himself a mortal wound; in the meantime the Roman army broke into his retreat. He was found languid, bleeding and deserted, by a Gallic soldier, who compassionating his misery, put an end to his pain and life together (B. c. 64). Thus ended the kingdom of Pon'tus: after some years it was permitted to have nominal sovereigns; but even the shadow of independence was removed by the emperor Néro, and the country became a Roman province.

CAPPADOCIA was one of the Asiatic kingdoms founded after the battle of Ip'sus; none of its monarchs were remarkable in history, and the country itself was proverbial for the infamy of its inhabitants. Some of the Cappadocians were and continue to be Troglodytes, or dwellers in caves; but the period when the excavated habitations were first constructed is uncertain.

THE TWO ARMENIAS did not become kingdoms until after the defeat of Antiochus the Great by the Romans (B. c. 190), when the lieutenants of the king of Syria proclaimed their independence. The only Armenian monarch requiring notice was Tigránes, the son-in-law of Mithridátes. He was involved in the fate of the king of Pon'tus, and his dominions were subjected to the Romans, under whose sway both the Arménias continued until near the commencement of the Christian era, when they were seized by the Parthians. For several centuries the possession of Armenia was contested by the Romans and Parthians; and when the latter power was overthrown, the same country continued to be a constant source of war between the eastern empire and the restored kingdom of Persia.

AFTER the death of Alexander, Rhodes first became remarkable by its gallant resistance when besieged by Demétrius Poliorcétes. Thirty thousand men were employed in the labors of this siege. When the first wall crumbled under the blows of the helepolis (taker of cities), a formidable engine of destruction invented by Demétrius during the siege, the brave garrison erected a second with the materials of their temples, their theatres, and their houses; and when that was demolished, they erected a third. Fifty deputies from the states of Greece came to the besieger's camp as mediators: Demétrius granted peace on condition of receiving one hundred hostages and a small auxiliary force (B. c. 305). During the siege he had shown his respect for the works of art that ornamented this splendid city, by preventing his engines from playing upon the buildings in which the most celebrated paintings of Protogenes were preserved. It was in memory of this siege that the wonderful Colossus was erected.

In the war between Antiochus and the Romans, the Rhodians joined with the latter though at first defeated in a naval engagement, they exerted themselves so strenuously, that they soon became masters of the eastern sea, and obtained a decisive victory over the Syrian fleet, even though it was commanded by the illustrious Han'nibal. But jealousies soon arose between the two republics; and in the second Macedonian war the Rhodians preserved a strict but suspicious neutrality. The Roman senate sent ambassadors to the islanders, who acted as supreme magistrates rather than as envoys; and thenceforward the Rhodian in

dependence existed only in name.

Mithridates attacked the island when he invaded Greece; but he was repulsed by the inhabitants, whose fidelity was rewarded by the constant protection of Syl'la.

During the great civil war of Rome between Pompey and Cæsar, the Rhodian fleets fought sometimes on one side and sometimes on the other; but maintained under all circumstances, a very high character. Pompey was refused admittance into the island after his defeat at Pharsália; and the murderers of Cæsar was similarly excluded during the great civil war that followed his assassination. Cassius, in consequence, besieged the city of Rhodes, into which he obtained admittance by the treachery of some of the inhabitants: he resigned the unfortunate citizens to the discretion of his licentious soldiery, and extorted from the inhabitants all that he could obtain by violence or threats. In the reign of the emperor Claúdius Cæsar, the Rhodians were deprived of their liberties for having crucified two Roman citizens; but their privileges were subsequently restored. At length the island was made a Roman province by Vespasian (A. D. 70).

SECTION V.-History of Bactria and Parthia.

FROM B. C. 256 TO B. c. 226.

THE Bactrian kingdom differed from those whose history was described in the preceding section, in being a Grecian state, although established at the extreme western verge of the ancient Persian empire. It was formed into a state by Diodátus, the Grecian governor (B. C. 254), who threw off his allegiance to the Syrian king, Antiochus II. The Bactrian monarchs made extensive conquests in India, and at one time (B. c. 181) their dominions extended to the banks of the Ganges and the frontiers of China. The nomad hordes of the desert that reside to the east of the Caspian sea, and who, both in ancient and modern times, have frequently changed the political aspect of the western world, poured down on the descendants of the Macedonian colonists, and forced them to retreat toward the south. The Greeks, driven from Bac'tria, appear to have ascended the Ox'us (B. c. 126) and to have maintained their independence in the fastnesses of the lofty mountains called the Indian Caucasus (Hindú Kúsh) to a very late period, while their ancient territory was annexed to the Parthian empire, It is not yet determined whether any traces can be found of this Greek colony at the present day; but it is to be hoped that some of the enterprising travellers now exploring northern India will direct their attention to the subject.

The Parthian kingdom was founded about the same time as the Bactrian, by some of the nomad hordes that subsequently overthrew the latter. Its general limits were the Euphrátes, the In'dus, and the Ox'us; but its dominions were sometimes extended beyond these streams. Though thus holding the ancient empire of Persia, the Parthian monarchs never regarded themselves as descendants of Cy'rus; they preferred the Greek religion, manners, and customs, to those of the Persians, and they conferred great privileges on the Grecian colonies that were established in their dominions. To the modern Persians this dynasty,

which ruled their country for more than four centuries, is scarcely known even by name; a clear proof that the Parthians and their reigning family, the Arsac'idæ, must have been foreigners. In one important respect they imitated the exclusive policy of the Tartar rulers of China, excluding strangers from their dominions, and sacrificing commerce to their watchful jealousy. Their establishment in the Persian empire consequently effected a great revolution in the lines of traffic between the eastern and western world. The East India trade, stopped in its passage through Babylónia, was thrown further to the south, and began to shape its course through northern Arabia and the Red sea. To this change, the great wealth and splendor obtained by the great commercial cities Palmy'ra and Alexand'ria must be chiefly attributed.

Arsáces I. commenced the war of independence (B. c. 256) by putting to death the Syrian governor of upper Asia, who had offered a grievous insult to his brother. The heads of the Parthian tribes that supported him formed a government similar to the feudal aristocracy of Europe in the middle ages, giving to the monarch little more than nominal authority, and making the crown elective, under the restriction, however, that the monarch should be chosen from the family of the Arsac'idæ. War with the Syrian kings, of course followed; but the light cavalry of the Parthian troops, which have always formed the main strength of the armies of central Asia, by their rapid evolutions disconcerted the steady discipline of the Syrians and Macedonians. It was a remarkable peculiarity of the Parthian tactics, that their armies were never so formidable as in flight: when the enemies advanced in pursuit, as if to assured victory, these active horsemen turned on their steeds, and assailed them with a flight of arrows which invariably threw them into confusion. The wars between the Parthians and Syrians terminated (B. c. 131) in the total annihilation of the Syrian army led by Antiochus Sidétes.

During half a century after their deliverance from the rivalry of the Syrians, the attention of the Parthian monarchs was chiefly engrossed by the eastern nomad tribes, whom the fall of the Bactrian kingdom had set at liberty to attack the rich provinces of southern Asia. These hordes were either subdued or incorporated with the Parthian army; and scarcely had this danger been averted, when the Romans, being brought into contact with the Parthians by their occupation of the kingdom of Mithridates, prepared to contend with them for the empire of Asia.

The war commenced by Cras'sus, the Roman tríumvir, invading Par'thia (B. c. 53): his incapacity led to the utter annihilation of his army and the loss of his own life. In the Roman civil wars the Parthians supported the cause of Pom'pey, and afterward that of Brútus and Cas'sius. Subsequently, alarmed at the great power to which Augus'tus Cæsar attained, they sought terms of peace, and purchased it by surrendering the arms and standards which had been taken from the army of Cras'sus. The wars between the Parthians and the succeeding Roman emperors were almost incessant; but none of them produced any decisive result. After Christianity began to spread, its progress was tolerated, if not directly encouraged, by the Parthian mon

archs, who liberally afforded shelter to Christians flying from the persecutions of the pagans, and we must add, from those of their brethren who belonged to a different sect. But unfortunately the Arsac'idæ never gained the affections of their Persian subjects: after the lapse of more than four centuries, the Parthians continued to be an army of occupation, separated by habits, prejudices, and feelings, from the great bulk of the nation. At length Ardeshír Bab'egan, called by the Greeks Artaxerxes, a native Persian, of the illustrious house of Sassan, descended, or claiming to be descended, from the ancient line of Cy'rus and Jemshid, raised the national standard of Persia, and drove the Parthians into the northern mountains and deserts (в. c. 226). Irán, the ancient national name of Persia, was revived; the religion of Zerdusht restored in its pristine splendor; the progress of Christianity eastward was checked, and it was thrown back on the western world, bearing unfortunately too many marks of its having been brought into close contact with oriental mysticism and superstition. The destruction of the Parthian kingdom, in Asiatic annals, holds the same place as the overthrow of the Roman empire in European: it forms the epoch which separates ancient from modern history. We shall resume Persian history under the princes of the house of Sassan in the second part of this work.

SECTION VI.-History of Idumea, and its capital, Petra.

FROM B. C. 1048 TO B. c. 133.

WHILE the Israelites were detained in bondage in Egypt, the Edomites, descended from Esau, became a rich and powerful nation, possessing a rampart of impregnable fortresses in the fastnesses of Mount Seir, a country generally fruitful, and a command of the great roads by which the earliest commercial caravans travelled. Its capital city, called Bozrah in the Old Testament and Pétra by the Greeks, was situated at the foot of Mount Hor, in a deep valley; the only means of access to this metropolis was through a defile partly natural, and partly cut through the solid rocks, which hung over the passage, and often intercepted the view of the heavens. The breadth of this pass is barely sufficient for two horsemen to ride abreast, and near the entrance, a bold arch is thrown across at a great height connecting the opposite cliffs. The pass gradually slopes downward for about two miles, the mountain-ridge still retaining its level, until at the close of the dark perspective, a multitude of columns, statues, and graceful cornices, burst upon the view, retaining at the present day their forms and colors as little injured by time and exposure as if they were just fresh from the chisel. The sides of the mountains are covered with countless excavations, of which some are private dwellings and some sepulchres. To this extraordinary peculiarity the prophet Jeremiah probably alludes in his denunciation of God's vengeance against Edom. Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord."

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When David ascended the throne of Israel, the Edomites had greatly

extended their dominions; they possessed the ports of Elath and Ez'ion Geber on the Arabian sea (gulf of Akaba), and through these places had opened a flourishing trade with India and Ethiopia. They also had an extensive commerce with Phoenicia, Egypt, and Babylonia. David's general, Abishai, invaded Iduméa, routed the Edomites with great slaughter in the valley of salt, and compelled them to receive garrisons into their cities. In the reign of Solomon, Hádad, an Edomite prince who had sought shelter in Egypt when his native country was subdued, returned to E'dom and headed a formidable revolt.

The only account we have of Hádad is contained in the first Book of Kings, and is too remarkable to be omitted. "God stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hádad the Edomite: he was of the king's seed in Edom. For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every male in Edom (for six months did Jóab remain there with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom); that Hádad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hádad being yet a little child. And they arose out of Mídian, and came to Páran: and they took men with them out of Páran, and they came to Egypt, unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt; which gave him a house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land. And Hádad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpénes the queen. And the sister of Tahpénes bare him Gen'ubath his son, whom Tahpénes weaned in Pharaoh's house: and Gen'ubath was in Pharaoh's household among the sons of Pharaoh. And when Hádad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Jóab the captain of the host was dead, Hádad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to mine own country. Then Pharaoh said unto him, But what hast thou lacked with me, that, behold, thou seekest to go to thine own country? And he answered, Nothing; howbeit let me go in any wise." The native traditions of the country in some degree preserve the memory of Hádad's reign, for one of the ruined edifices at Pétra is still called by the Arabs, "the Palace of Pharaoh's daughter."

It seems probable that Hádad's efforts were only partially successful, for we find that the Edomites continued subjects to the kings of Judah, until the reign of Jehóram the son of Jehoshaphat (B. c. 888). "In his days," says the sacred historian," Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves. So Jóram went over to Záir, and all the chariots with him: and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots: and the people fled into their tents. Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. Then Lib'nah revolted at the same time." Lib'nah was one of the cities of refuge belonging to the kingdom of Judah, and its adherence to Edom tended to perpetuate the hereditary animosity between the two nations. Amazíah, the son of Jóash, severely punished the hostility of the Edomites, for we read in the second Book of Chronicles, that "Amazíah strengthened himself, and led forth his people, and went to the valley of salt, and smote of the children of Seir ten thousand. And other ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the