of commercial intercourse with foreign countries. Mythology, Arts, and Manners. — The Greeks were a highly imaginative jDeople, and their mythology was less forbidding than the religious systems that had preceded it. They worshipped many gods, by which the elements, passions, virtues, mental attributes, etc., were typified — 44: FOUNDING OF THE GRECIAN STATES. gods, according to their belief, endowed with human feel- ings, frail, erring, and some of them even criminal, like ordinary mortals. In honor of these deities statues were set up, and gorgeous temples reared in styles of architect- ure that are yet followed. Pompous processions moved around their shrines, on which the fairest products of the earth were laid, and animals without blemish and adorned with garlands were sacrificed. The Romans in later days recognized the same great divinities as the Greeks, and it is by their Roman names that the Greek gods are generally spoken of. Jupiter, son of Saturn, was the " father of gods and men," and with his haughty queen Juno reigned over heaven and earth from the lofty summit of Mt. Olympus in Thessaly. Mars was the god of war; Apollo, of music and prophecy; Mercury, the god of eloquence, was the messenger of the celestials; Vulcan presided over fire and the useful arts. Ve'nus was the goddess of beauty, Diana of hunting, Ce'res of agriculture, Vesta of the fireside, and Minerva of the sciences and liberal arts. Neptune, with his tri- dent, ruled the sea ; and Pluto had dominion over the lower world. Bacchus was recognized as the god of wine, Cupid of love ; Hebe was the goddess of youth and cup-bearer at the celestial banquets. Besides these, there were a mul- titude of inferior deities; as, the nine Muses, the Graces, Fates, Nymphs, Si'rens, etc. To obtain advice and information about future events, the Greeks consulted oracles. The most famous were the oracle of Jupiter, at Dodo'na, in Epirus, — and that of Apollo, at Delphi, in Pho'cis. (See Map, p. 40.) The responses were given' by mysterious voices, or by attend- ants in a state of frenzy, real or assumed ; they were expressed in obscure or ambiguous language, so as to ad- mit of different interpretations. THE EAKLY GREEKS. 4S The Greeks had an interesting tradition of the Dehige. Deuca'lion and Pyrrha were saved in a chest, and on land- ing picked up stones and threw them over their heads. The stones thrown by Deucalion were turned into men, those thrown by Pyrrha into women ; and thus the earth was repeopled. We are indebted to Ho'mer, the oldest and greatest of Grecian poets, for what we know of the domestic life of the early Greeks. The main pursuits of the people were agriculture and the raising of flocks. Cattle not only formed the chief source of wealth, but even served as a medium of exchange ; a female slave, for instance, was valued at so many oxen. Considerable progress seems to have been early made in the useful arts, such as carpentry, building, and the manufacture of cloth. Woman was treated with respect ; ladies of the highest rank spun, wove, and engaged in other domestic employments. The power was in the hands of kings and nobles. Captives taken in war. were enslaved. Priests and temples were held in reverence. One of the leading virtues was hospitality ; the palace of the noble was always open to the stranger. Greece was favorably situated for navigation, and con- stant intercourse was maintained with the adjacent coasts of the Mediterranean, islands being so thickly interspersed that voyages of some length could be made without losing sight of land. At this early period light galleys propelled chiefly by oarsmen were used. A mast was raised, and sails were brought into play, only when the wind was favorable. 1 500 B. C. — Egyptian colony of Cecrops in Attica. Phoenician colony of Cadmus in Boeotia. Dan'aus settles with a colony in Argos. Alphabetic writing used in Greece. Egypt flourishing after the expul- sion of the Shepherd Kings. Israelites still in Egypt. Moses feeding the flocks of Jethro, in Midian. 46 TEOJAN WAR AND SUCCEEDING PERIOD. CHAPTER VII. TROJAN WAR, AND SUCCEEDING PERIOD IN GREECE. Troy (irium), a powerful capital in the north-western part of Asia Minor (see Map, p. 40), was in the twelfth century b. c. the scene of important events, growing out of a wrong committed by Par'is, son of Pri'am, a Trojan monarch. This prince (so the legend goes) visited the court of Menela'us, king of Sparta, or Lacedsemon {J.as-e- de'mon), and in his absence carried off his fair wife Helen to Troy. The outraged Menelaus summoned the Grecian chiefs to avenge the injury, and a large force assembled under his brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenas (mi-se'ne). Led by such heroes as Di'omede, A'jax, the crafty Ulys- ses, king of Ith'aca, and the brave Achilles {ci-Jcil'leez) of Thessaly, the Grecian warriors embarked in nearly 1,200 vessel-s for Troy. After a gallant resistance of ten years, during which the Trojan Hector '' of the glancing helm " and " the lion-hearted Achilles " fell, the city was taken by a strat- agem of Ulysses. A huge wooden horse filled with armed Greeks, represented as an offering to the goddess Mi- nerva, was received by the besieged within the walls. In the dead of night the hostile band came forth from their hiding-place, admitted their comrades, surprised the Tro- jans who had been engaged in festivities, and fired the city (1183 B. c). Priam, with most of his warriors, was killed, and the survivors became the slaves of the con- querors, or sought safety in flight. The Trojan War forms the subject of the Iliad, the immortal epic of the blind poet Homer, supposed to have flourished about 950 b. c. The adventures of Ulysses while returning to Ithaca, and the trials of his faithful GREECE AFTER THE TROJAN AVAR. 47 wife Pe-nero-pe during his absence, arc described in the Od'yssey of the same poet. Tlie Iliad and Odyssey are thought to have been recited for generations before thev were committed to writing. Such was their popularity that seven cities contended for the honor of having jriven birth to their author; yet some have maintained that they were the work of different hands, and that no such person as Homer ever lived. Nearly contemporaneous with Homer, and often men- tioned in connection with him as one of the old bards of Greece, was the Boeotian poet Hesiod (he'she-od). To him are ascribed the didactic poem " Works and Days," containing j)recepts on farming interspersed with fables and moral maxims, and the "Theog'ony," which gives an account of the origin of the world, and the birth of gods and heroes. Greece after the Trojan War, — Various commotions followed the return of the Greek chieftains from Troy. Some were obliged to have recourse to arms, to drive out enemies who had taken possession of their thrones. These disturbances were succeeded by important migratory movements. New races expelled the previous settlers, many of whom, leaving their country, founded colonies on the islands and eastern shores of the iEgean. A great part of the Peloponnesus was conquered by the Dorians, led by the Heracli'da3 (descendants of Her- cules), who had been driven out by the family of Pelops. A body of lonians, dislodged from their seats in the Pelo- ponnesus by the return of the Heraclidae, crossed to Asia Minor. Here and on the adjacent islands they founded settlements, which grew into cities, and ultimately joined in an Ionian confederacy. Among these cities was Eph'- esus, renowned for its temple of Diana, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. North of the lonians, ^olian emigrants established 48 TEOJAN WAR AND SUCCEEDING PEKIOD. twelve towns ; while the Dorians themselves settled tlie southern coast and the adjacent island of Rhodes. Rhodes was celebrated for its Colos'sus, an immense image of Apollo, so placed as to bestride the entrance to the har- TiiE Colossus of Eiiodes. bor. The Colossus was over 100 feet high, and its thumb was so large that a man could not clasp it with his arms. When, after lying on the ground for centuries, it was re- moved, the metal that composed it loaded 900 camels. DORIAN INVASIOX. 49 The Greeks also peopled the shores of the Euxine (Black Sea). They founded Byzantium (the modern Con- stantinople) in the east, Massilia (Marseilles) in the far west, and the rich Cy-re'ne on the coast of Africa. Many Greek colonies were planted in Lower Italy and Sicily, which received the name of Magna Grrecia [mag'nd gre'- she-d^ Great Greece). The most important of these were the luxurious Taren'tum, — Cu'ma?, celebrated for its ora- cle and Sib'yl, — and Syr'acuse, on the island of Sicily. Dorian Invasion of Attica. — The Dorians gradually ex- tended their conquests beyond the Isthmus of Corinth, and in the reio-n of Co'drus invaded Attica. Havino* learned from a friendly Delphian that the oracle had as- sured the invaders of success if they spared the life of the Athenian king, Codrus determined to die in behalf of his people. Leaving the city in the disguise of a wood- man, he fell in with two soldiers of the enemy, and offer- ing them gratuitous affronts was set upon and slain. When the Dorians found that the Attic chief had thus fallen, despairing of success they withdrew their forces. Thereupon the Athenian nobles did away with the office of king, and substituted for it that of arcJion {cir'kon). From this time the government was republican. Sparta. — After the subjugation of Laconia, the people were divided into three classes: the Dorian conquerors, who became known as Sjxirtans, and alone enjoyed politi- cal privileges; the Perioeci {per-e-e'si), free inhabitants of the rural districts, engaged in commerce and the trades, mostly of Achc^an descent; and the He 'lots, consisting of captives and rebels reduced to slavery. The Helots were employed in agricultural pursuits, and treated with great brutality. They could even be put to death when they became so numerous as to appear dangerous to the state. Internal dissensions arising, the Spartans gradually degenerated. At length, in the ninth century b. c, Ly- 3 50 TKOJAN WAR AND SUCCEEDING PERIOD. curgus, one of their princes, after carefully studying the laws of foreign countries, framed for his own the consti- tution that bears his nameo Constitution of Ltcurgus. — Lycurgus cared nothing for intellectual education or the humanizing arts ; he aimed at making his nation invincible in war and filling them with love of country. The young of both sexes were required to undergo the severest physical training, that self-reliance, agility, and strength, might be thus in- sured. To accustom them to pain, boys were publicly whipped, sometimes so cruelly that death resulted. Rich and poor dined together on coarse repulsive food. An iron coinage was adopted, to the exclusion of the precious metals ; such money being valueless abroad, foreign lux- uries were unknown. The hardy Spartan thus learned to despise effeminacy. His field of labor was the camp ; he was allowed no time for commerce, agriculture, or any other peaceful pursuit. Stealing was considered a disgrace and crime, only if detected. A story is told of a Spartan boy who, to avoid discovery, suffered his body to be torn open by a fox which he had stolen and concealed in his garments. Lycurgus retained the double monarchy which was peculiar to the Lacedaemonian state, but limited its power. To him is ascribed the institution of the Senate, and the officers called Eph'ori, elected annually by the people to watch over the constitution and punish those who vio- lated it. Having persuaded the Spartans to swear that they would keep his laws while he was away, Lycurgus left his country with the intention of never returning. Nor did he do so. His constitution remained in force five centuries, and made Sparta the most powerful state in Greece. Conquest of Messenia. — Under the workings of the laws of Lycurgus, Spartan territory was gradually en- GRECIAN INSTITUTIONS. 51 largecl. The conquest of the neighboring state of Messe'- nia was the result of two long and obstinate contests (743-668 B. c). After bearing the yoke for forty years, the Messenians revolted, and were at first successful. But the Spartans, roused by the odes of the Athenian poet Tyrt^'us, finally prevailed, and reduced their vanquished foes to the condition of Helots. Some of the Messenians, however, fled to Sicily, and gave their name to the city of Messa'na (now Messina). This success secured to Sparta the supremacy of the Peloponnesus, and she soon began to interfere in the general affairs of Greece. Grecian Institutions. — Among the early institutions of Greece wxre the amphic'tyonies, or associations of tribes for the purpose of protecting the temples of the gods. The most important of these was the Amphictyonic Council. Its members were bound to refrain from de- stroying any city of the alliance in time of war, and to use all their powers in defence of the Delphic temple of Apollo. The Greeks were also bound together by the Great Games (Olympic, Pyth'ian, Neme'an, and Isthmian), cele- brated at Olympia, Delphi, Nemea, and on the Corinthian Isthmus. They consisted of gymnastic sports, and horse and chariot races, as well as contests in poetry and music, and attracted competitors and spectators from far and wide. Their influence was doubtless beneficial, promoting intercourse among the states, strengthening in them a feeling of common nationality, and exciting in individuals a healthy spirit of emulation. The Olympic Games, in honor of Jupiter, were the most famous. Originally instituted by Hercules, as the ancients believed, they were revived, after having been discontinued for years, in the time of Lycurgus. A vic- tory at these games, though rewarded only with a crown of wild-olive, was regarded as the highest honor that a 52 KINGDOMS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAII. Greek could obtain, and brought glory not only to himself but also to his family and state. Statues were erected, and odes written, to preserve the memory of the victors. lOOO B. C— Solomon at the height of his glory. The Temple just completed. Hiram king of Tyre. Babylonia under the Assyrians. Egypt fallen from its greatness. Ethiopia growing m power. Dorians in the Peloponnesus. Trojan colonists in Italy. CHAPTER VIII. KINGDOMS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH. (975-588 B. C) Division of the Jewish Monarchy. — On the death of Solomon (975 b. c), the Jewish people entreated his son Rehobo'am to remove the oppressive taxes imposed on them by the late king. But he only threatened to add to their burden. "My father," said he, " chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you Avith scorpions." Ten of the tribes in consequence revolted, and chose for their king Jerobo'am, a former servant of Solomon. Thus was Solo- mon's idolatry punished, and the Kingdom of Israel rent from the house of David. Judah and Benjamin alone ad- hered to Rehoboam, who thus became the first monarch of " the kingdom of Judah." Israel. — To wean the people from their religion, which required them to go up to the Temple at Jerusalem, Jero- boam made two calves of gold as objects of worship. Though warned by a prophet of God, he persisted in his guilty course ; and finally his family was exterminated, and a usurper obtained the crown. Omri, one of the suc- cessors of Jeroboam, built the city of Sama Via, and made it his seat of government. KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. 53 Under A'hab, son of Omri, through the influence of his wicked wife Jez'ebel, a Phoenician princess, the worship of Ba'al, the great sun-god of lier nation, was introduced into Israel. Eli'jah, the greatest prophet that had appeared since Moses, boldly rebuked the abominations of the king, announced the punish- ment of the nation by drought and famine, and afterward miraculously triumphed over the priests of Baal in the presence of the assem- bled people; yet Ahab and Jezebel continued in their iniquity. A few years later, in accord- ance with the doom pro- nounced by the prophet, the king fell in battle with the Syrians ; his posterity was utterly de- stroyed by Jehu, one of his generals who had been appointed the Lord's avenarer: the infamous Jezebel was hurled from the palace-window, and her body was devoured by dogs. Captivity of the Ten Tribes. — Jehu destroyed the idol and temple of Baal, but allowed the worship of the golden calves. His family continued to reign until 772 B. c, contemporaneously with the prophets Eli'sha, Jo'nah, A'mos, and Hosea {ho-ze'a). These holy men vainly strove to check the growing corruption. Immorality and idolatry prevailed, the country became impoverished, and the As- syrians invaded Palestine. Hoshe'a, the last king of Israel, was besieged in Sama- Jewish High-Priest. 54: KINGDOMS OF ISKAEL AND JUDAH. ria by Shalmane'ser. The cajDital fell, and Hoshea was sent in chains to Nineveh (721 b. c). The ten tribes were carried away into captivity beyond the Euphrates, and their land was occupied by foreign settlers. These united with the few Hebrews who remained, and formed the Sa- maritan nation. But the flower of the Israelites either became incorporated with the conquerors, or migrated farther east, leaving no traces behind. To this day they are spoken of as " the lost tribes." Judah. — The rival kingdom of Judah maintained its ex- istence for nearly four centuries, surviving Israel more than 130 years. Idolatry was the stumbling-block of sev- eral of its kings. Even Rehoboam fell into this sin short- ly after his accession; God punished him by allowing the king of Egypt to pillage Jerusalem. The pious A'sa " took away the altars of the strange gods," and trusting in the Lord put to flight an invading horde of Ethioj^ians. Jehosh'aphat, his son, continued the work of reform. With the exception of connections which he formed with the idolatrous Ahab and two suc- ceeding kings of Israel, his administration was wise, and under it Judah enjoyed a prosperity unknown since the time of Solomon. It was not long, however, before the true God was again forsaken, and disasters in consequence overtook the nation. The wicked A'haz (742-726 b. c.) encouraged the grossest idolatry ; and Judah, weakened by the incursions of her hostile neighbors, became tributary to the Assyrian king. But Hezeki'ah, the son of Ahaz, once more restored the true worship. He was enabled to throw off the As- syrian yoke; and the host of Sennach'erib, his boastful foe, was destroyed by the angel of the Lord. The people, however, relapsed into idolatry under Ma- nas'seh, the tyrannical son of Hezekiah; and the most abominable rites were practised. The few Avho remained KINGDOM OF JUDAII. 55 true to their faith were subjected to cruel persecution, and the Jews have a tradition that the great prophet Isaiah was sawn asunder by order of the king. Manasseh was carried off in chains by the Assyrians ; but he repented in his dungeon, and God restored him to his throne. Josiah, who became king 641 b. c, put down idolatry with a strong hand. During his reign, the original prophe- cies, written by the hand of Moses, were brought to light, foretelling to the faithless Jews the destruction of their Temple and the desolation of their land. The Captiyitt. — These predictions were fulfilled in the reign of Josiah's son, Zedeki'ah. The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jude'a, stormed Jerusalem, burned the Temple, and removed the surviving Jews to Babylon (588 b. c), thus putting an end to their monarchy. The captivity lasted till 536 b. c. After Babylon was taken by the Persians (p. 22), permission was given to the exiled people to return to their native land. Many availed themselves of the opportunity, and finally the cap- ital was rebuilt and the Temple restored. Moreover, the Jews remembered the lesson taught them by their calami- ties, and thenceforth adhered to the religion of their fathers. Hebrew Literature. — During the period treated of above, various prophets wrote under the inspiration of the Spirit of God; their works appear in the Old Testament. The four greater prophets are Isaiah, who foretold the fate of the Jews and the birth of the Messiah in the sub- limest of lyric poetry; Jeremiah, who denounced divine judgments on his people for their disobedience, and in his " Lamentations " poured forth his sorrow for their down- fall; Daniel and Ezekiel, who, carried captives to Baby- lon, there delivered their prophetic visions. Almost all of Daniel's long life was passed at Babylon, where he was promoted to office and honor. He predicted the time of 56 FOUNDING OF ROME. THE ROMAN KINGS. the Messiah's advent witli such precision that a general expectation of his coming prevailed among the Jews at the time of our Saviour's appearance. Kings of Israel and Judah. Kings of Israel. | Kings of J JDAH. CONTEMPORAEIES. Jcrobo'am, 975. Rebobo'am, 975: Shi'shak, king of Egypt. Na'dab, 1)54. Abi'jah, 958: Astartus, king of Tyre. Ba'asha, 053. A'sa, 955: Ben-ba'dad I., king of Syria; Homer. E'lah, 1130. Jebosb'apliat, 914: Elijah; Ben-ba'dad II., king of Syria. Zim'ri, 929. Jeho'ram, 892: The prophet Elisha. OiJi'rl, 929. Ahazi'ah, 885: Ilaz'ael, king of Syria. A'hab, 918. Ath-a-li'ah, 884: Jehoi'ada, higli-priest. Ahazi'ah, 898. Jeho'ash, 873: Dido, founder of Carthage ; Lycurgus. Jeho'raui, S9G. Am-a-zi'ah, 839: Boc'choris, king of Egypt. Ju'hu, 884. Uzzi'ah, 810: The prophets Jonah and Amos. Jelio'ahaz, 856. Jo'thaui, 753: Romulus, founder of Rome. Jeho'ash, 841. A'haz, 742: Re'zin, Icing of Syria. Jerobo'ara II ,825. Hezeki'ah, 726: Sargon; Senuaelierib ; Isaiah. Zacbari'ah, 773. Manasseh, 698 : E'sar-had'don, king of Assyria. Shal'luni, 772. A'nion, 043 : TuUus Ilostil'iiis, king of Rome. Men'ahoin, 772. i Josi'ah, 641 Pok-a-bi'ah, 7G1. Jeho'ahaz, 610 Pc'kah, 759. Jehoi'akim, 610: YTho prophet Jeremiah. Iloshc'a, T30. Jehoi'achln, 599 : Samaria taken, T21. Zedeki'ah, 599 a-A^ Jerusalem taken, 583 b. c. CHAPTER IX. FOUNDING OF ROME.— THE ROMAN KINGS. (753-509 B. C) Early Settlement of Italy. — The peninsula we now know as Italy was inhabited in remote ages by several races, among which were the Etruscans, Oscans, Sa'bines, and Lat'ins. The Etruscans, or Tuscans, who appear to have been an entirely different race from the others, were the most polished. At first they constituted a powerful state in the north, but afterward occupied the region west FOUNDING OF ROME. 57 of the Tiber, where they formed a confederacy of twelve cities. That they excelled in architecture is shown by the remains of massive ruins, dikes, and tunnels. They also carried on a large commerce, and their pirate-vessels were long the terror of the western Mediterranean. The Sabines were a moral ag- ricultural people, distinguished for their love of freedom. The powerful and prosperous Latins dwelt in Latium [la'she-um), south of the Tiber. Founding of Rome. — Tradi- tion tells us that, on the destruc- tion of Troy (p. 46), ^ne'as, a Trojan warrior, gathering to- gether a few sur- vivors of the un- fortunate city, sailed westward, succeeded in reaching Italy, built there a cit}^, and mar- ried the daugh- ter of the Latin king. The son of ^Eneas founded Alba Longa, which became in time an opulent city. Another legend relates that Rom'ulus and Re'mus, twins of the regal line of Alba Longa, having been ex- posed at their birth, were carried off and nourished by a she-wolf, till they were discovered by a herdsman, who brought them up with his own sons. In course of time, learning their royal origin, these princes restored to the 58 FOUNDING OF ROME. THE KOMAN KINGS. throne their grandfather, who had been driven out by a usurper. Shortly after, they began to build a city on the Ti'ber (753 b. c); but in a quarrel which ensued Remus was killed, and the city was called from his brother Rome. To attract inhabitants to his city, Romulus proclaimed it an asylum for fugitives; and numbers of outlaws from the surrounding country fled there for protection. From the miserable huts of this robber band on Mt. Paratine, Rome arose to be the mistress of the world. — In these and other stories connected with the early history of Rome, it is hard to tell what is truth and what mere fable. The Kings. — Romulus. — In order to procure wives for the outcasts who filled his city, Romulus announced a great festival; and the neighboring people thronged to it with their families. In the midst of the games, the armed Romans each carried off a woman as his wife. War was the consequence; and Ti'tus Tatius (ta'she-Ks), king of the Sabines, soon appeared before the infant city with an army. At this juncture, Tarpeia {tar-pe'ya\ whose father com- manded a citadel on the Cap'itoline Hill, coveting the gold- en bracelets of the Sabines, betrayed to them the fortress on condition that they would give her the bright things they wore on their arms. But the Sabines, despising her treachery, purposely misinterpreted her words, and crushed her as they entered with their glittering shields. The enemy were now on the point of taking the city, when a stream of water burst from the temple of the god Ja'nus,* and swept them from the walls. Thenceforth the temple of Janus was left open in time of war, that the deity might readily go forth and aid his people. On the renewal of the struggle, the Sabine women * Janus, a two-faced god adopted by the Romans from the ancient Etrurians, presided over the commencements of things. The month of January, with Avhich the rehgious year began, was sacred to Janus, and on its first day offerings of wine and fruit were made to him. THE ROMAN KINGS. 59 who had been carried off, forgiving the wrong they had suffered, acted as peace-makers between the opposing forces, and persuaded them to enter into a league of amity. The Romans and Sabines were now united, and Romulus and Tatius shared the sovereignty. On the death of the latter, the supreme power was vested in Romulus alone. He is said to have waged successful wars, and finally to have vanished mysteriously in a tempest. Nu'ma Pompil'ius, a just and wise Sabine, succeeded Romulus. He established laws and founded the national religion. During his prosperous reign, the Romans were at peace, and the temple of Janus was kept closed. TuLLUS Hostil'ius was the third king of Rome. Shortly after his accession war broke out with Alba Lon- ga, and it was agreed to decide the quarrel by a combat between three brothers on each side, — the Roman Horatii {ho-ra' she-i) and the Curiatii {Jcu-re-a' she-i) on the part of the Albans. All fell but one of the Horatii ; so Alba be- came subject to the Romans. As the victorious Horatius approached his home, he was met by his weeping sister, who had been betrothed to one of the slain Curiatii. Enraged at her tears and re- proaches, he stabbed her to the heart, crying, " So perish the Roman maiden who mourns for her country's enemy." For this murder Horatius was condemned to death by the judges; but he appealed to the Roman people, and they, in consideration of his services, spared his life. King Tullus afterward destroyed Alba, and removed its inhabitants to Rome. Angus Martius, the next monarch, extended the Roman dominion to the sea, and founded the port of Os- tia at the mouth of the Tiber. Tarquin the Elder, a stranger from an Etruscan town, succeeded Ancus. He is distinguished among the Roman kings for his grand public works. The Great 60 THE KOMAN KINGS. Sewer and Circus were built by this monarch, who also laid the foundations of the Capitoline temple of Jupiter. — Tarquin was the victim of a conspiracy planned by the sons of Ancus. Servius Tullius, son-in-law of Tarquin, was chosen by the people in his stead, and proved to be one of their greatest sovereigns. He made important changes in the constitution, forming a new Assembly, and dividing the people for the purposes of suffrage into classes and cen- turies according to their property. He enlarged the lim- its of the city, and inclosed its seven hills within walls that lasted nearly eight centuries. In his old age, Servius incurred the hatred of the nobles, in consequence of his favoring the interests of the people, and contemplating the substitution of a repub- lican government for monarchy. A plot was laid to mur- der him, and make his son-in-law Tarquin king in his stead. It was carried out while the people were away in the fields, gathering their grain. As the body of Servius lay in the highway, Tullia, the wife of the new-made monarch, inhumanly drove over it, dyeing her chariot-wheels with her father's blood. The Romans long called the scene of this event " the wicked street." Tarquin the Proud, the last king of Rome, extended his sovereignty over all the Latin towns. But he repealed tho just and beneficent laws of his predecessor, and ren- dered himself hateful by his tyranny. Finally a foul out- rage committed by his son led to a revolution headed by Ju'nius Bru'tus. The family of Tarquin was banished for- ever, and the regal government abolished, 509 B. c. Roman Institutions and Eeligion. — According to the early constitution, the kingly power in Rome was limited by a Senate, and an Assembly of citizens. Kings were elected by the former, and confirmed by the people. The KOMAN INS'IITUTIONS. 61 citizens were divided into '■'tribes,''^ and these were made up of " houses.^'' The heads of these noble or patrician "houses," known as the patres or fathers, composed the senate or king's council. There were also dependants on the different " houses," called clients, who were protected by their patrons, but had no political rights. Below this class were the slaves.^ Another body, however, in time grew up —the Plehs, or Commonalty, com- posed of free settlers, or conquered commu- nities transported to Rome. These Plebe- ians (ple-he'yans) were freemen; still they were politically subject, socially inferior to the Patricians. The Romans drew much of their mythology from the Greeks, and worshipped the same great gods (p. 44), with TULLIA DRIVING OVER HER FATHERS BODY 62 KELIGION OF THE ROMANS. inferior ones of their own addition. From the Etruscans they adopted the practice of employing- soothsayers, to interpret the will of heaven by inspecting the entrails of victims offered in sacrifice. Special reverence was paid to the La'res, or household gods, images of which were placed in the hall or ranged round the hearth of every dwelling. Vesta had virgin priestesses called Vestals, who kept a fire perpetually burn- ing in her temple. But Mars, the god of war, was perhaps the favorite object of worship. The month of March, which began the Roman year, was named from him, and on the first day of that month a festival was celebrated in his honor. The Romans, like the Greeks, consulted oracles. They also referred to certain mysterious volumes called the Sib'ylline Books, which were carefully guarded by officers appointed for the purpose, and consulted when the gods had manifested their wrath by prodigies or public calami- ties. The Roinan Kings. Eomiilus, 753-716. (Greek cities founded in southern Italy: Ehe'gium, Numa Pompilius, 715-672. < Syb'aris, Croto'na, Tarentum. Tullus Ilostilius, 672-6i0. Manasseh, king of Judah. Ancus Martins, C40-G16. Cj^ax'ares, king^ of Persia. Tarquinius Priscus, 610-578. Pharaoh Nccho ; Nebuchadnezzar. Servius Tulhus, 578-531. Cyrus; Croesus; Belshazzar; Daniel. Tarquinius Superbus, 534-509. Second Temple built by the Jews. Dates uncertain ; history fabulous. CHAPTER X. THE PERSIAN EMPIRE, The Medes and Persians. — At a very early period, a people called Medes inhabited the country bordering the Caspian Sea on the south and south-west. Little is THE MEDES AND PERSIANS. 63 known of their history till they became tributary to the kings of Assyria, about 700 b. c. South of Media lived the Persians, an industrious people, partly nomadic, in part tillers of the soil. An Aryan monarchy was estab- lished in Persia by Achremenes {a-Jceni'e-7ieez), the founder of an illustrious line to which even the haughty Xerxes was proud to trace his pedigree. As the Medes grew in strength, they became impatient of Assyrian tyranny, and one of their kings, after making Persia a dependency, raised the standard of revolt. He fell in an attack on Nineveh ; but his son, the great Cyax'- ares, with the aid of the Babylonians, captured and de- stroyed that city, 625 b. c. (p. 19), and made the Medo- Persian Empire first among the Asiatic powers. Not long, however, did the Medes enjoy their suprem- acy. They gradually fell into the effeminate habits of the conquered Assyrians, and in the reign of their next king Astyages {as-W a-jeez) they were obliged to yield the fore- most place to the more warlike Persians. Astyages, as is the story, inferred from a vision that his daughter's son would some day supersede him. To prevent this, he married her to the tributary prince of Persia, whom he regarded as inferior to a Mede of even middle rank, and when her son Cyrus was born ordered him to be killed. But the infant was saved, and having afterward been discovered by his grandfather, was sent to his parents in Persia. There he learned to despise the luxury and indolence of the Medes, and formed the proj- ect of establishing the independence of his country. At his instigation the Persians revolted, the Median king was overthrown, and Persia became predominant in the new empire, 558 b. c. Cyrus. — The reign of Cyrus embraced a remarkable series of brilliant enterprises. Lyd'ia, on the eastern coast of the ^gean, was the first to feel his conquering 04 THE PERSIAN EMPIRE. arm. This country had extended its sway over nearl}^ all Asia Minor, and its king Croe'sus was distinguished far and wide for his prowess and wealth. Writers and phi- losophers of high repute visited his court ; among them, the fable-writer ^'sop, and Solon, the wise man of Athens. Croesus, after displaying his treasures to the latter, asked him if he did not consider Lydia's king a happy man. Solon answered that life was full of vicissi- tudes, and that no man could be pronounced happy while he was yet living. Alarmed at the growing power of Persia and burning to avenge his dethroned relative Astyages, Croesus led a large army into the territory of Cyrus. It is said that he had previously consulted the oracle of Delphi, and re- ceived from Apollo the response that, if he made war on the Persians, he loould destroy a great empire. This proved to be his own. Cyrus finally besieged him in his capital Sardis, took the city, and annexed the proud Lydian Empire to the Persian (554 b. c). Herod'otus tells us that at the capture of Sardis the life of the fallen king was saved by his dumb son, who, seeing him in the act of being killed by a Persian, for the first time burst into speech and made known his father's rank. After this escape, Croesus was sentenced to be burned alive. As he was chained to the pile, the saying of the Greek sage occurred to him, and he ejaculated, " Solon ! Solon ! Solon ! " Cyrus demanded the meaning of the exclamation, and struck with the wisdom of Solon's remark liberated the captive, and treated him as a friend and confidant. The Grecian cities of Asia Minor next submitted to the sceptre of Persia. Conquests in the distant East followed, and finally the Babylonian Empire, as we have already seen (p. 22), yielded to the victorious Persian arms (538 b. c). The great Persian Empire under Cyrus CYRUS AND CAMBYSES. 65 thus stretched from the Indus to the iEgcan Sea and the borders of Egypt. '^ Cyrus the Great is said to have fallen in battle with a northern horde, 529 b. c. Their savage queen, filling a skin with human blood, contemptuously flung into it his severed head, and bade him there satisfy his thirst. Though ambitious of conquest, Cyrus appears not to have prized it for the spoils it yielded, but to have dis- pensed these with a princely hand among his followers, — who in their turn were ready to pour out life and fortune at his call. Croesus once told him that, by keeping his treasures to himself, he might have become the richest monarch in the world. " And what think you," asked Cyrus, " might those treasures have amounted to ? " Croe- sus named the sum ; whereupon Cyrus informed his lords that he was in want of money, and at once a larger sum was brought him than Croesus had mentioned. " Look ! " said Cyrus ; " here are my treasures ; the chests I keep them in are the hearts of my subjects." Camby'ses, the son of Cyrus, added Egypt to his father's empire. The first important city reached in the invasion of this country was captured by stratagem. Taking advantage of the superstition of the Egyptians, Cambyses placed cats, dogs, and other of their sacred animals, in front of his troops ; and the garrison, fearful of injuring these objects of their veneration, allowed their assailants to enter the city without resistance. Numerous stories illustrate the tyranny of this mon- arch. Learning one day from his chief favorite that the Persians thought him too fond of wine, to convince them that it did not affect the steadiness of his hand or the strength of his understanding, he drank to greater excess than ever before. Then ordering the son of his inform- ant to be brought in, he drew his bow and taking careful aim pierced the heart of the unfortunate youth with an 66 THE PERSIAN EMPIRE. arrow. " Now," said he, turning to the trembling father, " you can decide whether the Persians are right or wrong in supposing that wine deprives me of reason." On another occasion, when Croesus represented to •Cambyses the evils of a tyrannical government, the lat- ter immediately condemned him to death. But the offi- cers in charge delayed enforcing the sentence, supposing that the king, when he recovered from his anger, would repent of his hasty command. He did so, and hastening to find whether Croesus was alive, embraced him with de- light, but the next moment ordered to execution the offi- cers who had ventured to trifle with his directions. Darius I, Hystaspes, (521-486 b. c), obtained the Persian crown in the following singular manner. On the death of Cambyses, an impostor mounted the throne. Thereupon seven nobles plotted together and slew him ; they further agreed to ride out at sunrise, and that he whose horse first neighed should reign. The horse of Da- rius decided the question in favor of his master, who be- came the greatest of Persia's rulers. He regulated the government, dividing his vast empire into twenty prov- inces. A large standing army supported his authority ; and royal roads, along which his messages were trans- mitted with wonderful speed, traversed the country. Darius extended his conquests into EurojDe. Thrace and Macedonia were added to his dominions, and the Persian Empire now reached from the deserts of India to the borders of Greece. Both Darius and his son Xerxes vainly attempted to subjugate the Greeks. Under the successors of Xerxes the Persians gradually became corrupted. Luxury and extravagance did their work, and at last the enfeebled empire fell an easy prey to a Macedonian prince (331 b. c). Architectural Works, Religion, etc. — The principal ar- chitectural works of the Persians were their palaces. The 08 THE PEKSIAN EMPIRE. one at Persep'olis was gorgeous beyond description, the walls and ceilings of its apartments being resplendent with amber, ivory, and gold. The monarchs were honored by their subjects with the most servile reverence. To approach the king without prostrating the body or with hands withdrawn from the long sleeves of the gown, was death. As an instance of their devotion to royalty, it is re- lated that once, when the over- loaded vessel of Xerxes was in danger of wreck, his courtiers vied with each other in leaping into the sea, that they might lighten the galley and thus save their king. The religious system of the an- cient Persians, set GcEBEE Priests. f^pth in Sacred writings called the Aves'ta, was founded or reformed by Zoroas'ter. It recognized one eternal Supreme Being, who produced by his creative word two great Principles, the one of light and purity, the other of darkness and evil. Between these a struggle was constantly main- tained in the souls of men. Those who obeyed the one were admitted at death into the abode of the blessed ; while those who submitted to the other were banished to a region of everlasting woe. This earlier faith was afterward corrupted by the TERIOD OF GKECTAN GLORY. 09 Ma'gi, who introduced the fire-worship still prevailing among a few of the Persians (the Guebres) who are un- believers in the doctrines of Mohammed. 600 B. C. — Nineveh in the hands of the Modes. Cyaxares king of Media, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia, Pharaoh Necho of Egypt, Je- hoiakira of Judah, Alcaeus {al-se'us) and Sappho (saf'fo) originating lyric poetry in Greece. Carthage exploring the Mediterranean. Tar- quinius Prisons building his great works in Rome. Solon, ^sop. CHAPTER XI. PERIOD OF GRECIAN GLORY, Solon's Code. — The history of the states of ancient Greece has mainly to do with the kingdom of Sparta and republican Athens. The former we left the leading mili- tary power in Greece. The latter we followed to the death of her last monarch Codrus, and the establishment of magistrates called Archons, chosen from the aristocracy. Internal disturbances followed this change, and at length the people demanded from the nobles a written code. This led to the legislation of Dra'co (624 b. c), whose laws, so cruel that they were said to have been written with blood, punished even the slightest offences with death. A better code was framed by the great law-giver Solon, one of the Seven Wise Men of Greece, 594 b. c. To re- lieve his impoverished countrymen, Solon freed their mort- gaged lands, and annulled the law which made slavery the penalty of debt. The people were divided into four classes according to their income, all having the privilege of voting in the public assembly. Nine archons, respon- sible to the citizens for their conduct in office, were annu- 70 PERIOD OF GRECIAN GLORY. ally elected; and the court of the Areop'agus was charged with the duty of trying capital offences and guarding the public morals. Still the Athenians were dissatisfied. Party dissensions were renewed; and in spite of Solon's efforts, Pisis'tratus, who traced his descent to Codrus, managed to establish himself as sole ruler, 560 b. c. The Tyrants. — Pisistratus the Tyrant* administered the government without either severity or injustice. He ornamented Athens with noble buildings, founded the first public library in Greece, and strove in various ways to ingratiate himself with the people. Hip'pias and Hippar'chus, sons of Pisistratus, imi- tated the liberal policy of their father. They too encour- aged art and literature, and so flourishing was Athens during their joint reign that their period has been likened to the golden age. But Hipparchus was assassinated, and after this Hippias became a suspicious despot. In a few years (510 b. c.) he was forced to leave Athens. Tyrants also reigned in many of the other Grecian states, although in most of them a republican form of government ultimately prevailed. Changes in the Constitution. — Shortly after Hippias was driven into exile, the constitution was changed so as to give the people additional privileges. Ostracism was introduced, by which they banished obnoxious persons without the formality of trial. An assembly being con- vened, they wrote on pieces of pottery (os'trakci) the name of the one whom they desired to expel. Six thou- sand votes against any individual obliged him to withdraw from the city within ten days, and remain in exile for at first ten, and afterward five, years. Under this democratic constitution, Athens rapidly in- creased in warlike spirit and power. * This term is here used in its original signification of supreme ruler, without any reference to an abuse of power. GRyECO-PERSIAN WARS. 71 Graeco-Persian Wars. — About the beginning of the fifth century b. c, the Ionian cities of Asia Minor rebelled against Darius, and Athens sent a fleet to aid them. This interference aroused the resentment of the Persian mon- arch, who, that he might be continually reminded of the insult, required a servant each day at dinner to exclaim three times, "Master, remember the Athenians!" In 492 B. c, Darius dispatched an expedition against Greece, but it ingloriously failed. Before making a sec- ond attempt, he sent envoys to demand from the several states earth and water, the usual tokens of submission. Many of the cities yielded ; but Athens and Sparta an- swered by throwing the Persian heralds into pits and wells, and bidding them there find earth and water. These rival states now laid aside their jealousies, and pre- pared to meet the common foe. Battle of MARATHOisr. — On came the army of Darius, commanded by his ablest generals, with directions to con- quer Greece and bring back the Athenians in chains. Not dreaming of defeat, they took with them great blocks of marble, to raise a monument in commemoration of their victory. After some successes in the -^gean Sea, the Persians disembarked on the coast of Attica. Advancing to the plain of Marathon (see Map, p. 40), 120,000 strong, they found an army of 10,000 Athenians drawn up to meet them (490 b. c). An urgent message had been sent to the Spartans for assistance. They at once prepared to aid their allies; but as their religious notions prevented them from starting till the moon was full, they arrived too late to take part in the engagement. The honor of the day, however, was shared by the city of Plat^a {pla-te' ci)^ which promptly sent all its fighting men to the support of the Athenians. The Greeks, under Miltiades, advanced to the charge at a quick pace ; the Persians, withstanding their attack for a Y2 TERIOD OF GRECIAN GLORY. short time only, were soon in headlong flight. Six thou- sand of their number were left dead on the field, and the survivors returned to Asia in such of their galleys as escaped destruction. Miltiades became for a time the idol of the Athenians. But on his failing in a subsequent expedition, the ungrate- ful people cast him into prison, where he died of a wound. Ostracism of Aristides. — Aristi'des the Just, and Themis 'tocles, an aspiring statesman to whose ambitious spirit the trojDhies of Miltiades would allow no repose, now became prominent at Athens. But political differ- ences sprung up between them, and through the intrigues of his rival Aristides was ostracized. While the people were voting, a stranger to Aristides, unable to write, handed him a potsherd, and asked him to place on it the name of Aristides. " What harm has he done you ? " said the honest patriot, complying with the request. " None," the man replied; "but I am tired of hearing him called the Just." Aristides left his country, praying that nothing might happen which would make the Athenians regret his ab- sence. His hopes, however, were not realized, for he was soon recalled to aid Themistocles in repelling a formidable Persian invasion. "Themistocles," he said when they first met, " let us still be rivals, but let our strife be which best may serve our country." Expedition of Xerxes. — Xerxes, the successor of Darius, had long been raising a great army from all parts of the Persian Empire. It is stated that his forces numbered over two millions of soldiers, besides slaves and attend- ants, and that they drank rivers dry on their march. To reach Greece, the Persians had to cross the Helles- pont. The first bridge constructed for their passage was broken up by a violent storm ; which so enraged Xerxes that he beheaded the workmen who had been engaged in its EXPEDITION OF XERXES. id erection, ordered the sea to be scourged with a monstrous wliip, and had heavy chains thrown into it as symbols of its subjection to his control. Another bridge was soon built ; and over it for seven days and nights without ces- sation poured the living throng, glittering with the wealth of the East — the largest army ever raised by man. Thermopylae. — Athens, meanwhile, under the direction of Themistocles, had prepared for the approaching strug- gle by equipping a powerful fleet. Sparta and many of the other states, forgetting their internal differences, united with her for the common defence. At the Pass of Thermop'ylae, a narrow defile leading from Thessaly into lower Greece (see Map, p. 40), the Persian myriads were confronted by a handful of three hundred Spartans under their king Leon'idas, supported by about six thousand allies from the other states. Xerxes scornfully bade them give up their arms. " Come and take them," was the undaunted reply. The Persian king supposed that the little band would soon fall back, but finding that they stood their ground at last gave direc- tions for the attack. For several days the Persians, who were driven into the fight by the lash, were held in check; but at length a secret path leading to the rear of Leonidas was betrayed to the enemy. Surrounded now by hostile multitudes, Leonidas prepared to die in his country's behalf, for an oracle had declared, " Sparta or her king must perish." After making frightful havoc in the barbarian ranks, the heroic Spartans were at last overwhelmed beneath the darts and arrows of their assailants, 480 b. c. Salamis. — The Persians now advanced into Attica and burned the capital. But the Athenians had j^revioiis- ly retired in their vessels to Sal'amis, for the priestess at Delphi had warned them that Athe'ne could not save her beloved city. " When all besides is lost," said the oracle, " a wooden wall shall still shelter the citizens ;" and it was 4 74 PERIOD OF GRECIAN GLORY. generally believed that by a wooden wall were meant the shijDS. The fleet was accordingly made ready, and in the great naval battle of Sal 'amis the genius of Themistocles over- threw the Persian squadron. Xerxes, who, clad in royal robes and seated on a throne of gold, watched the engage- ment from a neighboring hill, hastily fled. He left 350,- Themistocles keceiving the Trophy of Victory. 000 men to continue the war, but these were completely routed the following year (479 b. c.) in the battle of Pla- tas'a, by Aristides and the Spartan king Pausa'nias. The same day a victory was gained at Myc'ale in Asia Minor, over the Persian forces in Ionia. Only a miserable remnant of the invading host escaped into Asia. THE AGE OF PERICLES. 75 Athenian Supremacy. — Athens was quickly rebuilt and strongly fortified by its energetic inhabitants. Under the able leadership of Ci'mon, son of Miltiades, they achieved many brilliant successes over the Persians, and saw their city beautified with treasures wrested from the barba- rians. But the age of Pericles (469-429 b. c), who rose to power on the ostracism of Cimon, was the proudest pe- riod of Athenian history. His aim was to make his na- tive city the seat of art and refinement, and procure for her the supremacy of Greece. Success crowned his ef- forts. Athens became a grand imperial city, extending protection to the less powerful states, and exacting from them in return obedience and tribute. Her fleet was mis- tress of the eastern Mediterranean ; wealth flowed into her treasury ; and most of the islands of the ^gean, with many colonies and conquered territories, acknowledged her sway. Sparta, meantime, viewed with jealousy the ascendency of her rival ; while the arrogant conduct of Athens alien- ated the subject-allies. Boeotia rebelled, and the Athe- nian army, at first successful, suffered a disastrous defeat in the battle of Corone'a (447 b. c). Other revolts followed; and at last the whole Grecian world became involved in a struggle known in history as the Peloponne'sian War. Grecian Literature and Art. — The literature of no country, ancient or modern, has exerted so powerful and lasting an influence as that of Greece. The genius of her poets, orators, and philosophers, bore fruit that has ever since been the admiration of the world. After Homer composed his glorious epics, Greek lyric poetry took its rise. Alcaeus (600 b. c.) invented a metre known by his name, and the graceful Sappho so excited the admiration of Greece that she was called " the tenth Muse." Solon, on hearing one of her poems read, de- T6 PEKIOD OF GRECIAN GLOKY. clared that he would be unwilling to die till he had learned it by heart. Pindar was distinguished for the grandeur of his odes ; ^schylus (es'ke-lus) was the creator of tragedy ; Tha'les, of Mile'tus, one of the Seven Sages, founded the Ionic school of philosophy ; and Pythag'oras, that which bears his name. With such reverence did his disciples look up to Pythagoras, that when asked the reason of their belief or practice they were wont to answer, as the shortest way of silencing all objection, *' He himself said so ; " whence the current Latin phrase ipse dixit. Ill the fifth century b. c. flourished Herodotus, " the father of history," to whom we are indebted for many delightful stories of the olden time, — and Socrates, the immortal philosopher. Plato, the illustrious disciple of Socrates, who taught in the grove of Academus, embodied the great ideas of his master in Dialogues so replete with sublime conceptions that Cicero said, " If Jupiter were to speak Greek, he would use the language of Plato." The age of Pericles was the golden period of Grecian art and literature. Soph'ocles, the tragic poet, called by the ancients the Attic Bee, then brought the drama to perfection ; and Eurip'ides, his contemporary, excelled in the representation of passion and the delineation of char- acter. On his cenotaph was inscribed, " All Greece is the monument of Euripides." The comic poet Aristoph'anes also began his dramatic career ; of him it was said, " Nature made but one, and broke the mould in which he was cast." Phid'ias, the sculptor, adorned Athens with the choicest works of genius. The rocky height of the Acrop'olis glittered with statues and temples, above which towered a bronze Minerva of colossal size, visible to the mariner on the distant ocean. The Par'thenon, Minerva's temple, was adorned with an ivory statue of the goddess, the GRECIAN ART. T7 work of Pliidias ; but the masterpiece of this artist was the immense figure of Jupiter in the temple at Olympia, sixty feet high, made of ivory draped with gold. The ACKOPOLlb IPOM IIIL GRO\i. Ol ACADLMtb Painting also flourished ; Pol-yg-no'tus and other ar- tists embellished Athens with their pictures, and helped to make her the glory of Greece. 50 O B. C.— Republican Athens recognized as the head of Greece. Persian Empire widely extended under Darius. Ionian colonies of Asia Minor in rebellion against Persia. Rome, under consuls, the scene of struggles between plebeians and patricians. Confucius in China. 78 THE PELOPONNESIAN WAKo CHAPTER XII. DECLINE OF GREECE. The Peloponnesian War (431-404 b. c.) is the name given to a long- struggle for supremacy between the two great representatives of aristocracy and democracy, Athens and Sparta. The other states arrayed themselves on either side, partly according to their political sympathies and partly according to race — the Ionian Greeks for the most part aiding the Athenians, while the Dorians of the Pelo- ponnesus supported Sparta. A slight cause sufficed to provoke hostilities. Corcyra {Jcor-si'rd), an island in the Ionian Sea (Map, p. 40), hav- ing appealed to Athens for aid to meet a threatened attack of Corinth, an Athenian fleet was sent against the Corin- thians. Corinth complained to the Peloponnesian Alliance at Sparta, other states brought charges against Athens, and finally war was declared. A Spartan army was soon overrunning Attica ; but Pericles gathered the people within the walls of Athens, and confined himself to naval operations on the Pelopon- nesian coasts. He would not risk an engagement with the Spartans, replying to those who demanded to be led against the enemy, *' Trees cut down may shoot again, but men are not to be replaced." The crowded condition of the city brought on a pesti- lence, which carried off the inhabitants by thousands, and among them Pericles himself. His death left Athens, at this critical period, in the hands of demagogues, who were ready to sacrifice the public interests to their own selfish purposes. After several triumphs, followed by reverses, the Athenians in 422 b. c. met with a decisive defeat, and the next year peace was made. Cakeee of Alcibiades. — Hostilities, however, were CAREER OF ALCIBTADES. 79 soon recommenced, principall}'- through the influence of Alcibiades {al-se-hi' a-deez), the nephew of Pericles, an able statesman, but dissolute, vain, and ambitious, as he was sagacious and brave. It is told of him, in illustra- tion of his character, that the business of a public assem- bly was once stopped till the people caught and brought back to him a pet quail which he carried around in accord- ance with an Athenian custom, .and on this occasion pur- posely allowed to escape in order to show his importance. This popular leader formed the bold project of con- quering Sicily, and persuaded his countrymen to fit out an armament for that purpose. The command was shared by him with two others. But the Athenians recalled Al- cibiades before their fleet reached Syracuse; and the ex- pedition, deprived of the genius that might have made it a success, proved a disastrous failure. Athens, instead of acquiring wealth and glory, lost her ships and army, the command of the ocean, and the allegiance of her subject- allies. For a time the downfall of the state was stayed by the genius of Alcibiades, who, after having taken refuge in Sparta and at the court of a Persian satrap, was restored to the favor of his countrymen and to command ; but the fickle people again disgraced him, and he left Athens (407 B. c), to return no more. Not long afterward, while he was living in Phrygia, a body of armed men sent by his enemies to take his life and afraid to attack him even with superior numbers in fair fight, set fire to his house, and dispatched him with their weapons as he rushed forth sword in hand. FxVLL OP Athens. — Soon after Alcibiades went into exile, Athens lost its independence. Lysan'der, the com- mander of the Spartan fleet, captured the Athenian squad- ron at the battle of ^'gos Pot'amos {goafs river), in the Hellespont. Lysander next blockaded the city itself. 80 DECLINE OF GREECE. and with the aid of a Peloponnesian army led by the Spartan kings, took it when reduced by famine, 404 b. c. Thus imjDerial Athens was humiliated ; her fortifications were destroyed ; and Sparta her rival became the arrogant mistress of Greece. The history of the Peloponnesian War was written by the contemporary historian Thucydides {thu-sicV -e-deez)^ the Athenian, in a style universally commended for its conciseness and energy. Oppressive Rule of Sparta. — The Greeks, by destroy- ing the supremacy of Athens, simply exchanged masters. Instead, however, of the yoke of a polished state, they now wore that of harsh, rapacious Sparta. She had as- sumed the character of Liberator of Greece; but her tri- umph was followed by the establishment of oligarchies in the Grecian cities, and despots supported by her arms wielded unlimited power. At Athens the democratic constitution v/as abolished, and the government was placed in the hands of thirty aristocrats. These men, notorious in history as the Thirty Tyrants, ruled with injustice and cruelty. But their reign of terror was quickly ended by a band of Athenian ex- iles. The Thirty were defeated in battle, their leader was slain, and democracy re-established, 403 b. c. The unjust doom of the guileless Socrates darkens the next page of Athenian history. He was the most enlight- ened of heathen sages, inculcated the immortality of the soul, and looked above the absurd mythology of his native land for something higher and purer to believe. Charged with setting up new deities and corrupting the young, he was sentenced to drink the fatal hemlock. In vain his friends provided means of escape, and besought him to fly. He firmly refused to violate the laws, and calmly drained the cup of poison in the midst of his weeping associates. EXPEDITION OF THE TEN THOUSAND. 81 Expedition of the Ten Thousand. — During the latter part of the Peloponnesian War the Spartans had been aided by Cyrus the Younger, the Persian viceroy in Asia Minor. Cyrus embraced the Spartan side, in order to se- cure the co-operation of the most warlike of the Greeks in a meditated attempt to force his way to the Persian throne. On the death of his father in 405 b. c, the crown fell to his elder brother, Artaxerxes II., called Mnemon {ne'- mo?i) on account of his good memory. Cyrus there- upon made preparations to displace Artaxerxes, and col- lected a force of more than 10,000 Spartans and other Greeks, concealing from them at first the object of his ex- pedition. In 401 B. c, these, with 100,000 barbarian troops, marched from Sardis into the territories of the Great King. But at Cunax'a they encountered Artaxerxes with 900,000 men ; and, although the Greeks were victorious, Cyrus was slain. The barbarian followers of Cyrus now quickly dis- persed, and the Greeks were left alone in the midst of enemies. Their generals were soon after entrapped and murdered by the Persians ; but they immediately chose new leaders, the most famous of whom was Xenophon the Athenian. The latter conducted them with remarkable prudence through incredible dangers and sufferings to the Grecian colonies on the Black Sea. Xenophon has given an account of this memorable Retreat of the Ten Thousand in his Anab'asis, one of the ornaments of Grecian literature. It has been said of Xenophon, " The Graces dictated his language, and the goddess of persuasion dwelt on his lips." War with Persia. — Incensed at the assistance given by Sparta to Cyrus, Artaxerxes now prepared to retaliate. But the splendid victories of her king A-ge-si-la'us in 82 DECLINE OF GREECE. Asia Minor caused the Persian monarch to tremble on his throne. Unfortunately, in the midst of his brilliant career Agesilaus was obliged to return, for his country was in danger from the neighboring states, bought up by the bribes of Artaxerxes. " I have been conquered by thirty thousand Persian archers," bitterly exclaimed Agesilaus, as he re-embarked, alluding to the dar'ic, a Persian coin which bore the image of an archer. In the struggle which followed, called the Corinthian War, Sparta lost much of her naval power, but retained her predominance in Greece by the shameful Peace of Antal'cidas (387 B.C.), which left the cities of Asia Minor completely at the mercy of Persia. Selfish Sparta profited by this treaty ; but Greece gen- erally, weakened by intestine strife, lay helj^less at the feet of the Great King, who now assumed the character of arbiter in the Grecian quarrels. " Alas for Greece ! " said Agesilaus, Sparta's best citizen and greatest com- mander ; " she has killed enough of her sons to have con- quered all the barbarians ! " Theban Supremacy. — The domineering aggressions of Sparta continued after the Peace of Antalcidas. In 382 B. c. the citadel of Thebes was seized by Lacedaemonian troops, and a tyrannous oligarchy established in that city. Three years later, a band of Theban exiles, headed by the patriot Pelop'idas, restored the independence of their country by a bloody revolution. Thebes now rapidly rose to greatness, through the tal- ents and virtues of Pelopidas and Epaminon'das his friend. The famous victory of the Thebans at Leuc'tra (371 b. c), in which 4,000 Lacedeemonians together with their king were slain, secured for Thebes the sovereignty of Greece. While the issue of the battle was still doubtful, Epami- nondas animated his soldiers to the final charge by ex- claiming, " Only one step forward ! " and the action was PERIOD OF THEBAN GLORY. 83 decided by the resistless onset of Pelopidas, who led the " Sacred Band." On their return to Thebes, the heroes were brought to trial for retaining their command beyond the prescribed time, but were acquitted. The enemies of Epaminondas then tried to disgrace him by having him elected public scavenger ; but the magnanimous patriot was beyond the reach of their malice. " I accept the position," said he ; " if it wdll not reflect honor upon me, I will reflect honor on it." Invasions of the Peloponnesus. — Following up the ad- vantage gained at Leuctra, Epaminondas next entered the Peloponnesus, and ravaging the country as he moved on threatened the Lacedaemonian capital. But the Spartans, aided by their w^ves and children, prepared for a desperate resistance ; and the city, though no walls protected it, was saved by the courage of the old Agesilaus. Epaminondas, however, recalled the Messe nian exiles, built for them the stronghold Messe'ne, and restored the ancient independence of the long-enslaved state. History designates this event as the Return of the Messenians (369 B. c). Jealousy of the power of Thebes raised her up many enemies, and in 362 b. c. Epaminondas once more in- vaded the Peloponnesus to re-establish her influence there. Sparta was again indebted for safety to the vigilant Agesilaus ; but at Mantine'a the Lacedaemonian troops recoiled before the furious charge of the Thebans. In the very moment of victory Epaminondas fell, pierced by a javelin. The weapon remained in his breast, nor would his friends remove it, knowing that he would die the instant it was withdraw^n. The Theban chief bore the agony of his wound until assured that his triumph was complete. " Then all is well," he said, and drawing out the fatal spear-head, breathed his last. In answer to the 84: DECLINE OF GREECE. sorrowing spectators who lamented that so great a man died childless, Epaminondas exclaimed, " I leave you two fair daughters — Leuctra and Mantinea." Epaminondas was a pure, unselfish patriot ; a refined, moral, and generous citizen. Cicero calls him the great- est man Greece ever produced. The battle of Mantinea, which all Greece watched in suspense, was indecisive in its results. Thebes, the head of Greece while Epaminondas lived, now sank to her former level. The glory of Hellas had departed. Ex- hausted by these struggles and torn by the Social and Sacred Wars that followed, she rapidly declined. Her ruin was due to the mutual jealousies of the several states. Disunited and demoralized, Greece at last lay prostrate and ready for the spoiler — and in Philip of Macedon the spoiler was soon to appear. Social Life of the Greeks. — A few particulars as to the domestic life of the Greeks at this period, may not be un- interesting. Their houses were for the most part as plain, as their temples and public edifices were magnificent. The floors were of stone, and the walls were white until the time of Alcibiades, who was the first that we read of as having them painted. The houses generally stood back from the street, and the religious sentiment of the residents often placed in front of them a laurel-tree or altar, sacred to Apollo, or marked some inscription on the door as a good omen. The interior consisted of apartments surrounding an open court, about which ran porticoes for exercise, while in the centre was an altar on which sacrifices were offered to the household gods. The women's chambers were entirely separate from those of the men ; and the slaves, of which the rich fami- lies had a great number while even the poorest citizen could boast of one, were domiciled in an upper story. SOCIAL LIFE OF THE GREEKS. 85 reached by stairs on the outside of the house. The roofs were flat, and served as agreeable promenades in the cool of the day. Curtains were sometimes used instead of doors ; and, chimneys being unknown, smoke was carried off through openings in the ceilings. Roses and violets were cultivated ; and, to set off their beauty and sweet- ness, they were planted side by side with onions. The Greeks had three meals daily, answering to our breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The last, eaten about sun- set, was prepared by the mistress of the house herself, or by female slaves under her direction. Fish, poultry, and meat, were followed by a lighter course or dessert. The Greeks Avere fond of pork, especially sausages ; and beans, lettuce, and cabbage, were their favorite vegeta- bles. They ate their soup with spoons ; but helped them- selves to the other dishes with their fingers, which they afterward wiped on a piece of bread instead of a napkin. The men reclined at their meals, a couch being pro- vided for every two ; the women and children sat. Guests invited to a banquet were met by slaves, who removed their sandals, washed their feet, and furnished them with water for their hands. Wine was brought in with the second course, and then conversation became general, riddles were proposed, and those who solved them were crowned with garlands. The guests also amused them- selves with dice or draughts, and at sumptuous banquets musicians and hired dancers contributed to the entertain- ment. The dress of the Greeks consisted of a tunic, and an outer robe or shawl, called the pallium. The tunic was fast- ened round the waist with a girdle, and over each shoulder with a large buckle ; but the Athenian women, having on one occasion killed with these buckles a soldier who alone of his company returned alive from a military expe- dition, were afterward required to exchange the short 86 SOCIAL LIFE OF THE GREEKS. sleeveless tunic thus fastened, for a long loose dress with flowing sleeves. The pallium was square, often bright-colored, and fast- ened over the right shoulder with a clasp. No hat or cap was ordinarily worn, and in case of rain the pallium was pulled over the head as a protection ; it also served to cover the face with, in case of sudden or intense grief. Shoes or sandals were used by the better classes ; many of the lower orders (and sometimes even philosophers — Socrates, for instance) went barefooted. Writing was done either with ink (generally made from soot) on prepared skins, bark, or papy'rus ; or with a sharp-pointed instrument (in Latin stylus, whence our word style), on thin sheets of lead or layers of wax. A well-furnished house had a room set apart as a library ; and during the glorious days of Athens many private per- sons had large collections of books, to Avhich in some cases the public were allowed free access. Grecian Matron. 400 B. C. — Sparta at the head of Greece. Socrates still alive; Plato ; Xenophon ; Thucydides ; Epaniinondas. Artaxerxes Mnemon king of Persia. Retreat of the Ten Thousand. Egyptian independence re-established. Dionysius tyrant of Syracuse. Romans besieging Veii ; pay given to the soldiers, and taxes levied to defray the increased ex- penses. EARLY HISTOKY OF MACEDONIA. 87 CHAPTER XIII. THE MACEDONIAN EMPIRE. Macedonia {mas-e-do'ne-a) was a mountainous country, north of Thessaly. Its early history is uncertain ; but, though the Macedonians themselves were not Helie'nes, it is probable that their kings belonged to the Hellen'ic race. Tradition relates that some colonists from Argos in search of a home, whom the oracle had advised to be guided in their movements by the direction of goats, were overtaken in their wanderings by a storm near the capital of an early prince of this region ; and that, observing a flock of goats rushing for shelter to the city, they followed, obtained possession of the capital, changed its name to ^ga3 {e'ge) (the city of goats), rejDresented a goat upon their stand- ards, and laid the foundations of the Macedonian Empire. At the close of the sixth century b. c, Macedonia sub- mitted to the Persians ; but it regained its freedom after the repulse of Xerxes. A career of conquest followed ; and, while the Macedonian dominion was extended, the people became brave and habituated to war. During the brilliant reign of Archelaus [ar-ke-la'us), 413-399 b. c, literature and the arts were encouraged. Eminent poets visited the Macedonian court, and the royal palace was adorned by the painter Zeux'is. A story is told of a contest between this celebrated artist and Parrhasius {par-ra' she-iis) " the Elegant," a painter of equal renown. Zeuxis represented a cluster of grapes so naturally that the birds came and pecked at them. Elated with this evidence of his skill, he called on his rival to draw back the curtain which he supposed con- cealed the work that was to dispute the prize with his own. But what he mistook for a curtain was simply the masterly painting of one, and Zeuxis frankly confessed 88 THE [MACEDONIAN EMriRE. himself defeated, since he had deceived only birds, while his competitor had imposed on an experienced artist. — The death of Zeuxis was caused by excessive laughter at the picture of an old woman which he himself had painted. After the assassination of Archela'us (399 b. c), the Macedonian state was shattered b}^ a storm of revolutions and civil wars. These continued forty j^ears, but were at last brought to an end by the accession of Philip II., 359 B. c. Philip of Macedon was a monarch of great ability, elo- quent, commanding in mien, and full of resources, but withal sensual and unscrupulous. His talents had been developed at Thebes, where, as a hostage, he lived in the stirring times of Pelopidas and Epaminondas. He there became acquainted with the military sj^stem of these chiefs, studied the Greek character, and acquired that diplomacy which afterward gained for him many a bloodless victory. Philip improved on the Theban tactics by instituting the Macedonian Phalanx — a body finally composed of 1G,000 men, armed with short swords for cutting or thrusting, bucklers four feet in length, and pikes so long that those of the sixth rank, couched upon the shoulders of the men before them, extended in front of the line. Aggressions upon Greece. — Philip boldly encoun- tered the dangers that at first beset his throne ; in less than two years he triumphed over all his enemies, and was free to enlarge his kingdom by aggressive wars. He availed himself of the quarrels of the Greeks to seize their colonial cities, conquered Thessaly, and took posses- sion of the rich gold-mines of Thrace. Through the folly of the Thebans he was invited to interfere in the so-called Sacred War, and as a victor he was rewarded with a seat in the Amphictyonic Council. Thus he gained a controlling influence in Greece that materially forwarded his great scheme of subjugating the entire peninsula. The indolent rniLIP OF MACEDON. 80 Athenians, meanwhile, the only people that might have checked Philip's career, were cajoled by the crafty king and remained inactive. There was one at Athens, however, that saw through Philip's wiles — the eloquent Demosthenes, who for years, despite that monarch's repeated attempts to corruj^t so formidable an adversary, struggled nobly against him in defence of Grecian liberty. In this course he was opposed by Phocion {pho'she-on), who, though equally incorrup- tible and elected general five-and-forty times, was more amicably disposed toward Macedon. His concise style and common-sense views were quite the opposite of the fiery energy of Demosthenes, who, when Phocion arose to reply to his harangues, was wont to say, " Here comes the pruner of my periods." Ch^eonea. — Roused at last by the burning eloquence of Demosthenes, Athens and Thebes made a desperate stand at Chasronea [ker-o-ne'a), in Boeotia (see Map, p. 40), against the Macedonian monarch, who had passed Thermopylae and was occupying the cities of Greece. But the charge of his phalanx proved irresistible. The allies were totally defeated ; and w^hile Demosthenes, brave as he had been in words, fled from the field, the Sacred Band of Epaminondas was cut down to a man, thus gloriously dying with the independence of Hellas, 338 b. c. Philip remained master of Greece. Hegemony of Macedo:n^. — In the following year Philip held a congress of deputies from the Grecian states at Corinth. The hegem'ony of Macedon was recognized by all but Sparta, and her king was appointed commander of an expedition which he had long planned against Per- sia. Philip now returned to Macedonia, and there when flushed with wine he is said to have become incensed at his son Alexander, and to have rushed upon him with 90 THE MACEDONIAN EMPIRE. drawn sword. But, overcome with drunkenness, he fell upon the floor, and Alexander, pointing at him, scornfully said, " See the man who would pass from Europe to Asia upset in crossing from one couch to another ! " Shortly after this, Philip, in the midst of his prepara- tions, was assassinated at the magnificent nuptials of his daughter, 336 b. c. Alexander the Great. — In the year 356 b. c, the wife of Philip of Macedon gave birth to a son. The same day on which the king received the news brought tidings of a victory over the Illyr'ians, and of another which he deemed no less important, gained by his horses in the chariot-races at the Olympic Games. Overwhelmed with his good for- tune, he exclaimed, " Great Jupiter! in return for so many blessings, send me only some slight reverse." The mother of the young prince traced her descent to Achilles. The son Alexander, known in history as the Great, by his un- paralleled deeds rivalled his heroic ancestor. In early life, Alexander gave proofs of his military genius. He excelled in all manly sports, and when very young leaped upon the back of the fiery steed Buceph'a- lus, which had hitherto proved unmanageable, and rode him with admirable skill. Bucephalus afterward carried his master through many campaigns, but never allowed any other to mount him. At Chgeronea it was Alexander that vanquished the Sacred Band of Thebes. After the battle, Philip, charmed with his valor, embraced him and said, " My son, seek an- other empire, for that which I shall leave you is not wor- thy of you." Accession of Alexander. — On the murder of his fa- ther, Alexander, then in his twentieth year, succeeded to the throne. He at once marched to Corinth, and the as- sembled states were again compelled to recognize the he- gemony of Macedon, while they made him commander-in- alextnjs^dek the great. 91 chief of the Grecian forces in the projected enterprise against the Persians. Thebes, however, misled by a false report of the young prince's death, rebelled ; whereupon x\lexander suddenly appeared before the city, carried it by storm, and razed it to the ground, sparing only the house of the poet Pindar. The Thebans that survived were sold into slavery; and all Greece, terror-stricken by this fearful example, abjectly submitted to the conqueror. Invasion of Persia. — Desiring to consult the oracle at Delphi as to his projected expedition into Asia, Alex- ander visited the temple of Apollo. But as it was an un- lucky day, the priestess refused to approach the shrine. The king grasped her arm and drew her forward. " Ah ! my son," said she, " you are irresistible." " Enough," ex- claimed Alexander, " I desire no other response." Having completed his preparations and made Antip'- ater governor in his absence, Alexander started for the East in 334 b. c. With an army small in numbers but invincible in spirit, he fearlessly marched into the Per- sian Empire, and won his first great battle at the river Grani cus. This victory secured the conquest of Asia Minor and the liberation of the Greek cities from their oppressors. Advancing to Gordium, Alexander severed the famous Gordian knot, respecting which an oracle had said that he who untied it would be master of Asia. Fail- ing in his attempts to unravel it, he solved the problem with his sword, and in his subsequent career fulfilled the prophecy. At length at Issus (see Map, p. 67) Alexander over- threw Dari us III., the Persian king, 333 b. c. Among the trophies of victory were the treasures and family of Dari- us. Toward the royal captives Alexander displayed the greatest magnanimity, so winning upon the king's mother by his gracious and respectful treatment, that, on hearing 92 THE MACEDONIAN EMPIEE. of his death ten years afterward, she veiled her head, refused food, and ended her life by starvation. The next blows were aimed at Persia through her de- pendencies on the Mediterranean. Tyre resisted bravely, and Ga'za imitated her example — but in vain. The sub- jugation of Egypt followed that of Palestine ; and the name of the conqueror was permanently connected with this part of his dominions by the founding of the city of Alexandria, which was made the capital of Egypt and soon became the greatest seat of commerce in the world. Darius had improved the interval to raise a million efficient fighting men for the defence of his empire. Alex- ander hastened to meet them with his little army, and at Arbe'la (Map, p. 67) gained a complete victory (331 B. c). The rich capitals of Persia now opened their gates to the Greeks, and the fugitive Darius was treacherously mur- dered by one of his satraps. Alexander wept on behold- ing his mutilated body, and buried him with royal honors. The traitor was afterward taken, and his fate show\s • the cruel punishments that were sometimes inflicted in those days. Two trees were bent toward each other, his limbs fastened to them respectively, and their recoil tore his body asunder. Alexander now had himself proclaimed King of Asia, and proceeded to reduce the remoter provinces of Persia. A mountain-fortress on a steep rock surrounded with snow, for a time delayed his progress, its defenders when sum- moned to yield tauntingly asking whether he had winged soldiers. But no such obstacle could stay his triumphant course. Three hundred picked men, driving iron spikes into the ice-bound face of the rock and drawing themselves up with ropes, made the ascent under cover of the night; and at dawn the barbarians surrendered. Among the cap- tives was the princess Eoxa'na, " the Pearl of the East," who became the bride of Alexander. CnAEACTER OF ALEXANDER. 93 Conquests in India. — The insatiate conqueror next passed throiig-h what is now Afghanistan', crossed the In- dus, and established Greek colonies and towns in the sub- jugated territories. One of these, built on the spot where his favorite horse was buried, he named Buceph'ala. Po'rus, an Indian monarch of gigantic size and strength, mounted on his elephant, bravely disputed the march of the invaders. Being captured and brought before Alex- ander, he was asked what he desired. " To be treated as a king," he replied; and his request was granted. Death and Character of Alexander. — The nmtiny of his troops alone prevented Alexander from pushing his arms into the remote East. He returned to Babylon, his intended capital, where he died suddenly, 323 b. c, from the effects of the unhealthy climate and his own excesses. He was buried in a golden coffin at Alexandria. Thus perished prematurely this extraordinary chieftain, in the vigor of manhood and in the midst of ambitious plans. During his short reign of a dozen years, he made Macedonia mistress of half the world. Yet though lord of this immense empire, he was a slave to his own pas- sions. He surrendered himself to dissipation, and in the heat of anger committed deeds that he remembered with bitter remorse. While intoxicated at a banquet, he even struck down his friend Cli'tus, who had saved his life in battle. Occasionally, however, Alexander displayed unusual greatness of soul. It is told that a cup of water was once offered to him in the desert, but that though parched he poured it out in the sand lest his soldiers might feel their thirst more keenly by seeing their general alone refreshed. The Jews experienced his favor; and the high-priest ex- plained to him the prophecy of Daniel relating to himself, in which he is described as a goat (see the tradition at the commencement of this chapter) coming from the West 94 THE MACEDONIAN EMPIRE. and smiting the ram which had two horns — the king of Media and Persia. Successors of Alexander. — For 'twenty years after the death of Alexander, sanguinary wars desolated his empire. His vast dominions were divided among his generals. They soon quarrelled ; but finally the rest leagued to- gether against Antig'onus, who aspired to the supremacy of the whole. In the battle of Ipsus, 301 b, c, Antigonus was defeated and slain, and his kingdom fell to the victors. Lysimachus {li-sim'a-kus), already master of Thrace, appropriated as his share most of Asia Minor. Seleu'cus, whose Syrian Empire included all the countries between the Indus and the Euphrates, obtained additional territory west of the latter river. Egypt remained to Ptolemy (tol'e-my); and Macedon and Greece fell to Cassan'der, son of Antip'ater. During these struggles the East had profited by its in- tercourse with the Greeks. Magnificent cities had arisen, the Greek language was widely spoken, and throughout western Asia and north-eastern Africa great advances were made in knowledge. The famous Muse'um of Alex- andria, containing the greatest library of antiquity, was a monument of the enlightened munificence of the Ptole- mies. — Greece, on the other hand, was weakened and de- based by the influence of oriental luxury ; art and litera- ture deteriorated, and patriotism died. Still gleams of the ancient spirit at times flashed forth. The -^tolian and the Achaaan League were formed in the third century b. c, to resist the oppression of the Mace- donian kings. Many cities joined the Achreans, and the league for a time wielded great power under the leader- ship of Ara'tus of Sicyon ; at last, however, weakened by dissensions, it was broken up on the conquest of Greece by the Romans (page 115). Literature and Art. — We have already mentioned De- DEMOSTHENES. AETSTOTLE. 95 mosthenes, the greatest orator the world has ever scc'ii. His twelve PhUlpplcs^ directed against Philip of Macedou and full of forcible invective, are justly famous ; but the finest specimen of his eloquence is the speech Concerning the Croimi — a golden crown, which it was proposed to be- stow on him as a reward for his public services. By this oration he vanquished his rival ^schines {es'ke- 7ieez), a very able orator, but strongly opposed to war with Philip. iEschines was driven into exile, and opened a school of oratory at Rhodes. Here on one occasion he read to his pupils his own oration on the Crown, and was loudly applauded ; he then read that of Demosthenes, when his hearers rose to their feet and rent the air with acclamations. " Ah ! " said the generous ^schines, " what would you have said, had you heard the wild beast him- self roaring it out ? " The eloquence of Demosthenes was attained only after the most persevering labors. Weakness of voice he rem- edied by practising on the sea-shore amid the roar of ocean ; a defect of speech he removed by declaiming with pebbles under his tongue ; and, to escape being tempted from his studies into company, he shaved half of his head and sought retirement for months at a time in a subter- ranean apartment. Ar'istotle of Stagi'ra (384-322 b. c), the teacher of Alexander the Great, founded the school of philosophy called Peripatetic because he used to walk about (in Greek pe7'ipatei7i) while giving his instructions. This illustrious philosopher, whom Plato called the Intellect of his school, has exerted an influence on the minds of men that passes calculation. For twenty centuries his authority was para- mount. He was the founder of logic and natural history, and wrote besides on physics, metaphysics, ethics, and politics. Ze'no, who flourished 300 b. c, was the originator of 96 THE GREEK PHILOSOPHERS. the Sto'ic sect, so called from the Painted Porch {stoa) at Athens, in which his disciples assembled. Zeno taught the strictest morality. Virtue was the supreme good, and was in itself happiness ; pain was no evil ; it was man's duty to subdue his passions and submit to the unalterable decrees of fate. The Epicure'ans, or followers of Epicu'rus, made pleasure the chief good ; while the Cynics (sin'iks), pro- fessing the most rigid virtue, severe in manners and mean Alexander the Great and Diogenes. in attire, snarled at everybody like dogs (kunes) — whence their name. The most celebrated Cynic was the eccentric Diogenes {di-oj'e-neez). He abode in a tub ; and once, when basking in the sun, he was visited by Alexander the Great. Alexander asked the philosopher if he wanted any- thing. " I want you to get out of my sunshine," was the re- Admiring his independence, the Macedonian ex- If I were not Alexander, I would be Diogenes ! " sponse. claimed, " GRECIAN ART. 97 In the third century e. c, Euclid, the father of mathe- matical science, flourished in Alexandria, and Archimedes [ar-ke-me deez), of Syracuse, made wonderful discoveries and inventions in mechanics. Euclid, asked by one of the Ptolemies if there was not some easy way of learning mathematics, replied, " There is no royal road to geome- try." Archimedes, filled with admiration of the power of the lever, whose properties he explained, cried, " Give me a place to stand on, and I will move the world." Grecian art attained a high degree of perfection in the fourth century, under the painter Apel'les and the sculptors Lysip'pus and Praxit'eles. The success of Apel- les was due to constant application ; '• no day without a line," was his maxim. Lysippus was distinguished for his works in bronze ; and the statues of Yenus by Praxiteles, combining feminine grace with intellectual dignity, have never been surpassed. Alexander the Great ordered that no one should paint him but AjDelles, and none represent him in bronze except Lysippus. To this century, also, belongs the stately Mausole'um, erected at Halicarnassus by Queen Artemisia, to the memory of her deceased husband Mauso'lus. The entire edifice was adorned with magnificent sculptures. Fourth Century, B. C. — Wars: — War between Persia and Sparta (399-394). Corinthian War (394-387). War between Sparta and Thebes (379-362). Social War (358-355). Sacred War (357-340). PhiUp's Wars in Thessaly (355-352). Philip's Wars with the Grecian States (343-337). Alexander's Career of Conquest (334-323). Wars among Alexander's successors (323-301). Alexander seems to have contemplated the organization of the world into one great empire under himself, with Babylon for its capital — the dominant races of the East and West to be bound together by intermar- riage, education, commercial intercourse, and the transplanting of com- munities from one country to another: — a grand scheme of one of tlic foremost men of the ancient world. 5 98 THE ROMAN REPUBLIC. CHAPTER XIV. REPUBLICAN ROME, TO THE FIRST PUNIC WAR. (509-264 B. C.) Tyranny of the Patricians. — On the abolition of mon- archy in Rome, b. c. 509 (see page 60), a republican con- stitution was adopted. The government was intrusted to two Consuls, chosen annually; while the senate, enlarged by the addition of new members (conscnpti), gradually acquired increased influence in the state. As long as they feared the restoration of Tarquin, the patricians willingly made concessions to the commons ; but, when that . danger was removed, they ruled with op- pressive severity. The poor plebeians, from time to time reduced to penury by the plundering incursions of hostile tribes, were compelled to borrow from the richer citizens, who could use or sell them as slaves, or even put them to death, if they failed to pay their debts. Secession of the Plebeians. — At last, driven to desper- ation by their sufferings, the plebeians resolved to endure the cruelty of the patricians no longer. Accordingly, in the year 494 b. c, they withdrew from Rome with the in- tention of founding another city on the Sacred Hill, in the vicinity. The nobles, however, seeing in this sepa- ration the ruin of the state, speedily acceded to the de- mands of the people. All those held for debt were liber- ated, and magistrates called Trlb'unes, whose persons should be inviolate, were appointed to protect the com- mons from their oppressors. Early Italian Wars. — While internal dissensions thus threatened the very existence of the Roman state, con- tinual wars were waged with the surrounding nations. Immediately after the expulsion of the kings, a conspiracy was formed at Rome to restore Tarquin to his throne. EARLY ITALIAN WARS. 99 It was detected in time to save the young- republic, and the consul Brutus was dismayed to find that his own two sons had participated in it. Painful as was the duty, he pronounced the sentence of death upon them, and with tearless eyes beheld them first scourged and then beheaded. Disappointed in this attempt, Tarquin applied for aid to the Etruscans (see Map, p. 57), and persuaded Porsen'- na, king of Clusium {klu'she-um), to make common cause with him against Rome. Porsenna defeated the Roman army, and was about to cross the Tiber and occupy the city, when Horatius Codes (ho-ra'she-us ko'kleez) took his post on the bridge, and with two brave companions faced the Etruscans. While the three held the opposing host in check, their countrymen hewed down the bridge. As the last timbers fell, Horatius, who a moment before had bade his comrades leave him, sprung into the river, and made his way across, unhurt by the hostile darts that rained about him. Three hundred young Roman nobles now bound them- selves by an oath, for their country's sake, to attempt in succession the life of Porsenna ; and Caius Mutius {kayus 7nu' she-us) was the first to cross the Tiber and enter the enemy's camp in fulfilment of the compact. By mistake he stabbed the royal scribe, and was at once apprehended. Porsenna's menaces of torture he treated with contempt, quietly thrusting his right hand into a camp-fire, and watching it burn to a crisp without a groan. Struck with this exhibition of fortitude, Porsenna set his pris- oner free and soon after concluded a treaty with Rome. Thenceforth Mutius was known as Scaevola (sev'o-hf), "the Left-handed." The Latins were next induced to take up arms in be- If of Tarquin ; but with their defeat the hopes of the exiled family were finally overthrown. During this war a Dictator with absolute power was for the first time ap- 100 THE EOMAN EEPUBLIC. pointed by the Romans — a precedent whicli was afterward followed when extreme danger threatened the state. Coriolanus. — A league was now made with the Latins ; but wars continued with the Volsci (vol'si) and Mqin {e'qui), two nations of Oscan origin that repeatedly rav- aged the territories of Rome and Latium (la'she-um). On one occasion, the Volsci came sweeping all before them, almost to the very walls of Rome, led by Coriolanus, a distinguished patrician general, who, banished by the people from his native city, had taken refuge among them. In vain the senate supplicated for peace ; the vindictive Coriolanus would make no terms, until a train of noble ladies with his wife and mother at their head approached the Volscian camp. Against their tears and entreaties he could not remain proof, and exclaiming, " Mother, thou hast saved Rome, but lost thy son ! " he bade them fare- well and withdrew the hostile army. One account makes him to have been put to death by the disappointed Volsci; another, to have lived to old age in obscurity and exile. Cincinna'tus, a patrician renowned for his integrity, rescued the Roman army from the ^Equi (458 b. c). The consul's forces having been surrounded in a narrow valley, Cincinnatus was made dictator. He received the message of the senate, informing him of his appointment, while at work on his farm; when, hastening to the city, he raised a new army, surrounded the enemy in turn, took them pris- oners, and compelled them to pass in disgrace beneath the yoke* — all this in twenty-four hours. Cincinnatus then entered Rome in triumph, was rewarded with a golden crown, and resigning the dictatorshijD returned to his humble farm. The Decemvirate. — After many years of violent con- * The Romans compelled their captives to pass under Avhat they called " the yoke ; " which consisted of two. erect spears, supporting a third at such a height that he who went bcneatli was olHiged to stoop. THE DECEMVIRATE. 101 tenlions between the two orders, a board of ten majris- trates, distinguished as Decern' v Irs, was instituted (451 B. c), to digest the laws into a written code. They were endowed with supreme power, and for the time took the place of all other officers. Their administration was satis- factory; and at the close of the first term, the code being not yet finished, a new set of decemvirs was elected. But the second decemvirate, under the ascendency of Appius Claudius (449 b. c), became an odious tyranny. A gross act of injustice led to its overthrow. When Ap- pius, to obtain possession of a fair Roman maiden, ad- judged her as a slave to one of his creatures, her father Virginius, to save her from dishonor, sheathed his knife in her bosom, crying, " This is the only way, my child, to keep thee free ! " Then rushing from the forum *^ to the camp, he roused the soldiers to revolt. A tumult meanwhile broke out in the city, and the decemvirs were obliged to flee. The plebeians next retired in a body to the Sacred Hill, and the dissolution of the state was again imminent. On the abdication of the de- cemvirs, however, the commons returned, and the tribunate and consulship were restored. Appius Claudius put an end to his own life; but the code of the decemvirs, known as " the Laws of the Twelve Tables," remained in force for many generations. It was not long before plebeians and patricians were allowed by law to intermarry, and the office of "military tribune with consular power," which could be held by either commoner or noble, was substituted for the consul- ship. In 443 B. c. Censors were first elected ; their duty was to take the census, manage the finances, and guard the public morals from corrupting influences. The censor- ship was regarded as the highest dignity in the state. * The forum was an uncovered place set apart for the administration of justice and the meeting of the popular assembly. It contained the rostra, or stage from which orators addressed the people. 102 THE ROMAN KEPUBLIC. The warlike energies of the Romans continued to be developed by contests with their predatory neighbors. Veii {ve'yi), a splendid city of the Etruscans, withstood them for ten years, but finally had to yield to the strategy of Camillus (396 b. c). This skillful general was after- ward charged with embezzling a portion of the plunder. Gkoup op Ancient Gauls. and went into exile. At the gates of Rome, he called upon the gods to visit his country with such calamities as would necessitate his recall. The Gallic Invasion. — At this very time hordes of Gauls, a fierce Celtic race, under their chief Brennus, were ravag- ing northern and central Italy. Soon after, they crossed THE GALLIC INVASION. 103 the Tiber, poured down its valley through the country of the Sabines, defeated a Roman army that had been sent against them, and took and burned the city. A brave garrison, however, for several months defended the capi- tol. The besiegers scaled the hill in a night attack. But a flock of geese, which the starving soldiers had sj^ared be- cause they were sacred to Juno, gave the alarm to Marcus Manlius by their cackling, and the capitol was saved. The enemy finally agreed to raise the siege for a thou- sand pounds of gold, and then tried to extort more than the amount by using false weights at settlement. Bren- nus would listen to no remonstrance, but threateningly cast his sword also into the scale, exclaiming, " Woe to the vanquished ! " Before the payment was completed, Camillus, who had been recalled and again made dictator, appeared at the head of an army. "With iron," he cried, "not with gold, Rome buys her freedom ! " and straightway fell upon the Gauls, and put them to a disastrous rout. Some doubt- this story, and make Brennus to have escaped with the ransom. Rome was quickly rebuilt. The neighboring states, however, availed themselves of her apparent helplessness to renew their attacks, while the commons, impoverished by their losses in the late invasion, w^ere again made to feel the tyranny of the nobles. The genius of Camillus at this critical juncture saved the republic; and Manlius, w^ho declared that no one should be enslaved for debt so long as he had a pound of brass, won the title of Father of the Commons by his generous deeds. The Licinian lav/s, passed 366 B. c, did much to relieve the existing distress. Lands out of the public domain were granted to the poor; and the consulship was restored, with the provision that one of the two chief magistrates should be a plebeian. 104 THE KOMAN REPUBLIC. Conquest of Italy. — Up to this time Rome had been but one of several states occupying the peninsula ; we now come to the period when she absorbed the rest. Accepting the offer of the Campanians to become her subject-allies if she would protect them against the Sam- nites, Rome began hostilities with the latter people, 340 B. c. Samnium was a formidable rival, and the strug- gle for supremacy continued for half a century. The Samnites defeated the Roman army at the Caudine Forks (319 B. c), but their power was finally broken in the de- cisive battle of Senti'num (see Map, p. 57). In 290 b. c. the consul Curius Dentatus invaded their country, and completed their subjection. The Samnites had in vain attempted to buy Dentatus over to their cause. Their messengers, on arriving, found him seated on a rude bench eating out of a wooden bowl. He scornfully rejected their offered bribe, saying that a man content to live as he did, had no need of gold. Meanwhile the Latins and their allies were overthrown in the battle of Mt. Vesuvius (337 b. c). It was during this contest that the consul Manlius Torqua'tus ordered his son to be beheaded for engaging with the enemy, though successfully, in violation of his orders. The Gauls and Etruscans were afterward subdued; nor were the Roman arms less fortunate in Magna Grascia. A pretext was soon found for declaring war against the Greek city of Tarentum. Feeling themselves no match for Rome,* the Tarentines summoned Pyr'rhus, king of Epi'rus (see Map of Greece, p. 40), to their aid. War with Pyrrhus. — In 280 b. c, Pyrrhus appeared in * Several of the cities of Magna Grsecia were noted for their luxury and effeminacy. The Tarentines are said to have had more festivals than there were days in the year ; at Syb'aris, it was unlawful to keep a cock or to pursue any trade which was accompanied with noise, lest the slum- bers of the people might be disturbed. WAR WITH PYERIIUS. 105 Italy. He brought with him elephants trained for war, the unwonted sight of which threw the Roman cavalry into confusion and won for him two hard-fought battles. Victories, however, that cost him so many men, he foresaw would be fatal. As he surveyed the scene of carnage after his first triumph, and beheld the stalwart forms of the dead Romans, with their resolute features and not a single wound behind, his appreciation of their valor burst forth in the words, " Had I such soldiers, how easily could I become master of the world ! " In a third battle, the Romans under Curius Dentatus attacked the elephants with fire-brands, and badly defeat- ed the king, who speedily withdrew from Italy. Pyrrhus could not help admiring the simple manners and blunt honesty of the Romans. On one occasion he sought to gain over Fabricius {fa-hrish'e-us), who had been sent as a messenger from the senate, by offering him more gold than Rome had ever seen. " Poverty with an honest name," replied Fabricius, " is more to be desired than wealth." When the physician of Pyrrhus afterward proposed to Fabricius, then consul, to poison his master, the indignant Roman sent him back in irons, and Pyrrhus out of grati- tude set free his prisoners. " It were as easy to turn the sun from his course," he exclaimed, " as Fabricius from the path of honor." This same Fabricius is memorable for his extreme fru- gality, and when censor removed from office a senator be- cause he possessed ten pounds of silver plate. Another distinguished Roman of the day was Appius Claudius the Blind. To him Rome owes its first great aqueduct, as well as the famous Appian Way — the queen of Momcui roads — leading from that city to Capua (see Map, p. 112), a distance of 125 miles. Shortly after Pyrrhus embarked, Tarentum submitted ; lOG THE PUNIC WAKS. and in the year 265 b. c. Rome was the mistress of all Italy. SOO B. C. — Rome absorbing the other Italian states ; plebeians enjoying equal rights with patricians. Carthage rising in importance, but disturbed by factions. Population of Athens : — free, about 125,000; slaves, about 400,000. Macedonia under Cassander. Seleucus at the head of the Syrian Empire. Ptolemy So'ter king of Egypt ; Alexandria, his capital, a great seat of learning. Jews under Ptolemy, and trans- planted in great numbers to Egypt. The high-priest, Simon the Just, completes the canon of the Old Testament. CHAPTER XV. THE PUNIC WARS. (264-146 B. C.) Carthage is supposed to have been founded in the ninth century B. c. ; when Dido, flying from her cruel brother Pygma'lion, led a party from Tyre in quest of new abodes. This little settlement was the germ of a great commercial nation. The Carthaginians, or Poeni * (^:)e'7iz), gradually extended their authority over the neighboring tribes, and also over other Phoenician communities on the African coast. They soon got together a powerful navy, and by the end of the sixth century b. c. their empire comprised dependencies in Africa as far west as the Pil- lars of Hercules, part of Sicily, colonies in Spain, the Bal-e-ar'ic Isles, Corsica, Sardinia, and many smaller isl- ands. The government of the Carthaginians was republican ; their religion, idolatrous, like that of their forefathers, the ancient Canaanites. They worshipped the sun, as the * Whence the adjective Punic^ equivalent to Carthaginian. DIONYSIUS, TYRANT OF SYRACUSE. 107 first principle of Nature, under the name of Ba'al or Mo- loch {nio'lo/t), and offered human sacrifices. Sicilian Struggles. — In Sicily the Poeni were brought into collision with the Greek colonies, and for more than two centuries contended with them for the possession of this rich island. Dionysius (di-o-nish'e-us), the Tyrant of Syracuse (405-367 b. c), gained some brilliant victories over the Carthaginians, but was unable to expel them from Sicily. With a taste for literature which made him a patron of poets and philosophers, this prince was withal suspi- cious and vindictive. One of his prisons, called the Ear of Dionysius, was a whispering-gallery so constructed that by stationing himself at a particular point he could over- hear the unguarded words of those confined. The lesson he taught Dam'ocles is often referred to. This flatterer, having expressed his admiration of the lux- ury and pomp of royalty and accepted the invitation of the tyrant to try it for a time, was placed on a purple couch, surrounded with every thing that could please the senses, and served with an exquisite banquet. Damocles was at the summit of happiness; till, on casting his eyes upward to the fretted ceiling, he discovered a sword sus- pended over his head by a single hair. His pleasure was now at an end. " Such," said Dionysius, " is the happi- ness of kings, threatened by constantly impending dan- gers." After the death of Dionysius, the struggle with the Carthaginians w^as continued, but without any decisive result. First Punic War, — A collision between the growing power of Rome, now extended over all Italy, and Carthage, the mistress of the Mediterranean, was inevitable. It had been foreseen by the sagacious Pyrrhus, who had found time during his Italian campaign to cross to Sicily and 108 THE rUNIO WARS. despoil many of the Punic towns. " What a fine battle- field," he exclaimed on re-embarking, " are we leaving to the Carthaginians and Romans ! " Hostilities were precipitated by the course of events. The Mamertines, a band of Campanian adventurers, hav- ing taken possession of Messana and massacred the male inhabitants, the Carthaginians and Syracusans laid aside their animosity to unite against them. The Mamertines appealed to the Romans for protection, claiming to be descended like them from Mars (Jlaniers); an assem- bly of the people voted to aid them, and an army was sent into Sicily. The Romans were generally successful, and Hi'ero, the Syracusan king, was soon glad to make peace. Birth of Roman Naval Power. — The Carthaginians, however, were still masters of the sea; and the Romans, to protect their maritime towns, found it necessary to pre- pare a naval force without delay. Patterning after a Punic vessel wrecked upon their coast, in a few weeks they had constructed a hundred war-ships furnished with bridges for boarding, and had made efficient crews out of landsmen who perhaps had never before handled an oar — a feat un- paralleled in history. This squadron closed with the Car- thaginian fleet, and took or sunk nearly a hundred vessels (260 B. c). The consul Duil'lius, who commanded it, was honored with the first naval triumph * at Rome. Regulus. — Another successful action on the sea en- couraged the Romans to invade the Carthaginian domin- ions in Africa with a powerful armament (256 B. c). The flourishing country, covered with villas and rich olive- groves, was overrun and pillaged, and one of the consuls * A triumph was the greatest miUtary honor that could be conferred on a victorious commander. It consisted of a procession, in which ap- peared the conqueror clad in purple, accompanied by his army decked with laurel and bearing the spoils taken from the foe. I 110 THE PUNIC WAES. returned to Rome with the spoils. His colleague Reg'ulus remained to conduct the war ; but after taking some two hundred places, among them Tu'nis, he was defeated and made prisoner by a Spartan general whom the enemy had placed at the head of their troops. After several years of captivity Regulus was sent to Rome, to effect an exchange of prisoners and propose peace. He was first required to swear that he would re- turn if unsuccessful; but on appearing before the Roman senate, instead of advocating peace, he represented the exhausted state of the enemy, and induced his country- men to decline the overtures of Carthage. Disregarding the tears of his family and the entreaties of his friends, he then went back to meet the fate which he knew was in store for him, and soon after, if we may believe the story, perished under exquisite tortures. The First Punic War continued until 241 b. c, when, after being again vanquished at sea, the Carthaginians yielded to the severe terms of the Romans — agreeing to pay, in silver talents, about 12,500,000, and to give up Sicily. The western part of this island was annexed to the Roman republic as its first province, but Syracuse was allowed to retain its independence. A most flourishing period in the history of that city followed ; wdiile at Rome the temple of Janus was closed for the first time since the days of King Numa. niyrian and Gallic Wars. — The commerce of the Adri- atic and the neighboring waters had long suffered from the depredations of Illyr'ian corsairs. These were de- stroyed by the Roman fleet, 229 b. c. A few years later, a formidable Gallic inroad was checked with great slaughter, and the territory of the in- vaders overrun in turn to the foot of the Alps (222 b. c). The tract thus conquered became the province of Cisal- pine Gaul {Gaul on this side of the Alps), and was con- SECOND PUNIC WAR. Ill nected with the capital by the Flaminian Way, a road built by Flamin'iiis the censor. Second Punic War. — During this interval, Carthage was gathering fresh strength to resume her quarrel with Rome. The possessions she had lost were counterbalanced by new conquests in Spain. Here towns sprung up, commerce flourished, and silver from the rich mines of Carthage'na (then Carthago Nova, N'etc Carthage) flowed into the home treasury. The Sj^anish princes sought alliance with the new-comers, and their undisciplined subjects were trained to war by experienced officers. Such w^as the improved condition of Carthage when Hannibal became commander-in-chief of her armies (220 B. c). This prince in his boyhood had been led to the altar of Baal by his father Hamil'car, and there sworn to cherish undying enmity to Rome. In accordance with his vow, Hannibal now fell upon Saguntum, a city which had for years been allied to Rome (Map, p. 112), and thus precipitated hostilities with the hated republic. At the head of a veteran army, he next set out for the invasion of Italy, crossed the Rhone in the face of a hostile tribe, and led his troops and elephants through the snows of the Alps down into the country of the friend- ly Gauls (218 B. c). After recruiting his exhausted sol- diers^ he twice routed the Roman armies, and established his supremacy in northern Italy. The following year, the consul Flamin'ius was defeated and killed in an engage- ment fought with such fury that an earthquake which took place while it was going on was utterly unobserved. Rome was now saved by the prudence of Fa'bius, w^ho was made dictator. Giving no opportunity for a decisive battle, but watching every movement of his enemies, cut- ting off their supplies and wearing them out by the neces- sity of constant vigilance, he won for himself the re- proachful title of Cunctator, or Delayer^ but gained for SECOND rUNIC WAR. 113 his countrymen the time needed for fitting out new ar- maments. Cann^. — On the expiration of the term of Fabius, the command fell into other hands, and in 216 b. c. oc- curred the great disaster of Cannce which cost the Romans nearly 80,000 men. Thousands of rings gathered from the hands of nobles who lay dead upon the field were sent as trophies to Carthage. The road now lay open to Rome. " Let me advance instantly with the horse," urged the commander of the cavalry, " and in four days thou shalt sup in the capitol." Hannibal refused. " Alas ! " said the disappointed officer, " thou knowest how to gain a victory, but not how to use one.'* After the battle of Cannae, Hannibal withdrew his. army to wealthy Cap'ua, which opened its gates without resistance. Southern Italy generally declared for the vic- tor, and Macedon and Syracuse also joined the Carthagin- ians. But Rome still refused to treat, and maintained the war not only in Italy but also in Spain. Macedon was kept busy in Greece, and Marcellus laid siege to Syracuse. Siege of Syracuse. — For months this famous city, which had baffled both Athens and Carthage, was success- fully defended by the genius of Archime'des. He con- trived stupendous engines which discharged masses of stone, and huge iron grapples that seized the Roman ships "svhen they approached the walls, raised them in the air, and dashed them into the water. He is also said to have set fire to the hostile fleet by means of mirrors, and so ter- rified the Romans with his machines that at the sight of a rope or stick on the walls they fled in dismay. At length the watchfulness of the Syracusans relaxed during a festival of Diana, and the city fell into the hands of Marcellus (212 b. c). During the sack that followed, Archimedes was engaged in study, when a Roman soldier 114 THE FUNIC WAES. rushed upon him and bade him follow to Marcellus. "Wait," said the philosoi3her, "till I have finished this problem ; " whereupon the soldier, incensed at his delav, drew his sword and killed him. Close of the ^YAE. — Meantime their luxurious city Cjuarters were enervating the soldiers of Hannibal, while Rome, straining every nerve for the struggle, was rapidly gaining ground. A Roman army finally threatened Capua, and Hannibal made reprisals by an attempt on Rome. His Numidian horse swept up to the very walls, and he himself is said to have thrown a javelin into the city. But while he thus gained no solid advantage, his army was gradually melting away, and his only hope lay in receiving reinforcements from Spain. Here his brother Has'drubal had defeated and kiUed two Roman generals. The arrival of Fublius Cornelius Scipio (sijye-o)^ however, quickly changed the aspect of affairs; and by the year 206 b. c, the Carthaginian power in Spain was destroyed. Before this Hasdrubal had left to join Hannibal with his army, and Rome was threatened from both north and south. But the junction was never effected ; for Hasdrubal's army was cut to pieces, and its leader slain. His disfig- ured head, flung into the camp, was brought to Hannibal, Avho cried on beholding it, "Ah! Carthage, I see thy doom." Somewhat later the Romans sent an army into Africa, and Hannibal (after an absence of nineteen years, fifteen of which were occupied by his campaigns in Italy) was recalled to defend his country from Scipio ; but without success. The battle of Zama (202 b. c.) annihilated the last hope of Carthage, and forced her to submit to a dis- graceful peace. Thus ended the Second Punic War. In honor of his great victories, Scipio was surnamed Africa'- nus ; and Hannibal, who is justly ranked among the great captains of antiquity, to escape falling into the power CONQUEST OF GKEECE. 115 of Rome, finally took poison, which he always carried about his person. Macedonian and Syrian Wars. — Macedou's siding with Carthage in this struggle led to a war with Rome, in which the Macedonians were vanquished on the field of Cyn-os- ceph'a-la3 {Dogsheacls — the name of a ridge of low hills in Thessaly), 197 b. c. The superiority of the Roman legion over the unwieldy Macedonian phalanx, by reason of its greater quickness of movement, was here clearly proved. Next followed a war with Anti'o-chus the Great of Syria, which resulted in his overthrow at Magnesia in Lydia (see Map, p. 40), 190 b. c. From the spoils of this war the Romans were enabled to bestow magnificent re- wards on their allies, the Rhodians and the king of Per'- gamus. Pergamus was a little kingdom of western Asia, which arose after the dismemberment of Alexander's empire. Its capital rivalled Alexandria in the encouragement of art and literature, and also with its famous library of 200,000 volumes. In 133 b. c. Pergamus was bequeathed to the Roman people by its king At'talus III., and it was made a province under the name of Asia. Conquest of Greece.— In 179 b. c. the throne of Mace- don fell to Per'seus, who burned to revenge the humilia- tion of his country. Rome penetrated his designs, war was declared, and in the battle of Pyd'na (168 b. c.) the consul Paulus J]]milius effected the destruction of the Macedonian army. Rome now became the arbitress of the civilized world. The Achasan League was subsequently overthrown in a brief war ; and the capture of Corinth by the consul Mummius (146 b. c.) completed the conquest of Greece. Macedonia and Greece became Roman provinces, the lat- ter under the name of Achaia (a-Jca'ya). Third Punic War. — The same year that saw the fall of 116 THE PUNIC WARS. Corinth witnessed also the demolition of Carthage. As this city began to recover something of its former pros- perity, the jealousy of the Romans revived. Moved by the constant denunciations of Cato the Censor, who never rose to speak or vote on any subject without adding the words, " I also think that Carthage should be destroyed," they required the Carthaginians to level their capital to the dust and abandon its very site. This was too much even for a conquered people ; they preferred a hopeless resistance. All classes labored inces- santly to strengthen the fortifications of the city ; pris- oners were set free, and their chains forged into weapons; statues, vases — even gold and silver, were melted down for the same purpose; and the women braided their flow- ing locks into bow-strings for their defenders. Despite these efforts, Scipio, the Younger Africa 'nus, took the city, and burned it to the ground. Its territories were converted into the province of Africa. As he looked upon the ruins of this once rich and powerful metropolis, Scipio burst into tears, and exclaimed, " This may here- after be the fate of Rome." Jewish History. — During the period of the Punic Wars, the Jews suffered from the tyranny of the Syrian kings. In the year 170 b. c. Jerusalem was pillaged, and the sec- ond Temple plundered of its sacred treasures. The sanc- tuary was afterward profaned with sacrifices to Jupiter. Deliverers were found in the heroic Mattathi'as and his son Judas, who founded the Maccabe'an line. The Maccabee princes restored the independence of Jude'a and largely extended its boundaries. Roman Literature. — While Rome was gaining immor- tality by her victories, \ve find her also advancing in the field of literature. During the last century of battles and conquests flourished the dramatic poet Liv'ius Androni'- cus (240 B. c); Nasvius {ne've-iis), who treated of the First WAR IN SPAIN. 117 Punic War in verse, and to his cost satirized the nobility in his comedies; Ennius, "the fatlier of Latin song;" and the comic poets Plautus and Terence. After the fall of Corinth grammarians and philosophers flocked to Rome from Achaia, a taste for Greek culture prevailed, and the young patricians were carefully in- structed in the Greek language. 200 B. C. — Roman arms widely victorious. Carthage in humilia- tion after the battle of Zama. Egypt, fifty years before the chief mari- time state, now fallen from its greatness. Antiochus the Great at the head of the Syrian Empire of the Seleucidae {se-lu' se-de). The Jews under Antiochus. Attains I. king of Pergamus. Kingdom of Parthia, formed 256 B. c. by a revolted province of the Syrian Empire, rising to power. CHAPTER XYI. GOLDEN AGE OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC. War in Spain. — The conquest of the Spanish peninsula was by no means completed with the expulsion of the Car- thaginians. Not only was a guerrilla warfare maintained by the freedom-loving natives under the Lusita'nian chief Viria'thus and other leaders, but Numantia, a town of the Celtibe'ri, successfully resisted the Roman arms till Scipio Africanus the Younger was sent into Spain. He invested Numantia, and the inhabitants, reduced to starvation by more than a year of siege, slew their wives and children, fired their city, and perished in the flames (133 b. c). Degeneracy of Manners. — As Rome extended her pow- er, the manners of the people became corrupted by inter- course with the conquered nations. Grecian luxury gradu- ally took the place of that stern virtue and honest poverty 118 GOLDEN AGE OF THE ROMAN EEPUELIC. which had elevated the old Roman character. Riches flowed into Italy, and with them came extravagance and effeminacy. Contrast the expensive feasts of the Romans in this age with the frugal meals of the early patricians; or Brutus, tearless at the execution of his children, with a senator who wept at the death of a favorite fish! Cato, firm in his attachment to the ancient morals and simplicity, in vain tried to stem the current. Vice of every sort by degrees gained a foothold in Rome. As a result of the many wars, slaves multiplied to an alarming extent. Numbers of these were trained as gladiators. Others cul- tivated the public lands; while the poor Roman freeman, since the Licinian law was no longer enforced, could scarce- ly make a living. Reforms of the Gracchi. — Moved by the distress that prevailed among the lower classes, Tiberius Gracchus, tribune of the commons, proposed a law for the equitable division of the public domain among the poor, and the employment of freemen instead of slaves in the cultivation of the soil. His measures, after great opposition, were passed (133 b. c). But, on his following these with other obnoxious propositions, he was assaulted and killed by the nobles. The fate of his elder brother Tiberius did not prevent Caius Gracchus from pursuing a similar course in the in- terest of the people, when in 123 b. c. he was chosen tribune. But the nobles, again resorting to violence, put down his followers by force; and Caius, to escape them, bade an attendant plunge a dagger into his breast (121 b. c). Tiberius and Caius were the sons of Cornelia, the daughter of Scipio Africanus, to whose memory a statue was raised by the Romans, inscribed with the words, *'The Mother of the Gracchi." Jugur thine War. —In the midst of the extreme political corruption which followed the death of Caius Gracchus, JUGURTIIINE WAR. 119 war broke out with Jugurtha. This prince had taken vio- lent jiossession of all Numidia, on the northern coast of Africa (see Map, p. 112), after causing the death of two kinsmen, to whom portions of the kingdom rightfully be- longed. For a time he secured impunity by buying up prominent men, whose readiness to accept his gold led him to exclaim of Rome, " Ah ! venal city, and destined quickly to perish if it can but find a purchaser ! " At length the war was vigorously conducted by the consul Metellus, and was brought to an end by Caius Ma'- rius. Jugurtha was carried to Rome in chains, and with a death by starvation paid the penalty of his crimes. Marius, a soldier of humble birth, had won the esteem of Scipio in the Numantine War. Asked on one occasion where the Romans w^ould find so great a general when he was dead, Scipio placed his hand on the shoulder of Mari- us, and said, "Perhaps here." Teutones and Cimbri. — While the Romans were prose- cuting- the war in Numidia, the Teu 'tones and Cimbri, from the forests of northern Europe, descended in hordes upon the provinces. Several armies were cut to pieces by these fierce barbarians, whose gigantic stature and savage valor struck terror even into the Romans. At last Italy itself was threatened with invasion, 105 b. c, and affright- ed Rome looked to the conqueror of Jugurtha as the only man wdio could save the state. Marius was accordingly made consul. In two battles he overthrew with great slaughter, first the Teutones, and then the Cimbri, who were drawn up in a body nearly three miles square. By these victories he acquired great influence, and in 100 b. c. he was elected consul for the sixth time. Civil War of Marius and Sylla. — Rome was now on the eve of a severe struggle with Mithrida'tes the Great, king of Pontus, next to Hannibal the most formidable adversary 120 GOLDEN AGE OF THE KOMAN KEPUBLIC. she ever encountered. This monarch made himself master of all Asia Minor, defeated the armies of the republic that were sent against him, and (b. c. 88) instigated, or at least allowed, the massacre in one day of 80,000 Roman resi- dents in the towns of Asia. At this juncture the conduct of the Mithridatic War was given by the senate to Sylla, the favorite of the aris- tocratic party, as Marius was of the people. Indignant at the elevation of his rival, Marius endeavored to wrest from him the command. Sylla, however, led his legions into the capital, defeated the Marian party in the streets, and drove the gray-haired "saviour of Italy" from the city. Discovered near Minturna3, Marius was thrown into a dungeon, and a Cimbrian slave sent to murder him. " Bar- est thou kill Caius Marius?" demanded the old Roman, confronting the assassin with determined mien; the Cim- brian quailed before the man who had destroyed his nation, dropped his weapon, and fled. Soon after this Marius obtained his freedom and es- caped to Africa ; whence, after Sylla's departure for the East, he hastened back to Rome on the invitation of the consul Cinna. Together they entered the city with a force made up of the very dregs of Italy ; for several days the houses were abandoned to pillage, and the streets were dyed with the noblest blood of the capital. Marius now seized on the consulship. In his youth seven eaglets once dropped into his lap — an omen, as it was believed, that he would be seven times chief magis- trate. The omen was thus verified. A few days after- ward, worn out by excessive drinking and fear of Sylla's return, he died (86 b. c). Sylla's Return. — Sylla's career in the East was a series of victories. Athens, which had revolted to Mithridates, was taken by storm ; Greece and Asia Minor were recov- rROSCKTrTK)NS OF SYLLA. 121 ered ; and the king submitted to a humiliating peace. Sylla was thus left at liberty to return to Italy. He lost no time in wreaking a bloody revenge. The friends of Marius and all attached to the democratic party were mercilessly slaughtered. The names of those con- demned to death were entered on proscription-lists, and a reward was offered for their heads. The possession of property was a sufficient offence. " Alas ! " exclaimed one who read his name among the doomed, " my villa is my destruction." Even whole states of Italy which had sided with Marius were depopulated, and the lands parcelled out among Sylla's partisans. The atrocities of Sylla and Ma- rius cost the lives of 150,000 Roman citizens. As perpetual dictator, Sylla next made various changes in the government favorable to the senate; but after three years' enjoyment of the office, he retired to a life of sen- sual indulgence. He died of a loathsome malady, 78 B. c, his last act illustrating his bloodthirsty disposition. Learn- ing that one of his debtors delayed paying in the hope of being released from the obligation by his death, he had the man brought in and strangled before him. Pompey the Great. — The successor of Sylla as head of the aristocratic party was Cneius (ne'yiis) Pompey. In return for his services in crushing out the adherents of Marius in Sicily and Africa, he had been saluted by Sylla with the title of Great; but the dictator's jealousy had at first refused him a triumph. " The nation is more ready to worship the rising than the setting sun," said Pompey; and by his persistence he obtained the honor. In 77 B. c. Pompey was sent by the senate into Spain, wdiere Sertorius, a Marian leader of signal ability, had reared a powerful kingdom among the Lusitanians, and successfully defied the armies of Rome. The rude Span- iards believed that Sertorius was favored by the gods, for he persuaded them that a tame white fawn in his jDosses- 6 122 GOLDEN AGE OF THE EOMAN REPUBLIC. sion had been given him by Diana, and that it revealed to him important secrets from heaven. Sertorius was at length slain by conspirators, and then Pompey was not long in reconquering Spain. War of the Gladiators. — During Pompey's absence, a number of gladiators, led by the Thracian Spar'tacus, es- caped from Capua, and joined by thousands of slaves and felons of the most dangerous class, filled Italy with the horrors of a servile war. After four Roman armies had been routed, Crassus, the richest patrician of his time, suc- ceeded in scattering the insurgent force. Five thousand escaped toward the Alps, but were dispersed by Pompey, who was returning from Spain. "Crassus has overcome the gladiators in a pitched bat- tle," ran his boastful dispatch to the senate, *' but I have plucked up the war by the roots." Pompey's Eastern Conquests. — Pompey's next achieve- ment was the destruction of the Mediterranean pirates ; after which he obtained the command against Mithridates, who had renewed the war with Rome, 75 b. c. In two years the struggle was ended, and Mithridates, driven from his kingdom, put an end to his disappointments by suicide. Syria and Palestine were next reduced ; and on his re- turn to Rome the conqueror was honored with the most magnificent triumph the city had ever seen. Conspiracy of Catiline. — Meanwhile Rome had been saved by Cicero the consul from a formidable conspiracy. The leader of the plot was Catiline, one of Sylla's most depraved and dangerous creatures, who had imbrued his hands in the blood of his nearest kindred. Having gath- ered a band of youthful desperadoes burdened with debt, he proposed to fire the city, slaughter the leading men, seize the government, and plunder the treasury. The plan was defeated by the wary measures of Cicero, THE FIRST TRIUMVIRATE. 123 who exposed Catiline before the senate, and apprehended the principal conspirators. Catiline fled from the citj^, but was defeated and slain (62 b. c); while Cicero was hailed as the Father of his Country. First Triumvirate. — When Pompey returned from the East, he found prominent in the state three distinguished men : Cato, great-grandson of the old censor, firmly at- tached to liberty and justice ; Cicero, who had attained distinction by his eloquence ; and Julius Caesar, whom Sylla had spared, though in him he beheld many Mariuses. Cn?sar's ruling passion was ambition ; once, when passing a wretched village, he remarked, " I would rather be first here than second at Rome." Through Caesar was formed the famous league called the First Trium'virate {coalition of three men) between himself, Pompey, and Crassus. The object of the trium- virs was to maintain their own power. Accordingly Cice- ro, whose opposition they feared, was banished; and Cato, chief of the senatorial party, was sent on a distant expe- dition. Ciesar secured the government of the two Gauls (Cisalpine and Transalpine) for five years, and afterward a continuance of his command for an equal time. Conquests of Caesar in Gaul and Britain. — In nine years (58-50 B. c.) Ciesar reduced to complete subjection the numerous Gallic tribes beyond the Alps (see Map, p. 124), and made the Germans also, across the Rhine, feel the weight of his conquering arm. He found the Gauls a tall and fair-complexioned race, with blue eyes, and long, reddish hair. The nobles wore collars and bracelets of gold. It was the custom of the warriors to cut off the heads of the enemies they had slain, and embalm them as memorials of their valor, to be handed down through succeeding generations. The Germans (war-7nen) were barbarians of unusual size and strength, inured to cold and hunger, dependent 124 GOLDEN AGE OF THE KOMAN REPUBLIC. Londhi'ium. Aq'uce Cal'idce, Du'bris, Kamne'tes, Tu'rone.% Picta'xii^ Tolo'sa, Mir'bo, 3fas8iria, ffelve'tii, Gen'ua, on the chase and the produce of their flocks. They pre- ferred death to servitude, and to survive the fall of their leader was an indelible disgrace. Women fought beside their husbands, beneath the sacred standards ; and those who fell in battle were not only immortalized by the bards, but were believed to have a passport to eternal happiness. Priestesses in white robes prophesied, and offered human victims to their gods. In the years 55 and 54 b. c, Caesar twice in- vaded Britain, which at this time appears to have been di- vided into pet- ty states. He tells us that the chief authority in both politi- cal and relig- ious affairs was exercised by priests called Druids, who ad- ministered justice, appointed the highest officers, and per- formed all public and private sacrifices. They regarded the oak as sacred, and held the mistletoe in special rev- erence. The natives of Britain, though they resisted Cassar's invasion with great bravery, shared the fate of their Gallic CESAR AND POMPEY, 125 ELUlbll SeMUE bEAKING CltARlOT. neighbors ; and the southern portion of the isUmd was nominally subjected to Rome. Civil War of Caesar and Pompey. — While Gesar was winning glory by these victories in strange lands, Crassus was killed during a war with the Parthians, who had erect- ed a powerful em- pire between the Euphrates and the Indus. The Parthian king filled his head with melted gold. " Sate thyseliV he exclaimed, " with the metal of which in life thou wast most greedy." Pompoy and Ciesar were thus left masters of the Roman world. But there was not room for both. When Pompey per- suaded the senate to deprive Ca3sar of his military com- mand, the latter at the head of his devoted legions crossed the Ru'bicon,* overran Italy, entered the capital, and as- sumed the office of dictator. Pompey, who had boasted that if he only stamped with his foot an army would start from the ground, fled without striking a blow. Not thus, however, did he give up the strife. With a large army collected in Thessaly, he met Ciiesar on the plain of Phar- salia (see Map, p. 40), but suffered a total defeat (48 b. c). From this disastrous field Pompey escaped to Egypt, * The Rubicon (see Map, p. 112) was a small river which formed the boundary of Cassar's province ; by crossinf]; it with an army, he virtually declared war against the government. Well may he have paused, as we are told he did, upon the brink. The current expression, crossiuf/ the Hubicoii^ therefore, is applied to the taking of a decisive step which com- mits one to a certain course. 126 GOLDEN AGE OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC. only to be perfidiously murdered there as he was about to land. The ruling Ptolemy, although under obligations to him, was persuaded to commit this crime ; for, said his counsellors, " if we receive him, we shall make Csesar our enemy and Pompey our master." When, on the victor's arrival, the head of his former friend and son-in-law (Pom- pey had married Julia, Cjiesar's daughter) was shown to him, he wept bitter tears, and directed that an honorable burial be given to the remains. Having placed the beautiful Cleopa'tra on the throne of Egypt after a conflict in which Ptolemy was killed, Cassar marched against the son of Mithridates. The speedy overthrow of this prince he announced in the brief sentence, " I came, I saw, I conquered." The remnant of Pompey's adiierents, which had rallied in Northern Africa, was next dispersed; and Cato, unwill- ing to survive the liberty of his country, stabbed himself at Utica. The generous C«?sar would have spared him. " I grudge thee thy death, O Cato ! " he said, " as thou hast grudged me the saving of thy life." Cfesar now became perpetual dictator. He knew that a republican government was no longer practicable in the factious atmosphere of Rome. The consummate gen- eral was no less sagacious a statesman, and his civil ad- ministration was marked by many salutary reforms. The calendar was improved by the introduction of an additional day every fourth year (leap-year), and from him our month of July received its name. Murder of Csesar. — The dictator's ambition at length provoked a plot against his life among the friends of lib- erty, with Brutus and Cassius at its head. It was on the Ides (15th) of March, 44 b. c, that the attack was made upon him in the senate-house. At first he resisted, and wounded one of his assailants ; but when he saw a dagger in the hand of his friend Brutus, he cried, " Thou too, O ASSASSINATION OF CiESAE. 127 Brutus ! " and covering his face with his mantle, fell at the foot of Pompey's statue, covered with wounds. On the eve of his assassination, the question was raised at a social gathering ' what kind of death was the best?' "That" Caesar promptly answered, "which is least ex- pected." He had been repeatedly warned by the sooth- sayers " to beware of the Ides of March," and as he was going to the senate-house on the fatal day, he met one of them and smiled as he said, " The Ides of March are come." " Yes, tesar," the augur replied, " but not yet past." Thus perished the greatest man that Rome, some say the world, ever produced, remarkable at once for wit, learning, eloquence, statesmanshii^, and military genius. lOO B. C. — Julius Cffisar born. Pompey and Cicero six years old, Marius the sixth time consul. Greece a Roman province. Mithridates the Great, head of a powerful kingdom in Asia Minor. The stern virtue and lofty purpose of the old Roman character giving way to profligacy and vice. Exactions and oppressions increasing in the provinces. CHAPTER XYII. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE. Second Triumvirate,— When Brutus plucked his dagger from Ctesar's body, he turned to Cicero and cried, " Re- joice, O father of our country ! for Rome is free." But there was little cause for joy, unless it was to be found in the horrors of civil war. Mark Antony, the friend of the dictator, so inflamed the populace by his funeral oration over the corpse that Brutus and Cassius had to seek safety in flight. Antony seized the opportunity to advance his own power, and was rapidly following in Caesar's footsteps 128 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIEEo when the youthful Octa'vius, grand-nephew and heir of Julius Caesar, came forward to dispute with him the lead- ership of the people and the foremost place in the com- monwealth. He courted the favor of all parties, and even secured the support of Cicero, whose famous " Philippic orations " drove Antony from Rome. A reconciliation, however, was soon effected with Oc- tavius ; and they two, with Lep'idus, who had been an officer of Julius Cassar, met on an island in a small river of northern Italy (43 b. c.) and formed the Second Trium- virate. The provinces and legions were partitioned among the triumvirs, and each agreed to sacrifice such of his friends and even kindred as were obnoxious to the others. A reign of terror ensued ; no house was safe from pil- lage, no age or rank escaped. Senators and knights wore butchered, and among the rest the patriot Cicero fell a victim to the implacable Antony. His head was exposed in the streets of Rome, and Antony's inhuman wife pierced with her golden bodkin the tongue that had pronounced the eloquent Philippics. Philippi. — Secure at home, the triumvirs now moved against "the liberators," Brutus and Cassius, who had established themselves with a strong force in Thrace. Two engagements took place at Philippi (42 B.C.). In the first, Octavius was defeated by Brutus ; but Antony routed the wing commanded by Cassius, who, believing the day was lost, committed suicide. Twenty days later Brutus himself was worsted, and found death by a friendly sword. Many patriots imitated his example ; and his wife Porcia, the daughter of Cato, is said to have destroyed herself by holding burning coals in her mouth. Pompey's son, who had been sweeping the Mediter- ranean with a fleet, was now crushed ; Lepidus was re- moved from the Triumvirate, and in 36 b. c. the Roman world had but two masters. OCTAVIUS AND ANTONY. 129 Civil War of Octavius and Antony. — A desperate gaine was now to be played, with Rome for the stake. Octavius enjoyed the favor of the people, whom he had won by his liberality and the prestige of his victories. Antony, on the other hand, in his eastern provinces, had become noto- rious for reckless dissipation. Bewitched by the charms of the fair but wicked Cleo- patra, to which even the great Ctesar had yielded, he lost sight alike of his own honor and of the public interests, and plunged with her into all kinds of extravagance. She, striving to outdo him, on one occasion, at a banquet, dis- solved in vinegar a rare pearl of inestimable value, and swallowed it before her astonished guest. So reckless was the course of the infatuated Antony that hostilities could not long be deferred. Octavius took the field against him, and off Actium [ale' sJie-um) his fleet encountered the combined squadrons of Antony and Cleo- EoMAN Galley, patra. In the heat of the battle, the queen spread her purple sails in flight ; her fifty galleys followed ; and An- tony, madly giving up every thing to his disgraceful pas- 130 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE. sion, started after her, and left the empire of the world to his rival (31 b. c). The fugitives escaped to Alexandria, whither they were pursued by the conqueror. After a futile attempt to de- fend the city, Antony was driven to desperation by the defection of his fleet and army, and put an end to his life. Cleopatra was made captive ; but, finding Octavius proof against her blandishments, and resolved not to be taken to Rome to grace his triumph, she applied an asp to her arm, and thus terminated her guilty career. Augustus Caesar. — Octavius now held undisputed sway. His dominion extended from the Atlantic Ocean and Eng- lish Channel to the Euphrates, and from the Rhine, Dan- ube, and Euxine on the north to the unexplored deserts of Africa on the south — having an average breadth of more than a thousand miles, and a length nearly three times as great. Octavius was absolute ; still he prudently disguised his assumption of supreme power under constitutional forms. The various offices of the state were continued, but he engrossed them all. He was consul, tribune, cen- sor, pontifex maximus (superintendent of religious mat- ters), and impeea'tor (commander-in-chief). From the senate he received the dignified surname of Augustus ^ and it was decreed that the sixth month in the Roman cal- endar should thereafter be called August in his honor. Augustus, thus firmly established as emperor though without the prestige of imperial forms, reigned with jus- tice, to the satisfaction of all political parties. He was accessible to the meanest of his subjects. A soldier, hav- ing once asked the emperor to plead his cause, was re- ferred to an advocate. " Ah ! " cried the suppliant, " it was not by proxy that I served you at Actium." This was a home argument to which the emperor was obliged to yield. — On another occasion, Augustus said to a trem- AUGUSTUS CiESAR. 131 bling" petitioner: "Friend, you appear as if you were ap- proacliing an elephant rather than a man; be bolder." By such a course and many acts of clemency, the em- peror won the love of the people. During his prosperous reign, the temple of Janus was closed three times. Com- merce flourished. Rome, with its two millions of souls, was embellished with maornificent buildino-s, of which the Pantheon still survives as a striking representative. Au- gustus could truly say, " I left that a city of marble which I found a city of brick." The public safety, no less at home than abroad, re- quired a standing army, of which the Pretorian Guard, in- stituted for the protection of the emperor's person, formed an important part. But notwithstanding the efficient ad- ministration of military matters in general, Augustus, toward the close of his reign, met with a mortifying re- verse in the overthrow of a powerful army under Va'rus, by Hermann, " the deliverer of Germany." So deeply did it affect him that he allowed his beard and hair to grow, and often cried out in anguish, " O Varus, give me back my legions ! " While absent from Rome on a journey, in the seventy- seventh year of his age, Augustus felt his end approach- ing. He called his friends to his bedside and said, "If I have played well my part in life, give me your applause." Then falling back into the arms of his wife, he expired (a. d. 14). Divine honors were paid to his memory. Birth of Christ. — It was during the reign of Augustus, ^vhile an unusual repose pervaded the whole Roman world, that Jesus, "the Prince of Peace," was born at Bethle- hem. Her'od the Great, at this time king of Jude'a, had ob- tained the crown through the influence of iVntony, and had strengthened his power by marrying Mariam'ne, the last princess of tlie Maccabe'an line. But Herod was a 132 ESTxiBLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE, monster of wickedness, and his own wife and two of his sons were successively put to death to satisfy his hatred and quiet -his fears — which led the emperor Augustus to remark, " I would rather be Herod's hog than his son." He died of a loathsome disease, soon after the murder of the Innocents, related in the New Testament. Golden Age of Roman Literature. — The emperor Au- gustus and his favorite minister Maece'nas were liberal patrons of learning. A lustrous galaxy of writers illumi- nated their age", and the adjective Augustan has since been applied to the most flourishing period of a nation's litera- ture. From many brilliant stars we may distinguish the fol- lowing as those of the first magnitude: Virgil, Rome's greatest poet, author of the ^ne'id, a national epic, — the Bucol'ics, depicting shepherd-life, — and the Georgics, a didactic poem on rural economy; Horace, the master of 'lyric poetry, with his graceful Odes; Tibul'lus and Ov'id, elegi'ac poets; and Liv'y, the graphic historian, to whom we owe many of the charming legends which invest the early days of Rome with surpassing interest. In the preceding period, Julius Caesar wrote his Com- mentaries, and Sallust his Jugurthine War and History of the Conspiracy of Catiline. Cicero's Orations and philo- sophical treatises have afforded a model of style to suc- ceeding ages; "no greater master of composition and of the music of speech has ever appeared among men." Social Life. — The humble domiciles of the early Ro- mans gave place in later times to splendid mansions, — the floors inlaid with stone or marble in mosaic, the walls and ceilings elaborately gilded and ornamented, the roofs ter- raced and covered with artificial gardens, the furniture glittering with tortoise-shell and ivory. Four millions of dollars was the estimated value of one of these princely villas that was burned. SOCIxVL LIFE OF THE ROMANS. 133 The chief apartments were on the ground-floor, and access was had to them through the cdtrlum^ or great en- trance-room, in which the nobles ranged the images of their ancestors, hung the family portraits, and received their clients. The windows, at first mere openings with shutters, were in imperial times closed with glass obtained at great expense from the East. What little artificial heat was needed was supplied by braziers. The Roman garments were made of wool, until the sec- ond century after Christ, when linen was introduced. Fre- quent bathing was necessary; the luxurious patricians of the empire sometimes visited their baths half a dozen times a day, and always just before dinner. The dress consisted of tunics, or short under-garments with sleeves, — a toga., or loose robe, for the men, wrapped round the body in different ways at different periods, but so as to cover the left arm and leave the right at liberty, — and a stola., or kind of loose frock, for the women, fast- ened about the person with a double girdle, and having a long appendage trailing behind so as partially to cover the feet. When a Roman was running for office, he marked his toga with chalk, and thus made it white, in Latin Candida., whence our word candidate. Boys assumed the manly toga at about sixteen, before which they wore one with a broad purple hem. Mantles were used for out-door cover- ings, the ladies giving preference to the most brilliant colors. Hoods were worn on journeys ; at other times the head was generally bare. Three meals a day were taken, the chief of which was the cai'na, eaten about three o'clock, and in later times served with great magnificence. The guests reclined around the table on couches spread with richly-embroid- ered coverings. The dinner consisted of various courses, beginning with light dishes as appetizers, — such as dormice 134 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EMPIRE. sprinkled with honey and poppy-seeds, fish, birds, olives, asparagus, etc. Next came the meats, and then the des- sert of fruits, pastry, and sweetmeats. Wine, pure or mixed with honey and water, was drunk at feasts by the guests crowned with chaplets. The flesh of donkeys and young bears was in high repute. Pigs were slaughtered with red-hot spits that the blood might not be lost, and when cooked were sometimes stuffed with smaller animals flavored with asaf oetida. Fowls were drowned in Falernian wine, to make them more lus- cious ; and peacocks were among the costly luxuries. Peacocks' tongues were specially prized by epicures. The principal amusements of the Romans were dra- matic entertainments, and the games of the circus, con- sisting of chariot-races, wrestling and boxing matches, gladiatorial conflicts, etc. The gladiators were either con- demned criminals, captives, slaves, or ruffians who pursued this vocation for hire. They were matched in the arena against each other, or with lions, tigers, leopards, and elephants. The victor, if a slave or captive, obtained his freedom ; the vanquished was put to death, unless the people signified their wish to spare him by an upward movement of the thumb. Games would sometimes be exhibited by the emperors and wealthy Romans for weeks together, and thousands of beasts and gladiators would be killed, to the great delight of the first people of Rome, including even ladies of rank. Military affairs engrossed much attention. A coat of mail, helmet, greaves, and shield, formed the defensive armor of the soldier ; his weapons of offence were bow and sling, but particularly a sword and long heavy spear. Walls were attacked with engines that discharged darts and immense stones, and with the battering-ram, a long beam with an iron head, which was driven against the masonry by a body of men till a breach was made. In ROMAN WARFARE. 131 approaching walls to undermine or scale them, the assail- ants protected themselves by joining their shields together so as to form a testu'do (tortoise), while the besieged plied EOMANS ATTACKING A WALL. them with arrows and javelins, hurled down great rocks on them, and tried to turn aside or grapple the ram. CHRISTIAN ERA.— Universal peace. Imperial Rome, un- der Augustus, mistress of the world. Population of the empire about 120,000,000—60,000,000 slaves, 40,000,000 tributaries and freedmen, 20,000,000 enjoying the full rights of citizens. Alexandria, Antioch, and Ephesus, the three commercial cities of the empire. Language and civiH- zation of Rome establishing themselves in the provinces of south-western Europe. Goths on the shores of the Baltic. Huns still in noith-eastern Asia. 130 CiESAKS WHO SUCCEEDED AUGUSTUS. CHAPTER XYIII. CyESARS WHO SUCCEEDED AUGUSTUS. {A. D. 14-96.) Tiberius, the step-son and adopted heir of Augustus, after pretended hesitation accepted the empire, A. D. 14. The legions on the Rhenish frontier, however, pro- claimed as emperor their commander, the young German'i- cus, nephew of Tiberius. But Germanicus, declaring that he would rather die than betray his trust, brought back the soldiers to their allegiance, and led them to victory, recovering the lost eagles of Varus and defeating the re- nowned Hermann himself. Tiberius, filled with jealousy, soon removed his nephew to a different field, where his death occurred shortly after, — as there was good reason to believe, from the effects of poison. Naturally suspicious of those about him, Tiberius be- came in time a relentless tyrant. He was at last per- suaded by his vile minister Seja'nus to retire from the capital to the island of Ca'preae (Map, p. 112), which at once became the scene of the most detestable orgies. His boon companions he promoted to the chief offices of the state, and even made one sharer of his revels a high magistrate for having drunk five bottles of wine at a draught. Seja'nus took advantage of his absence to conspire against his life with a view to usurping the empire, but was denounced to Tiberius and executed. The tyrant's thirst for blood was now insatiable ; men, women, and even children, were sacrificed to his rage. " Let the people hate me," he said, "so long as they obey me." Death put an end to his cruelties in the year 37, when he was smothered in bed by his attendants. THE EMl'EROK CALIGULA. 137 The emperor Tiberius extinguished the last sparks of popular liberty. Despotism was firmly established, and the debased and obsequious senate fawned at its mas- ter's feet. It was during this reign that the crucifixion of our Saviour took place. On hearing of Christ's mira- cles and resurrection, the emperor wished to enroll his name among the nation's gods, but was overruled in this case by the senate. Caligula, the only surviving son of Germanicus, was the next Caesar. He was called Calig'ula because he wore caligoB^ or soldiers' buskins, when he lived in camp with his father. The new emperor was weak in both body and mind ; and though at first an amiable ruler, he soon gave way to shameful dissipation and capricious tyranny. His fond- ness for gladiatorial shows led him to disgrace the majesty of the Caesars by entering the arena himself. The old and infirm were thrown to his wild beasts. Even at his meals he had persons racked before him that he might enjoy their groans ; and in his frenzy he exclaimed, "Would that the people of Rome had a single neck, that I might dis- patch them at a blow ! " Even when he kissed his wife, it was his custom to place his hand on her throat and say, " Fair as it is, how easily I could cut it ! " Caligula also rioted in scandalous extravagance, dis- solving jewels in his sauce, and dining beneath trees plant- ed on the decks of vessels which had silken sails and sterns of ivory inlaid with precious stones. He was wont to wade barefoot through his heaps of gold, or with insane delight to roll himself upon them like a dog. His favorite horse, which was often invited from its marble stable to its master's board, to eat gilded oats and drink wine from costly beakers, he made consul ; while he declared himself a god, causing the head to be struck from statues of Jupi- ter and replaced with his own. 138 C^SARS WHO SUCCEEDED AUGUSTUS. In the fourth year of his reign, this madman was cut down by the outraged officers of his guard (a. d. 41). Claudius, the brother of Germanicus, was now pro- claimed emperor by the soldiers. This monarch, who from a child had been considered almost imbecile, was controlled by unprincipled women and favorites. Still, he diligently administered justice, and constructed, among other public works, the Claudian Aqueduct, and the Portus Roma'nus, an artificial harbor at the mouth of the Tiber. Claudius also invaded Britain ; and it was during his reign that Carac'tacus, the intrepid king of the Silu'res of South Wales, was captured and brought to Rome. " Alas ! " said the prisoner, as he gazed on the splendor of the city, " how can people possessed of such magnificence at home envy Caractacus his humble cottage in Britain ? " In this age the popular taste for the shows of the amphitheatre became a passion, and Claudius gratified the people with a grand sea-fight, in which two fleets, manned by 19,000 gladiators, engaged in actual conflict. While such inhuman sports went hand in hand with the grossest profligacy at Rome, the holy apostles were spreading the doctrines of their Master throughout the world. " Christians " (first so called in Antioch) became numerous among both Jews and Gentiles, Nero. — A dish of poisoned mushrooms proved fatal to the weak Claudius, a. d. 54 ; it was prepared by order of his wife Agrippi'na, who had previously secured the suc- cession for Nero, her son by a former husband. This young prince, the grandson of Germanicus, for five years ruled with justice and clemency. He is even said, when required to sign the death-warrant of a malefactor, to have expressed regret that he had ever learned to write. As Nero increased in years, however, he began to show the stuff of which he was made. His murder of Agrippi- na, who for his sake had become a murderess, commenced REIGN OF NERO. 130 a career of crime to which history offers no parallel ; and the only wonder is, that it was so long tolerated by the people. Their forbearance is explained by the liberal largesses of food supplied to them at the expense of the state. As long as they were fed, they were willing to close their eyes to the vices of their emperors, and even to participate therein. In the tenth year of this reign, a conflagration destroyed the greater part of Rome. It was rumored that the em- peror himself had fired the city, and enjoyed a view of the flames from a lofty tower, singing the Sack of Troy. To screen himself, he charged the crime upon the Christians, and began a persecution, the details of which are too shocking for recital. Among the martyrs were the apos- tles Peter and Paul. Tyranny, cruelty, and extortion, at length provoked a conspiracy. Its detection led to fresh murders, which spared not even such men as Lu'can the poet, and Sen'eca the moralist. The family of Augustus was extirpated, and fear of the poisoners and assassins of Nero fell on all the rich and noble. At last the world could endure the monster no longer. His generals revolted ; the senate de- clared him a public enemy ; and the cowardly despot, fear- ing to kill himself, received a death-blow at the hands of a slave (a. d. 68). Nero was the last of the Julian line ; but history rec- ognizes Twelve Q^sars, the six successors of Nero making up the number. From this time, military command or favor with the army seems to have been the surest road to the imperial throne. During Nero's reign, Boadice'a, a gallant British queen, roused her people to insurrection. London was sacked and burned, and many Romans were massacred ; but at last Boadicea's force was cut to pieces, and she took poison to escape captivity. 140 CiESAES WHO SUCCEEDED AUGUSTUS. Galba, Otho, and Vitellius, the next three emperors, reigned during the years QS and 69. Of the first two, who had revolted against Nero, the aged Galba was assassinated by the soldiers ; and Otho, after an unsuccessful battle with his rival Vitel'lius, fell upon his sword. Vitellius succeeded ; but the eastern legions soon rebelled. Vespa- PlUINS of the COLOSSErM. sian {ves-pa'zhe-dn)^ commander of the Roman army in Judea, was proclaimed emperor, and Vitellius was killed by the people in the streets. Flavius Vespasian, who now ascended the throne, ruled with a firm but lenient hand, applied himself to the reform of abuses in both civil and military affairs, and intro- duced a happy period of prosperity and legal government, called from his family the Fla'vian Era. Among other splendid buildings, Vespasian began the great Colosse'um, 1 VESPASIAN. TITUS. 141 where 87,000 spectators found room. At its dedication in the following reign, 5,000 wild beasts were killed in the arena, and the games in honor of the event lasted a hun- dred days. Success also attended the Roman arms. The Jews, who had been driven to rebellion by the oppression of their governor, were besieged in their capital by Ti'tus, the son of Vespasian. After the doomed nation had suf- fered miseries inconceivable, the city was taken by the Romans. In vain Titus tried to save the Temple from his soldiery ; the divine decree had gone forth, and " not one stone was left upon another." As the Roman general gazed upon the ruined battlements, he devoutly said, " God has been my helper, for what could the hands of men have availed against those formidable walls ? " Hundreds of thousands of Jews perished in this mem- orable siege ; the homeless survivors were ^' led away cap- tive into all nations," and their city was "trodden down of the Gentiles." In Britain, during the reigns of Vespasian and his sons, the Roman governor Agric'ola extended the limits of the empire and instructed the people in the arts of civili- zation. He also defeated the Caledonians [Highlanders)^ and built a line of forts between the Friths of Forth and Clyde. Vespasian died A. d. 79, the first emperor after Augus- tus that met with a natural death. Titus, the successor of Vespasian, was one of the few emperors who seem to have had the true good of their people sincerely at heart. His highest pleasure was to bestow favors. " No man," he said, " ought to leave the prince's presence disappointed." Unable one night to re- call any kindness done during the day that had closed, he said with regret, " My friends, I have lost this day." Titus reigned but two years. During this time he 142 C^SAKS WHO SUCCEEDED AUGUSTUS. condemned no citizen to death, and even declared that he would rather die himself than take the life of another. It was in the year of his accession (79 a. d.) that the Campanian cities of Hercula'neum and Pompeii l^pom-pa' ye) were buried by an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. The ruins were undisturbed for more than sixteen centuries, when they were accidentally discovered during the digging of a well. Excavations were made ; and from the houses, shops, and temples, with their domestic utensils, paintings, and sculptures, has been derived much interesting informa- tion respecting the every-day life of the ancient Romans. Domitian, the younger son of Vespasian, was the im- personation of savage cruelty and every vice. Murders and confiscations were revived, while the people were amused with the most extravagant entertainments. Even women were brought out to fight in the arena. This august emperor once called the senate together, to decide how a fish should be cooked for his dinner ! He taxed his ingenuity to devise new torments for those whom he condemned, and in the brief intervals between the exe- cutions of his victims found amusement in torturing flies. Members of his own household at last struck dowm the tyrant in his palace (a. d. 96). Literature. — After the death of Augustus, Roman lit- erature gradually declined. Still a few distinguished writers attained the high standard of the Golden Age — Persius and Juvenal, the satirists ; Lucan, the author of the epic Pharsa'lia ; Tacitus, " the first who applied the science of philosophy to the study of facts ;" QuintiFian, the rhetorician and critic, with his " Institutes of Ora- tory ; " and Pliny the naturalist. Among contemporaneous Greek writers were, Josephus the Jewish historian, who has been styled " the Grecian Livy ; " and Plutarch, the great biographer of antiquity. Somewhat later flourished the witty and versatile Lucian. THE FIVE GOOD EMPERORS. 143 In this age, also, the Gospels and Epistles of the New Testament were written. The TweWe Caesars. Julius Caesar, . lived b. c. 100-44. Augustus, reigned b. c. 30-a. d. 14. Tiberius, . . a. d. 14-3Y. Caligula, . . . .37-41. Claudius, . . . 41-54. Nero 54-68. Galba, . reigned a. d. 68-69. Otho, . ... 69. Vitellius, . . . .69. Vespasian, . . . 69-79. Titus, . . . 79-81. Domitian, . . . 81-96. CHAPTER XIX. THE FIVE GOOD EMPERORS.— WANE OF THE EMPIRE.— {A. D. 96-306.) Nerva. — The bloody reign of Domitian was succeeded by a long period of tranquillity. The senate elected in his stead the aged Nerva, whose mild administration recalled the happy days of Titus. Finding himself unable to control the violence of the Pretorian Guard, Nerva adopted as his colleague and suc- cessor the commander of the legions on the Rhine, Tra'- jan, a Spaniard by birth, who had grown up in the camp. On the death of his associate (a. d. 98), Trajan was in- vested with the purple. When he presented the symbol of office to the prefect of the Pretorian Guard, he said, " Take this sword and use it, for me if I do well ; if other- wise, against me." Trajan. — The military talents of the new emperor soon displayed themselves. He pushed his arms beyond the Danube, and reduced Da'cia to a province ; in this cam- paign he is said to have torn up his own robes to supply banda2:es for his wounded soldiers. 1^ THE FIVE GOOD EiMPEROES, In the East, he engaged in hostilities with the Par- thians, and conquered Armenia, MesojDotamia, and Assyr- ia. Part of Arabia was also reduced ; and seeing a ves- sel ready to start for India, the ambitious monarch ex- claimed, " Were I yet young, I would not stop till I had reached the limit of the Macedonian conquests." As a ruler, Trajan was deserving of all praise. Through- out Italy and the provinces his architectural works arose, while at Rome the Forum of Trajan challenged admiration, Chaeiot-Eace in Teajas'b Cikcus. and his famous marble column bore on its sculptured shaft the story of his Dacian triumph. He also rebuilt the Cir- cus, giving it a capacity sufficient for nearly 400,000 spec- tators. The senate decreed him the title of Ox>timm^ the Best; and long after his death it was accustomed to welcome a new emperor with the wish that he might be more pros- perous than Augustus and better than Trajan. HADRIAN. THE ANTONINES. 145 Ha'drian, who succeeded (a. d. 117), wisely abandoned most of Trajan's conquests, and devoted himself to the improvement of his empire. Fifteen years he spent in traveUing through the provinces, that he might inform himself of the condition of his subjects. In Britain the incursions of the Caledonians were checked by a strong rampart built across the island. Athens, still the seminary of the nations, was adorned with splendid fanes, and Rome with the massive Mau- sole'um or Mole of Hadrian, and the imposing temple of Rome and Venus. This was the golden age of Roman sculpture and architecture. The death of Hadrian took place A. d. 138, after he had chosen the virtuous Antoninus as his successor. The Antonines. — The era of the Antonines, who ruled with the sole view of promoting the welfare of their sub- jects, comprised the happiest period of the Roman Empire. The peaceful reign of the elder Antoninus (Pius) ter- minated A. D. 161, when his adopted son Marcus Aurelius, at the request of the senate, ascended the throne. His wisdom and learning have gained him the title of the Phi- losopher. Though inclined to peace, this prince was obliged to take the field to defend his people from the swarms of northern barbarians that were now crossing the frontiers. While he was generally successful, he was unjible to break their power, and thenceforth the Roman dominion was in constant danger of invasion. Com'modus, the weak and illiterate son of Marcus Au- relius, began his reign a. d. 180. Profligate companions easily led him astray ; and he degenerated into a brutal tyrant, plunging into the grossest sensuality, and squan- dering the lives and fortunes of his subjects. His great delight was to contend with gladiators and wild beasts ; he is said to have been a victor in seven hun- 146 WANE OF THE EMPIKE. dred combats, and was styled the Roman Hercules. Ar- rayed as Hercules in a lion's skin, he once dressed up some beggars and cripples as monsters and made them attack him, supplying them with sponges to use as missiles ; when suddenly he fell upon them and beat them to death with his club. For amusement he would assault passers in the street, or cut off the noses -of persons he pretended to shave. Commodus was murdered by a favorite, who thus an- ticipated his design of putting her to death (a. d. 192). Period of Military Despotism (a. d. 193-284). — The death of Commodus ushered in a long period of military tyranny, during which the unmanageable Pretorians ap- pointed or dethroned emperors at will. They scrupled not to assassinate those rulers who incurred their displeas- ure, and even heaped ignominy upon the Roman name by selling the empire at public auction. Of the twenty-five monarchs who wore the purple during these dark years of seditions and murders, only the most important can be mentioned here. Septim'ius Seve'eus (a. d. 192-211) disbanded the old Pretorians, but established a more formidable guard of 40,000 of his best soldiers. He ruled with an iron hand, and revived the glory of the Roman arms by his successes against the Parthians and in Britain. Caracal 'la, the tyrannical son of this emperor, secured the sole dominion by causing his brother to be stabbed in their mother's arms. Papin'ian, a famous lawyer of the day, when ordered publicly to vindicate the fratricide, re- fused, saying that it was easier to commit such a crime than to justify it, — and was condemned to death. Cara- calla conferred citizenship on all the free inhabitants of the Roman Empire, in order that they might be taxed to supply money for his insatiable troops. • The reign of Elagab'alus, the boy-priest of the Syrian ALEXANDER SEVERUS. AURELIAN. 147 sun-god (a. t>. 218-222), was one tissue of insane follies and infamous crimes. A favorite diversion of his was to smother his guesti with roses, or seat them at table on in- flated bags which would suddenly collapse and throw them into the midst of wild beasts« Alexander Severus, the cousin and successor of Elagabalus, was a learned and virtuous prince who labored faithfully in the cause of reform. His praiseworthy at- tempts to enforce disciiDline in the demoralized army cost him his life, and he fell (a. d. 235) by the swords of the Pretorians. During the next thirty-five years the insolence of the troops reached its height, and the purple was repeatedly stained with imperial blood. The empire was on the one hand hard pressed by the barbarians, and on the other threatened with dissolution by a crowd of petty sovereigns, wdio usurped supreme power in the provinces. The most celebrated of them was Od-e-na'thus of Palmyra, who left his kingdom to his illustrious widow, the accomplished Zeno'bia. Against this " Queen of Palmyra and the East," whose dominions reached from the Euphrates to the Mediter- ranean, the emperor Aure'lian directed his arms, besieg- ing her in her capital. Despairing of relief, Zenobia at- tempted to escape on a fleet dromedary, but was overtaken and brought to Rome to adorn the conqueror's triumph (a. d. 273). Her preceptor and secretary, the critic Lon- gi'nus, was executed ; but the queen, after being exhibited to the people in chains of gold, was allowed to end her days in Italy with her children. Palmyra, subsequently revolting, was taken by Aure- lian and given up to pillage. Its site is now marked by a forest of white marble columns, towering above a waste of half-buried blocks, mutilated sculptures, and crumbling altars. 148 WANE OF THE EMPIRE. Diocle'tian. — With the accession of this prince (a. d. 284), fresh vigor was imparted to the decKning Roman state. The power of the Pretorians was put down, and that of the emperor re-established ; while the reforms in- stituted by Diocletian distinguish him, like Augustus, as " the founder of a new empire." Diocletian was the son of a Roman senator's slave, and owed his advancement to his superior merit. On becoming emperor, he associated with himself, under the title of Au- gustus, the rough soldier Maxim 'ian ; and not long after- ward these two again divided the power, and shared the provinces with two Ccesars, Gale'rius and Constan'tius. After the joint reign of Diocletian and Maximian had for about nineteen years restored the glory of Rome, they of their own accord gave up the purple, leaving the im- perial power to the two C^sars. Diocletian contentedly passed the evening of his life in rural occupations. To Maximian, who tried to induce him to re-assume the sceptre, the old monarch wrote, " Could jom but see the cabbciges I raise, you would no longer talk to me of em- pire ! " Persecutions of the Christians. — Despite his good quali- ties, Diocletian barbarously persecuted the Christians. They had long suffered from the cruelty of the pagan em- perors. The name of Trajan was stained by the blood of numerous martyrs ; it was by his sentence that Igna'tius, Bishop of Antioch, had been torn to pieces in the am- phitheatre. Even in the golden age of the Antonines the persecution went on, Justin Martyr being beheaded, and Pol'ycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, condemned to the llames. ' Diocletian's persecution exceeded all others in atrocity. Still the Christians stood firm in their faith, dying the most painful and ignominious deaths with songs of praise upon their lips. We are told that the executioners were PERSECUTIONS OF THE CHRISTIANS. 140 exhausted, and their weapons dulled by the multitudes of victims. It was during these great persecutions that the Cata- combs, spacious subterranean vaults beneath the city of Rome, served as a hiding-place for the Christians. Here they worshipped, and entombed their dfiad. Emperors froni Ne .rva to Constant! ne. Nei-va, reigned a, d. 96-98. De'eius, . reigned a. D. 249-251. Trajan, 98-1 lY. Gallus, . 251-253. Hadrian, 117-138. .^milia'nus, 253 Antoninus Pius, , 138-161. Vale'rian, 253-260. Marcus Aurelius, . 161-180. Gallie'nus, . . 260-268. Ve'rus, 161-169. Claudius, 268-270 Commodus, . 180-192. Aurelian, . 270-275. Per'tinax, Did'ius, 193. Tacitus, . 275-276. Septimius Severus, . 193-211. Flo'rian, 276. Caracalla, . 211-217. Pro'bus, . 276-282. Geta (murdered 212) 211-212. Ca'rus, . 282-283. Macri'nus, . 217-218. j Cari'nus, 283-285. Elagabalus, 218-222. ( Nume'rian, . 283-284. Alexander Severus, 222-235. j Diocletian, ( Maximian, 285-305. Max'imin, 235-238. . 286-305. The Gordians (I., II.), 238. ^ Constantius I., 305-306. Pupie'nus, Balbi'nus, 238. \ Gale'rius, . 305-311. Gordian III., 238-244. Constantine the Great, 306-337. Philip, . . . 244-249. Sole ruler, . 323-337. CHAPTER XX. CHRISTIANITY MADE THE RELIGION OF THE EMPIRE.— FALL OF ROME. Constantine the Great. — In the year 306 the emperor Constan'tius died in the arms of his son, saying, "None but the pious Con'stantine shall succeed me." But it was 150 CHKISTIANITY THE RELIGION OF THE EMPIREo not until after a severe struggle with several rival aspirants that Constantine was established in the empire. During his campaign against one of these, according to tradition, he was miraculously converted to Christianity by the appearance of a luminous cross in the heavens, bearing the inscription, "By this conquer." Under his l^rotection Christianity rapidly progressed ; and paganism, though it was tolerated, ceased to be the religion of the state. The reforms begun by Diocletian were carried out by Constantine. The seat of government was changed to Byzantium on the Bos'porus, which city was beautifully embellished and called after the emperor Constantinople. Here he erected the celebrated church of St. Sophia (dedi- cated to Sophia^ the Eternal Wisdom). He also created a brilliant court, and a titled nobility of dukes, counts, etc., now for the first time recognized. During the reign of Constantine, an CEcumenicai, or General, Council of the Christian Church met at the city of Nicie'a (see Map, p. 156). This council (a. d. 325) con- demned the doctrine of A'rius, who denied Christ's equal- ity with God the Father, and adopted the articles of faith set forth in the Nicene Creed. Though instrumental in establishing Christianity, Con- stantine seems to have been guilty of acts directly opposed to its spirit. After his death (a. d. 337), the empire passed into the hands of his three sons. Civil strife soon broke out ; two of the brothers were killed ; and the third died when on the eve of a war with his cousin Julian (a. d. 361). Julian the Apostate, the last of the family of Constan- tine, who now became sole emperor, at once renounced the faith in which he had been reared, wrote against Christian- ity, subjected its professors to many disabilities, and re- stored the heathen worship of Greece and Rome. Anxious to falsify the prophecy of Scripture and thus deal Chris- JOVIAN. VALENTINIAN. VALENS. 151 tianity a death-blow, he made preparations on an exten- sive scale for rebuilding the Jewish temple. Workmen were collected in great numbers ; but no sooner did they commence operations than the earth gave vent to globes of flame, which with fearful explosions dispersed the la- borers, and compelled them to give up the undertaking. In a war with Sa'por, king of the Persians, Julian re- ceived a fatal wound (a. d. 363). A tradition is current that when he perceived his injury was mortal, he collected a handful of his blood, and casting it toward heaven ex- claimed, " Take thy fill, GaHle'an ; thou hast conquered ! " Jovian, the successor of Julian, purchased the safety of the Roman army by a disgraceful treaty with Sapor. He re-established Christianity, but extended toleration to his pagan subjects. Sapor was a king of the New Persian, or Sassanid, Monarchy. This was founded a. d. 226, by a son of the Persian Sassan, who defeated and slew the last of the Par- thian kings. It flourished for a century after the death of Sapor (380-500). Valentinian and Valens. — These brothers next reigned, respectively in the West and East. The former, although a Christian, and in his calmer moments a judicious and im- partial ruler, yet possessed a passionate temper which fre- quently betrayed him into atrocious cruelties. " Burn him alive ! " " Strike off his head ! " were sentences which he often pronounced even for slight ofi'ences. His death was caused by the bursting of a blood-vessel in a violent fit of rage (a. d. 375). In the reign of Va'lens, a new enemy, the ferocious Huns, spread terror and desolation on the outskirts of the empire. They fell upon the Goths, a brave Teutonic race, who had exchanged their original seats on the Baltic for the plains north of the Black Sea and the lower Danube, and who had several times crossed swords with the later 152 CHEISTIA^ITY THE EELIGIOX OF THE EMPIRE. emperors. Driven from their domains by barbarians more savage than themselves, the Goths on promises of amity and submission were allowed by the Romans to cross the Danube and settle in Thrace. But ill-treatment soon roused the new-comers to re- bellion ; and during an engagement with them the emperor Valens was consumed in the flames of a cottage in which he had taken refuge. Hardly a third of the Roman army escaped, and the victorious Goths advanced in a career of plunder to the very walls of Constantinople. The Huns were Tartars, frightful to look upon — with bent figures, small, black eyes sunk in their large heads, flattened noses, and faces scarred to prevent the growth of the beard. They lived in the saddle, and apjDalled the bravest with their shrill yells. In the second century b. c. they had broken through the Great AVall of China, rav- aged that country, and made it tributary. Afterward they pushed their way to the West, entered Europe, and at length burst like a thunderbolt upon the Goths, as we have seen. Theodo'sius the Great was the last who held the whole Roman world beneath his sway. By skillful management he reduced the Goths to submission, and even enhsted them in his armies ; many of them had before this been converted to Christianity, and a version of the Scriptures had been made into the Gothic tongue. During the reign of Theodosius the pagan worship was suppressed, and several of the most distinguished " Chris- tian Fathers " flourished. Ambrose of Mil'an composed his Hymns ; Jerome' made a translation of the Bible into Latin — the basis of the present Vulgate ; Chrys'ostom (the Golden-mouthed) preached with unction at Antioch and composed his eloquent homilies ; and Au'gustine sowed the good seed in Africa. Before his death, Theodosius fonnally divided his do- BARBARIAN INROADS. 153 minions between his sons Arca'dius and Hono'rius, giving to the former the sovereignty of the East and to the latter that of the West. Henceforth the histories of the Eastern or Bj^zan'tine, and the Western Empire, run in different channels. Barbarian Inroads. — We have now reached the time when the Teutonic element, destined materially to modify the civilization and shape the history of modern Europe, first comes prominently into view. The German tribes, hitherto contented with their free forest-life, find out at last that there are sunnier fields in the south all ready for the sickle, and wealth untold with only nerveless arms to dispute with them for its possession. Several inundations of barbarians occurred in the reign of Honorius (a. d. 395-423). Italy was invaded by the Goths under Al'aric, and ravaged by a combined horde of Vandals, Burgundians, and Sue'vi — Teutons all. For a time the strong arm of Stilicho (siil'e-ko), the Roman gen- eral, held the invaders in check. Alaric was defeated. The Vandals and Burgundians, repelled from Italy, seized a vast tract between the Rhine and Pyrenees (afterw^ard Burgundy) ; and the Vandals, crossing these mountains, overran Spain, and finally occupied the southern part of the peninsula, called from them Yandalusia. Hence they crossed into northern Africa (a. d. 429), and there founded an empire which became the terror of the surrounding countries. After the execution of Stilicho by his suspicious mas- ter, the Goths renewed their incursions and appeared be- fore Rome itself (a. d. 408). The senate sent ambassadors who sought to intimidate their leader by representing the number and desperate valor of the Romans. But Alaric haughtily replied, " The thicker the hay, the easier it is mowed," and demanded so enormous a ransom that the astonished ministers asked, " What then, O king ! do you 154 ALAEIC AND ATTILA. intend to leave us ? " " Your lives," was the response, and there was no alternative but to meet the demand. But the folly of the court of Honorius brought Alaric again before Rome (a. d. 410). His soldiers entered the city at midnight, and for five days the sack continued. The death of Alaric soon after, postponed the overthrow of the Western Empire. A river was turned from its bed by a band of captives ; and the Goths, burying their king in the channel with all his gold and jewels, compelled these prisoners to restore the stream to its natural course, and then murdered them that the secret spot might never be betrayed. — Shortly after the kingdom of the Visigoths (Western Goths) was established in southern Gaul and Spain. In the reign of Valentinian III. (a. d. 425-455), At'tila, the king of the Huns, who called himself the Scourge of God, traversed the Roman Empire with fire and sword. At last he was defeated' with great slaughter at Chalons {shah-Ion^') by the combined Romans and Visigoths. He now retreated, but afterward crossed the Alps and laid, waste northern Italy. Many of the inhabitants, to escape his ravages, fled for refuge to the neighboring islands of the Adriatic, and there founded the republic of Venice, "the eldest daughter of the Roman Empire" (a. d. 452). The capital of the Caesars was saved by the intercession of Leo the Great, Bishop of Rome, who, at the risk of his life, entered Attila's camp and ransomed his flock. The following year witnessed the sudden death of this barba- rian king, and with him perished the empire of the Huns, who were swallowed up in other tribes and lost to history. Fall of the Western Empire. — After the murder of Valentinian HI., A. d. 455, nine emperors, in rapid succes- sion, held the sceptre of the West. But their dominions were becoming more and more contracted ; distant prov- inces had already been abandoned, and at last Italy alone FALL OF ROME. 155 remained. Imperial Rome was again sacked, by Gen'seric king of the Vandals, who carried away its remaining wealth, and even its empress, to Africa. At last the tot- tering fabric, internally rotten, yielded to the storm. Romulus Augustus, contemptuously styled Augus'tu- lus, the last emperor of the West, was dethroned by Od-o- a'cer, chief of the Her'uli, a German tribe (a. d. 476). Re- jecting the imperial diadem, Odoacer reigned as king of Italy. Eastern Empire.— In the Eastern Empire there were few events worthy of record. Theodosius II., son of the feeble Arcadius, though well-disposed, would have made a poor figure but for his wise and virtuous sister Pulcheria (pid-ke're-a), who governed in his name. The history of the East, like that of the West, about this time shows lit- tle else than a series of struggles with Goths, Huns, and Vandals, on the part of weak monarchs and an effeminate peoj^le. Roman Emperors after Constantine. Constantine II., . a. D. 337-340. Valentinian I., . a. D. 3G4-375. Constans I., . 337-350. Gratian, . 375-383. Constantius II., . . 337-361. Valentinian II., . . 375-392. Sole emperor. 350-361. Max'imus, usurper, . 383-388. Julian the Apostate, . 361-363. Theodosius the Great, . 379-395. Jovian, . 363-364, Sole emperor, 392-395. Roman Empire divided, A. d. 395. CHAPTER XXI. COMMENCEMENT OF MEDIAEVAL HISTORY. Medieval Histoey begins with the fall of Rome, A. D. 476. The divisions of Europe at this time are shown in the Map on the next page. EEIGN OF JUSTINIAN. 150 Eastern Empire.— After the partition of the Roo'th- Empire, the chief interest connected with the eastern por- tion centres in Justin 'ian, who stands out in bold relief from a succession of comparatively insignificant sovereigns. The son of an humble barbarian though the nephew of an emperor, he was educated at the capital, and became the associate and successor of his uncle Justin in 527. His administration was marked by lavish expenditures and ex- actions at home, but by a series of military successes abroad which for a time restored the prestige of the Ro- man arms. These were achieved mostly by the genius of Belisa'rius, who was intrusted with the command of the Byzantine armies. Conquests of Justinian. — The Vandal Empire in northern Africa, which had long been troublesome to both East and West, having first been destroyed, the next ob- ject of Justinian's ambition was the acquisition of the Gothic kingdom of Italy. This kingdom had been found- ed by Theod'oric the Ostrogoth {Eastern Goth), who led his nation across the Alps, overthrew Odoa'cer (493), and established himself on the throne. Theodoric had been sent in his youth as a hostage to Constantinople, where he had been educated in warlike exercises, but had scorned literary pursuits, so that when restored to the Goths he could not write his own name. As king of Italy he showed the same distaste for letters and for schools, declaring that the child who trembled at a rod would never dare to look upon a sword. Still he had learned how to rule with liberality and wisdom ; and during his reign of thirty-three years, Italy enjoyed pros- perity and peace. Justinian took advantage of the dissensions that arose on Theodoric's death to send Belisarius with an army to Italy. Rome was taken ; Vit'iges the Gothic king sur- rendered Ravenna, and was sent a prisoner to Constanti- 158 COM,lEKCEMEXT OF MEDIEVAL HISTORY. no}ie. Belisarius was then recalled, and the conquest of Italy was comj)leted by Narses in 554. Justinian was also engaged in wars with the Persians, and during the last years of his reign he was compelled to call upon Belisarius to deliver his capital from the Bulga- rians. In spite of all his services, Belisarius was finally accused of conspiracy, deprived of his fortune, and impris- oned. There is a story that in his old age he was led about the streets by a child, begging " a penny for Belisa- rius the general." WoEKS OF Peace. — The most useful work of Jus- tinian's reign was the revision of the Roman laws, and their arrangement in the code which bears his name. Europe is also indebted to him for its knowledge of the manufacture of silk, which was before confined to the Chinese. Among this people the disclosure of the secret was punishable with death; but two Persian monks, tempt- ed by the gifts of Justinian, eluded their vigilance by hiding some silk-worms' eggs in a hollow cane and bringing them to Constantinople. Justinian rebuilt the church of Saint Sophia, which had been burned, and enriched it with marbles, gold, silver, and precious stones. When he beheld it in all its grand- eur for the first time, we are told that he exclaimed, " Sol- omon, I have surpassed thee ! " This building is now a magnificent Turkish mosque. Loss OF Teeritoet. — Justinian was succeeded by his nephew Justin II. (565). During his reign, the Lombards (long-beards) overran Italy and easily w^rested it from the empire. A limited district still remained to the Byzantine exarchs, whose capital was Ravenna, and who exercised civil, military, and even ecclesiastical pov»'er. In like manner, other provinces Avere lost. The Persians con- quered Syria, pillaged Jerusalem, and advanced to the very walls of Constantinople and Alexandria. At last, in PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH. 150 the tenth century, hostile settlements were planted witli- m the very sight of the Byzantine capital. Progress of the Church. — Meanwhile the Christian Church had been greatly extended, even in distant and barbarous regions. Zealous preachers went out with their lives in their hands to convert the heathen. Monasteries gave shelter to thousands of monks, whose solitary lives were spent in worship and works of charity, in the study of the Scriptures, agricultural labors, the copying of man- uscripts, and the mastering of ancient lore. But supersti- tion and heresy had from time to time crept in. Ambi- tious prelates arose ; and long-continued struggles be- tween the Patriarchs of Constantinople and the Bishops of Rome for ecclesiastical supremacy, no less than differ- ences of doctrine and usage, led to the final separation of the Eastern or Greek, and the Western or Roman, Church. Merovingian Dynasty in France. — We must now glance at western Europe. Among the Teutonic tribes that over- ran the Roman province of Gaul were the Franks {^free- men), who, under Merovre'us, one of their Long-haired kings, established a dynasty called from him the Merovin'- gian. Clo'vis, the grandson of Merovceus, became king at the age of fifteen (481), conquered many of the surround- ing tribes, overthrew the Visigoths in Gaul, and established a monarchy in that country, which was called France from his people. He was converted to Christianity through the efforts of his queen, the fair Clotilda, a Burgundian prin- cess. Pressed nigh to defeat in an engagement with the Alemanni, he fell on his knees and cried, " God of Clotilda, aid me in this hour, and I confess thy name ! " The tide of battle turned as by a miracle, and the king with 3,000 of his warriors afterward received baptism at Rheims (ree^nz). In comparison witli later monarchs, Clovis enjoyed but 160 COMMENCEMENT OF MEDIEVAL HISTOKY. , slight authority. When the spoil taken in Gaul was spread out for distribution, he chose for himself a beautiful vase. A common soldier, noticing this, struck it with his battle- axe and said, " You shall have nothing here except what falls to you by lot ; " and the king durst not resent the insult. Treachery and violence of every kind characterized Merovingian rule. To remove rivals from their path, the kings ruthlessly thinned out the royal line by assassina- tions ; but at last they became mere puppets in the hands of ambitious Mayors of the Palace, elected by the nobles. Britain. — About fifty years before the overthrow of the Western Empire, the last Roman general sent into Brit- ain, after repairing the wall across the north of the island, withdrew his legions to protect the provinces nearer Italy. This was a signal for the Picts and Scots (Caledonians) to renew their incursions ; and the Britons, in their need, are said to have solicited the aid of the Saxons, a German tribe near the Elbe (449). Joined by the Angles, and un- der the leaders Hengist and Horsa, the Saxons repulsed the northern invaders, and then resolved to seize on the more favored portions of the country. Two stories are told of the stratagem by which Hengist obtained land for his settlement. A Welsh historian says that after buying as much ground as he could inclose with an ox-hide, he cut the hide into strips, and so surrounded enough to build a castle on. The Saxons relate that he paid an extravagant price for a lapf ul of earth, which he scattered over a large space, and then, as it could not be separated from the rest, claimed the whole. The Britons contended bravely with the Saxons for their independence, but were at length overcome and driven into the mountains of Wales, where their descend- ants have preserved their language to the present time. Saxon Heptarchy. — The Saxons founded seven states, THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND. 161 constituting what is known as the Saxon Heptarchy. After a series of wars with each other, they were united in 827 under Egbert, kin^ of the West Saxons, who thus became sole monarch of England [Anr/le-land). The Saxons were converted to Christianity at the close of the sixth century. Pope * Gregory the Great, when a young deacon, passing through the Roman market-place, observed some fair-haired youths exposed for sale as slaves. Struck by their beauty, he inquired to what country they belonged. Being informed that they were Angles, he ex- claimed, "Not Angles, but angels." In after-days he re- membered the fair captives, and sent Au'gustin at the head of an embassy to Ethelbert, king of Kent, with a view to the conversion of their people. When the entreaties of his Christian queen were united to the eloquence of Augustin, Ethelbert yielded, was baptized, and Christianitj^ soon became the established faith of the Heptarchy. The Saxons wore long flowing hair, tunics fastened at the waist, cloth mantles, and shoes with wooden soles. Their dwellings were rude ; even the king's palace was carpeted with rushes, while light was admitted through slits in the wall. Music and poetry were cultivated, and minstrels played and sang in the houses and castles. Free- men only were permitted to own a harp, and the loss of this instrument was attended with degradation from rank. Children were educated in hunting and war, to the neg- lect of reading and writing. Before Augustin came to England it is doubtful whether there was a book in the island ; King Alfred, two centuries later, gave five hun- dred acres of land for a single geographical work. Yet the Venerable Bede, " the founder of mediseval history," * This was a name (from papa, father) orighially applied to every bishop, but finally restricted to the Bishop of Rome, who claimed to be supreme head of the church. 162 COMMENCEMENT OF MEDIEVAL HISTORY. Conversion of Etiielbert. who lived at the close of the seventh century, v^as distin- guished for his learning. The Saxons were superstitious, believed in dreams and witchcraft, and w ore charms to keep off diseases and evil THE ARABIANS. 163 spirits. Their mode of trial was called the ordeal. The accused person, after fasting and prayer, was made to take a red-hot iron ball in his hand, or walk blindfold over heated ploughshares ; if, in either case, he escaped being burned, he was declared innocent. Contemporaneous Sovereigns. Emperors of the East. Arcadius, a. d. 395-408. Theodosius II., 408-450. Marcian, 450-457. Leo I., 457-474. Zeno, 474-491. (Fall of Rome.) Anasta'tius I., 491-518. Justin I., 518-527. Justinian I., 527-565. Justin II., 565-574. Emperors of the West. Honorius, a. p. 395-423. Valcntinian III., 425-455. Maximus, 455-457. Seven obscui^e emperors. Augustulus, 475-476. Kings of Italy. Theodoric, 493-526. Athal'aric, 526-534. Theod'atus; Vitiges; Tot'ila. Duke Narses governs Italy. Alboin, the Lombard. CHAPTER XXII. MOHAMMED. — SARA CEN EMPIRE. — CARLOVIN- GIAN DYNASTY IN FRANCE. Mohammed and his Religion — While Europe in the seventh century was sinking into the darkness of the Mid- dle Ages, Arabia gave birth to a nation destined to work great changes in the history of the world. This region, known to the Romans onl}^ as the land of spices and perfumes, while it was the seat of a few scattered towns and castles, was inhabited mainly by roving tribes, the descendants of Ishmael, son of Abraham. The rearing of sheep, camels, and horses, their chief pursuit, they wan- 164 MOHAMMED AND HIS EELIGION. dered from one green spot to another in search of water and pasturage. Among some of these nomadic tribes the rites and ten- ets of the Jewish faith prevailed, though in a form more or less corrupted ; others had become adherents of Christian- ity, first introduced into their country by the preaching of St. Paul ; on the north-eastern frontier, the fire-worship of the Persians had gained a foothold ; but by far the great- est number adored as gods the heavenly bodies, or graven images erected in their honor in temples and groves. In Mecca, the sacred city of the Ar'abs, was born in the year 569, Moham'med, who, uniting his countrymen on the basis of a common faith, was to lay the foundation of their greatness. In early life an humble merchant, as he approached middle age he became subject to fits of melancholy, during which, he stated, the angel Ga'briel appeared to him, gave him a new revelation, and com- manded him to proclaim it to the world. The Koran. — The principal points of this faith are found in the Ko'ran, which the pretended prophet gave to his countrymen in successive parts, and which they ac- cepted as their sacred book. The Koran taught that there was but one God, by whom divers prophets — Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed, the last and greatest of all — had been sent to instruct the human race. To the assurance that every man had his appointed time to die, it added a promise of eternal happiness to those who perished in propagating the faith. Unbelievers were to suffer forever; but all " the faithful " would be cleansed from their sins, however great, by a longer or shorter period of punishment, and be finally admitted to a paradise of sensual pleasures. There they would dwell in marble palaces, attired in silken robes, surrounded by fruits, and flowers, and beautiful attendants. Mohammed enjoined his disciples to fast, to ESTABLISHMENT OF ISLAMISM. 105 abstain from wine, to wash frequently, to pray five times a day, make pilgrimages to Mecca, and spread his doc- trines with the sword. The Hegika. — In 609, Mohammed began to preach in Mecca, but outside of his own family he made few con- verts. A powerful faction, excited by jealousy, deter- mined on his death ; but Ali (ah'le\ his faithful cousin, putting on the prophet's mantle and lying on his couch, deceived the assassins, while Mohammed escaped from the city and took shelter in a cave. By the time his pursuers arrived, according to the legend, a spider had spun its web across the entrance, and a dove had built her nest there ; whence, concluding that no one Avas within, they went their way. After three days the fugitive left the cave, and succeeded in reaching Medina {^ne-de' no). This flight took place in 622, and is known as the Hegira {he-ji'rd). Mohammedan chronology dates from this event, as the Christian does from the birth of Christ. IsLAMiSM ESTABLISHED. — In Medina Mohammed made many converts, and seven years after the Hegira he cap- tured Mecca and assumed the reins of government. Va- rious military enterprises against the neighboring tribes were successful, and the new faith was soon extended by force of arms throughout the peninsula. The Arabians were subsequently known as Sar'acens, and became distinguished in literature and science. The religion thus founded is called Mohammedanism, Islam * {iz'lam), or Islamism ; and its adherents are distinguished as Mohammedans, Moslems* {moz'lems), or Mus'sulmans.* Mohammed was remarkable for his manly beauty and fervent eloquence. He was charitable to the poor, lived on the plainest food, and even shrunk not from menial employments ; with his own hands he swept his house, kindled his fire, milked his camels, and mended his stock- * From an Arabic word, meaninsr " submission to God." 168 SAKACEN EMPIRE. ings. He died at the age of sixty-three, and was buried at Medina. By some he is regarded as a self -deluding en- thusiast, by others as nothing more than a bold impostor. Conquests of the Caliphs. — The successors of Moham- med were called Ca'Uphs. The first was Abubekr [ah'- hoo-hek'er)^ father-in-law of the prophet, under whom and his successor O'mar, Syria, Persia, and Egypt, were sub- dued. Idolatry and magianism were swept away by the creed of the conquerors, — triumphs miraculously an- nounced according to Moslem tradition, which informs us that on the night of Mohammed's birth the sacred fire of Zoroaster, kept burning by zealous Magi for more than a thousand years, was suddenly extinguished, and all the idols in the world fell down. The city of Alexandria endured a protracted siege, but was finally taken ; and its celebrated library, reputed to contain several hundred thousand manuscripts, was given to the flames, — Omar saying that if they agreed with the Koran they were useless, and if not they were positively hurtful. These books, many of them the works of classical authors that have thus been lost to modern times, were distributed among four thousand baths, which they served as fuel for six months. From Egypt the Saracens bore the triumi^hant banner of the prophet over northern Africa, and by the beginning of the eighth century they had reached the Atlantic. Here, opposite to the Canary Islands, their victorious emir, riding out among the waves, lamented that the ocean pre- vented him from planting the crescent in the unknown kingdoms of the West. Saracenic Invasion of Europe. — At this time Spain was in a flourishing condition under the Visigothic king Rod'- eric. One of Roderic's nobles whom he had wronged, thirsting for vengeance, invited the conquerors of Africa to invade his native land. They were but too glad of a SARACENIC INVASION OF EUROPE. 107 pretext, and on the field of Xeres {ha-res') met Roderic, who appeared at the head of his hosts, crowned with pearls, reclining in an ivory car drawn by white mules. After a battle of seven days (711) he was overcome, and fled from the field, to be drowned in the Guadalquivir ((/mc-dcd-kiviv'i7'). In a few years Spain was overrun, and became the seat of a Moorish dynasty which lasted eight centuries. But Spain did not long satisfy the ambition of the Mohammedans. In 718, an innumerable host under a great chief, Abderrahman {ahh-der-rah'maJm)^ crossed the Pyr'enees, with their -wives and children, to subdue the rest of Europe. The various peoples that they first encountered, separated by dissensions, were unable to withstand the invaders, who penetrated as far as Poitiers (2^oi-teerz') without receiving any decisive check. There they were met by Charles, a duke of the Franks (732). His stout German warriors, in an obstinate fight the issue of which for six days hung in the balance, finally proved themselves more than a match for their dreaded foes. Abderrahman perished in the conflict, and the rem- nant of his host soon returned to Spain. From the tre- mendous strokes of his immense battle-axe, Charles ob- tained the title of MarteV (the Hammer). Bagdad. — Within a few years after this reverse, the empire of the caliphs was divided. A new Abderrahman established the throne of the Western Cal'iphate at Cor'- dova ; while in the East, Bagdad, founded by Al-Mansour {ahl-mahn-soor')^ the Victorious, on the Tigris (in 762), became the Mohammedan capital. Al-Mansour was an enlightened patron of learning, and encouraged the trans- lation of the best Greek w^orks into Arabic. A taste for literature took still deeper root in the reign of his famous grandson Haroun-al-Raschid [hah-roon' al rash'ld), one of the favorite heroes of Arabian romance. 168 CAELOVINGIAN DYNASTY IN FEANCE. This caliph, distinguished for piety and wisdom, was very liberal to the poor, especially to poets, being fond of Ar'ab poetry and himself a writer. That he might find out the real condition of his subjects, he was in the habit of going round among them in disguise. He was much beloved by his people ; they once covered the roads before him with rich carpets, when he was making a pilgrimage to Mecca on foot, in fulfillment of a vow. Haroun carried on a series of successful wars with the Eastern Emperor, and compelled him to pay an annual tribute. Within a century after Haroun's death, the Saracenic Empire was weakened by internal dissensions. Several governors of provinces rebelled, and established indepen- dent cariphates ; notwithstanding, Bagdad increased in wealth and magnificence. Among other wonders that it contained, an ambassador to the court of one of the later caliphs describes a tree of gold and silver, on the branches of which birds of the same precious metals fluttered and sung. Bagdad was sacked by the Mongols in 1258. It was then the richest city in the world ; diamonds and jewelry of inestimable value were taken by the conquerors. The wretched caliph was enclosed in a leather sack, and dragged through the streets till he expired. Carlovingian Dynasty in France. — Charles Martel, who repulsed the Saracens, was the real sovereign of France, though he ruled in the name of a weak Merovingian king. Pep'in, the son of Charles, wielding the same power but coveting also the title of king, appropriated the crown, and thus founded the Carlovingian line. The last of the Merovingians was shorn of his long hair in token of his deposition, and ended his days in a monastery. Pepin was called the Short, being only four and a half feet high ; but he possessed great strength, and once cut SUCCESSOES OF MOHxVMMED. 1G9 off a lion's head with a single blow of his sword, after having vainly dared his courtiers to encounter the savage beast. He was successful in wars with the Saxons ; and at the request of the pope, who was hard pushed by the Lom'bards, he invaded Italy, humbled their king, and laid the keys of their conquered cities on the tomb of St. Peter as a gift to the Holy See. Thus began the tem- poral power of the popes, who had before enjoyed only a spiritual authority. On Pepin's death the kingdom descended to his sons, Charlemagne {shar-le-mane') and Carloman. Principal Successors of Mohammed. Abu-bekr, 632-634 Khaled {kah'led) the Saracen general, " the Sword of God." Omar, 634-644 Saracens defeat Ileracli'us, Emperor of the East, 636 ; take Jerusalem, 637. Otiiman, 644-655 Saracens conquer part of Tartary ; build a fleet ; take Cyprus and Rhodes. Alt, 655-661 Surnamed " the Lion of God." Cufa, on the Euphrates, made the capital. MoAWiYAii, 661-680 Dynasty of the Ommiyades {om-me' ya-deez) be- gins ; Damascus their capital. Abool-Abbas, 750-754 The dynasty of the Abbassides {ah-has' se-deez) commences. Al-Mansour', 754-775 Bagdad made the. capital, 762 ; Cordova, capi- tal of the Moors in Spain, 756. Haroun-al-Easchid {Aaron the Just) reigned, 786-809. The wicked Ire'ne Empress of the East. Charlemagne. Al-Mamoun', 813-833 Medicine, geometry, astronomy, and hterature, flourish at Bagdad. 600 A. D. — Roman civilization disappearing; brute force pre- dominates. The name Angle-land ]n?,i given to part of the eastern coast of England ; St. Auguslin first Archbishop of Canterbury. Merovingian kings in France ; mayors of the palace growing in power. Kingdom of the Visigoths in Spain, and Lombards in Italy. Eastern Empire, under Maurice, extends almost to the Caspian. Mohammed, thirty-one years old. 8 170 CIIAKLEMAGNE AND HIS SUCCESSORS. CHAPTER XXIII. CHARLEMAGNE AND HIS SUCCESSORS. TEMPORANEOUS HISTORY. -CON- Empire of Charlemagne. — The kingdom which Pepin divided between his sons embraced parts of what are now Germany and France. On the death of the younger, Charlemagne the survivor secured the whole, 771. The new monarch was almost a giant in stature and strength, of com- manding presence, and proficient in all manly ex- ercises. His warlike tastes and the disposition he ap- pears to have entertained to make proselytes to Christianity by violence if persuasion failed, quickly involved him in contests with the sur- rounding nations. A war with the Saxons (see Map, p. 172), which lasted thirty years, re- sulted in their reduction and enforced conversion. A crusade against the Lombards, undertaken meanwhile through the entreaties of the pope, terminated with Charlemagne's as- sumption of the iron crown of Italy (774) ; and the inva- sion of Spain, resulting in the defeat of the Moors, led to the annexation of the country north of the E'bro. Charlemagne. EMPIRE or CHARLEMAGNE. 171 While his victorious army was recrossinj^ into France, the Basques suddenly fell on its rear division with great fury in the defiles of Roncesvalles (ron-se-vahl'ies). Ro'- land, the famous Paladin, who was in command, refusing to sound his horn for aid, fought with desperate bravery until overcome by superior numbers. Then blowing a blast with his dying breath, he signalled Charlemagne, who hastened back only to find his most valiant warriors dead upon the field. The armies of the West also pushed their conquests eastward as far as the Theiss ; and the subjugation of various German and Slavic tribes extended the boundaries of the conqueror in that direction. In 800 Charlemagne visited Rome as the protector of Pope Leo III., and in return was crowned on Christmas- day by Leo Vv-ith the golden diadem of the C