An historical survey of the astronomy of the ancients / by Sir George Cornewall Lewis.
- George Cornewall Lewis
- Date:
- 1862
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: An historical survey of the astronomy of the ancients / by Sir George Cornewall Lewis. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.
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![§ 8 It is possible that Nineveh and Babylon may at certain periods have been each the seat of an independent kingdom; but there is no evidence of such a fact. Herodotus considered Nineveh to have been the original capital of the Assyrian Empire, and after its downfall to have been succeeded by Babylon. (103) He calls Sardanapalus king of Nineveh. (10t) He describes Phraortes, king of Media, as making an expedition against the Assyrians of Nineveh, who formerly were masters of all that country, but whose allies had then revolted from them ', and as losing his life and army in the enterprise. It is further stated that Cyaxares, the son of Phraortes, made an expe- dition against Nineveh, in order to avenge his father's death ; but that while he was besieging the city he was attacked by an invading army of Scythians ; that a battle between the Medes and Scythians ensued, in which the Medes were defeated ; and that they lost the Empire of Asia for twenty-eight years. Herodotus proceeds to relate that when the Medes had reco- vered their empire, and reduced the nations over which they had previously ruled, they took Nineveh, and subjugated the Assyrians with the exception of the province of Babylon. (105) Herodotus considers queen Nitocris, with her husband Laby- netus, and her son of the same name, who reigned over Babylon after the destruction of Nineveh by the Medes, to be the heads of the Assyrian Empire. He likewise appears to consider Semiramis, who was queen of Babylon five generations, or about 150 years, before Nitocris, and many kings of the same city, as Assyrian rulers. (lu6) (103) rrjs 8e 'A(roupt'jjj ecrrl ra fitv kov kol (iXha TroAicr/xara fityaXa 7ro^Aa to be uvo^acrTOTaTov /cat laxvporarov, koX ev6a o~<fit, NiVou axmo-rarov yevopevrjs, ru ^aai\t]ia K(iTeo-Tr]Kee, rjv BaldvXcov, i. 178. The seat of tlie king's palace, ill an Oriental country, is the seat of government. (104) ii. 150. (105) i. 102—106. (106) i. 184, 187, 188. In c. 187, he describes Nitocris as making a tomb for herself, with an inscription beginning thus : t<ov tis e/xeO vuTepov yivop.iva>v Ba{3v\u>vos /SacrtAeW *)i> <jTTavi<Ttj ^prjfxaTaiv. Ill C. 188, he says that Cyrus made war on the son of this ISIitocris, e^cov t? tov Trarpos tov ccovtov Tovvofia Aa(3vi>r)Tov kol ttjv 'Acravpicov apx^v. _LabyTnetus the Babylonian, mentioned in i. 71, appears to be the husband of Nitocris.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21015855_0437.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
