Margaret Hunter – Page 22 – Amazing Bible Timeline with World History

Posted on October 27, 2012September 17, 2015 by Margaret Hunter — 3 Comments

Nabopolasser, Babylonian King

Nabopolassar was the first Babylonian king to gain power after he led his forces against the Assyrians. He ruled Babylon from 625 to 605 B.C., which is where he appears on the Bible Timeline Chart. Nabopolassar is credited with leading the final revolt against Assyria that would topple their empire. He was a general in the Babylonian army, and he commanded his forces against the Assyrian rulers.

His name means “favored of Nabu” or “chosen by Nabu”. Babylon and Assyria were established by a powerful tyrant from the land of Shinar named Nimrod. Since that time, the two kingdoms waged war against each other for control of plains of Shinar and the areas surrounding this territory. Eventually, the Assyrians would emerge victoriously and they placed all of the people within that region under their control. They would dominate the Chaldeans, the Medes and the people from Babylon.

Nabopolasser,Babylonian_King — Assyrian were very cruel; here they are skinning their prisoners alive.

Assyrian were very cruel; here they are skinning their prisoners alive.

Many people suffered under Assyrian rule because of their unrelenting cruelty. The Assyrians were powerful warriors, and they were merciless to the people that they defeated in battle. Thousands of captives from cities and tribes would be transported to other regions never to see their homelands again.

The Assyrians would also torture their prisoners by cutting off their body parts and performing sacrifices on them in honor of their gods. They also murdered people for fun and sport, and they were known to kill the children of conquered kings right in front of their eyes. So the conquered peoples who lived under the Assyrians rule finally had enough of their oppressive ways and decided to fight back.

A historical artifact that was uncovered by archeologists contains an engraved inscription of Nabopolasser’s childhood. The inscription reveals that Nebopolasser came from a poor and unknown family. Before Naopolasser became a powerful general and king, he considered himself to be a worthless person. While he was a young man, he made it a point to honor the deities Nabu and Marduk. He also desired to repair the temples of these two gods and to find favor with them.

Nabopolassar had used many men from the area to help him with the restoration process of the temples. He also referred to himself as a military commander. This part of the inscription gives evidence that Nabopolassar was a well-known person within his community and that he had leadership ability. When the Assyrians conquered a territory, they usually placed their own leaders in the defeated area. The people that were not deported to other regions of the empire were allowed to continue with their lives as long as they paid tribute to Assyria and didn’t try to rebel.

Many conquered peoples still had armies, but they were not too quick to rebel against Assyria because they were too strong. Eventually, an Assyrian king named Assurbanipal had died, and his death caused a lot of infighting and confusion among the remaining Assyrian rulers. Nabopolassar and the other tribes in the area had joined forces and used this situation as an opportunity to rebel. Nabopolassar and his forces attacked the Assyrian governors in Babylon and then defeated an Assyrian army that was stationed near the city. This blow to the Assyrians gave the Babylonians the inspiration that they would need to overthrow the rest of the empire.

Nabopolassar was then crowned king and recognized by his people as the first ruler of Babylon. Nabopolassar eventually went on to defeat the Assyrians and became the first ruler of the Babylonian dynasty. He conquered Nineveh and then Harran and restored temple worship of a sun god at Sippar. He fought against Egypt starting in 610 B.C. He was fulfilling the Biblical prophecy. His son Nebuchadnezzar continued this siege in 605 B.C. He died of natural causes at the age of 53 and before his death he allowed his son to rule along side of him.

References:
http://www.biblegateway.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabopolassar http://www.bible-history.com/babylonia/BabyloniaNabopolassar.htm http://www.livius.org/na-nd/nabopolassar/nabopolassar.html http://www.electrummagazine.com/2012/01/king-nabopolassar-ancient-babylonian-archaeologist/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flaying_of_rebels.jpg

Posted on October 26, 2012November 22, 2021 by Margaret Hunter — 15 Comments

Nimrod Center of Babylon and Asshur

Babylon was established by Nimrod, who was a mighty hunter and ruler on the Earth. He was the son of Cush, and his grandfather was Noah’s son Ham. Noah was Nimrod’s great grandfather. Hebrew sources claim that Nimrod was a hunter of souls where he gathered men onto the plains of Shinar. Ancient scribes have also endorsed the idea that Nimrod was the world’s first conqueror. He supposedly had vast armies at his disposal, and when he began to enslave men for his kingdom, he decided to have them build a tower to the heavens. The Bible states that the people of the world all spoke one language during the time of Nimrod. Many of these people began to gather into Shinar on their own even though Nimrod still continued to gather souls and slaves for the kingdom. He appears on the Bible Timeline during the 19th century BC.

Nimrod’s name means “rebel” or “to rebel” and Hebrew scholars states that he lived his life in total defiance to the Lord. This ancient ruler hated God, and he wanted a man to be greater than the true Lord of Heaven. He preached rebellion and unbelief toward God and he taught (or forced) the people to follow his example. Many of the false religious belief systems that dominated the spiritual lives of ancient men were started by Nimrod. His wife was supposed to have introduced these new gods to the evil ruler, and many of these gods continued to be followed by the ancients as they spread out from the land of Shinar.

Before the people left the land of Shinar, they began to build a tower that would reach into the heavens. This tower was going to be used to make men great on the Earth. The Bible says that the tower was a literal building because they used materials such as brick and tar (bitumen). As they began to build this tower God stopped their defiance by causing all of the people that were gathered in Shinar to speak a different language. Since people could no longer communicate with each other, they had no choice but to stop the project. They then gathered themselves to other people that spoke in their language and started to migrate to other parts of the Earth. They left Shinar and took the worship of false gods with them as they spread out.

After the tower project was stopped the remaining people called the area “Babel” because the people sounded like they were babbling after God confused their language. This incident is historically recorded in many cultures in the Middle East and other parts of the world.

According to Genesis, Asshur was the second son of ~~Seth~~Shem, who was the son of Noah. The Bible says in Genesis that Nimrod went out of the land of Shinar and migrated north and formed the cities of Nineveh, Rehoboath, and Calah. Some Biblical scholars claim that Asshur also founded a city after his name and the people who lived in Asshur became known as the Assyrians. Nimrod probably established these cities because of his desire for conquest even though Asshur could have been a conqueror as well.

After Nimrod had established these two cities, they were the first places of organized false worship. Pagan deities were honored by the people who lived in around these areas. Babylon and Asshur (Assyria) would become places that God would call the symbols for evil. False religion, evil, sinful practices and the love of money would rise from these two cities. God constantly judges Babylon all throughout scripture, and he does the same thing to Assyria primarily through the city of Nineveh. God used the Babylonians and the Assyrians to judge his people when they didn’t obey him. These events took place about 4000 years ago in the Middle East.

Biblical References:

Genesis 10 Outlines the first forming of the nations and the formation of the first empire of the world under Nimrod. Nimrod creates new cities, and one of them was Asshur, which becomes Assyria.
Gen 11 The people of the world are gathered in the land of Shinar under the rule of Nimrod, and they decide to build a tower into the heavens that would defy God. The Lord confuses their language, and the people spread out over the Earth. This is the beginning of Babylon.
The Book of Nahum This book is dedicated to the judgments of Nineveh and the Assyrian empire. The prophet declared that it would fall and never again rise to its former glory
Revelation 17 to 19:9 The final judgment of Babylon.

References:
http://www.biblegateway.com/
http://bibleatlas.org/asshur.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asshur
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ushpia
http://www.buzzardhut.net/index/htm/Babylon/Nimrod.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimrod
http://christiananswers.net/dictionary/nimrod.html
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reconstructed_Babylon_-1.jpg

Posted on October 22, 2012October 4, 2017 by Margaret Hunter — Leave a comment

Romulus Ruler of Rome

Romulus and Remus founded Rome in 753 B.C. and by 750 B.C., which is where they appear on the Biblical Timeline with World History. King Romulus is the sole ruler of the territory.

The story of Romulus and Remus is considered an ancient myth or legend about the establishment of the Roman Empire. The reason the story is considered a myth or a legend has to do with all of the supernatural elements that are contained within the tale.

Alba Longa was an ancient Italian city that was ruled by a king named Numitor. This particular king would soon become the grandfather of Romulus and Remus. King Numitor had a brother named Amulius who removed him from the throne. Amulius killed the king’s male heirs and took his daughter Rhea Silvia and made her a Vestal virgin. Amulius did not want any of the king’s children to seek revenge on him since he usurped his throne. Rhea Silvia was an extremely beautiful woman and because she was a vestal virgin she had to remain sexually pure in honor of the goddess Vesta. Any Vesta Virgin that was caught in the act of having sex was supposed to be put to death.

Romulus_and_Remus,founders_of_Rome — The Capitoline she-wolf with the boys Romulus and Remus

The Capitoline she-wolf with the boys Romulus and Remus

Rhea Silvia’s beauty eventually attracted the attention of a Roman god by the name of Mars. This particular deity got Rhea Silvia pregnant, and Amulius was about to kill her for this deed. Rhea conceived two boys, but King Amulius took both of them and threw them into the River Tiber since he did not want them to avenge their grandfather who was the rightful ruler of Alba Longa. Once the boys were disposed of in the River Tiber, they were discovered by a she-wolf and a woodpecker that fed and protected the boys. These two animals are representatives of the god Mars and some speculate that he sent them to the boys to take care of them. .

Eventually, the boys would be discovered by a shepherd named Faustulus, who took the boys back home to be raised by his wife. After they had been old and strong enough, the boys disposed of Amulius and restored their grandfather Numitor back to his rightful position as king. After the king had taken power once again, the Twins realized that they needed to start a kingdom of their own, so they searched for a suitable location to set up their kingdom. The boys chose Palatine Hill where they were cared for by the she-wolf and woodpecker. As Romulus began to build walls for the city his brother, Remus mocked him by jumping over the walls. Then in a fit of rage Romulus slew his brother and became the sole ruler of the kingdom.

After the death of his brother, King Romulus continued to build the city, and he named it Rome. The first citizens were outlaws and fugitives. Romulus then decided to steal women from a neighboring kingdom known as Sabine. He invited these people and their families to a big event and when the men of Sabine were preoccupied he had their women carried off for his male citizens.

The men of Sabine went to war with the Romans, but the conflict was stopped when the Sabine women admitted that they liked the men of Rome better than their former countrymen. Rome more than likely grew up over time from small tribal settlements in southern Italy. Historians and scholars believe that the myth of Romulus and Remus is just a story that was told by the early Romans to glorify the history of their kingdom and culture. The story of Romulus and Remus has at least two different versions, and they are still used today to describe how Rome as established.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romulus_and_Remus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Founding_of_Rome
http://www.unrv.com/culture/romulus-and-remus.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:She-wolf_suckles_Romulus_and_Remus.jpg

Posted on October 21, 2012April 5, 2016 by Margaret Hunter — 9 Comments

Assyrian Empire, End of

The Assyrians were a cruel and warlike people who were used by God to punish his people and the surrounding nations who practiced idolatry. The Assyrians were especially cruel in their tactics and methods of conquest. Most Assyrian kings had a policy to transport the people from defeated kingdoms into other territories. They also enslaved them, killed them in great numbers, tortured humans as a means of entertainment, they praised false gods and they shed innocent blood. The Assyrians were not a righteous and upstanding group of people and in time God had to judge them for their sins. The kingdom of Assyria is completely replaced by Babylon by 600 BC which is when this event appears on the Bible Timeline.

Before God destroyed the Assyrians he sent them some of his prophets to warn them to turn away from their sins. The book of Jonah is a testimony to this truth. Jonah prophesied to the Assyrian city of Nineveh about 100 years before its destruction. This event took place around 740 to 730 B.C. The prophet didn’t want the Assyrian people of Nineveh to escape God’s judgment but God knew that they would repent and this is why he sent him to the city. Even though the people of Nineveh repented when Johan came to them the future generations of Assyrians did not have a change of mind about their cruel acts and sins. The prophet Nahum speaks judgments against the city about the same time as Jonah and his prophesies about the downfall of this city eventually take place.

The Assyrians conquered many people in the Middle East region of the world. The Medes, Scythians, Babylonians, and Medes were some of the major groups of people that were brought under the control of the Assyrians. The Israelites were also dominated by the Assyrians, but the people of Judah were not. They would be conquered by the kingdom of Babylon at a later date. The Assyrians broke their empire down into small and manageable provinces. The Assyrian King Tiglath-Pilezer started this policy and as he expanded the empire he continued to use it to make sure the people would not rebel. Eventually, this policy failed because the Babylonians, Scythians, and Medes rose up against the Assyrians around 632 B.C.

Assyria,_End_of_Empire — Battle scene, Assyrian, about 728 BC.

The Babylonians led this federation and went to war against the Assyrians. Their main objective was to take Nineveh and destroy this city because it was the seat of power for the Assyrian empire. The Babylonians got close to the city and almost destroyed it, but the Assyrians managed to keep them tied up before they could accomplish this objective. Some of the tribal groups of Medes managed to sack Nineveh while the Assyrians were busy fighting the Babylonian federation. Even though the Medes conquered the city the Babylonians would go on to become the official rulers of Assyria. When the Assyrians lost Nineveh they knew that their empire was going to fall into the hands of their enemies. Babylon went on to conquer other Assyrian cities and by 600 B.C. Babylon had become the next dominant empire in the region.

Biblical References:

The Books of Nahum, I and II Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles and Jonah explains why God took the time out to destroy and in some instances save Assyrians.

References:
http://www.aina.org/aol/peter/timeline.htm
http://www.worldology.com/Iraq/assyrian_empire.htm
http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Places/Place/324904
http://www.livius.org/as-at/assyria/assyria.html
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Britishmuseumassyrianrelieftwohorsemennimrud.jpg

Posted on October 20, 2012July 2, 2016 by Margaret Hunter — 20 Comments

Nineveh Destroyed

Nineveh was the ancient capital of the Assyrian empire. It was destroyed around 612 BC which is when this event appears on the Old Testament Timeline. This city was used by Assyrian kings as their primary location to rule their territories. Around 631 B.C., the Assyrians dominated many kingdoms that were located in the Middle Eastern region of the world. They had defeated these people and then transported many of them to different lands within their borders. This policy was used against Israel and Judah. As a matter of fact, God used the Assyrians to punish the Israelites for their sins. He allowed them to force the northern tribes into exile. Various Assyrian rulers continued this practice for many years.

Over time, God wanted to remove the Assyrian’s from power because of their many sins. He decided to use the Babylonians to accomplish this task. He wanted the Babylonians to become powerful so that they could be used against the idolatrous Judeans.
The Babylonians were a conquered people living under the dominion of the Assyrians and about 625 B.C. they rose to power and launched an assault against the Assyrian empire. The Babylonians pushed toward Nineveh, which was the seat of Assyrian power. While the Assyrians were preoccupied with the Babylonians, a tribal group known as the Medes assaulted Nineveh and destroyed the city.

There were quite a few prophets who prophesied against Nineveh. They included Jonah, who was upset with the Lord for saving these people from judgment and Nahum who denounced the cruel acts that the Assyrians did to his people when they held them captive. The book of Nahum explains in vivid detail why God had decided to destroy Nineveh.

The prophet Nahum explained in great detail why the Lord decided to remove Nineveh as a power. When God allowed the Assyrians to conquer Israel and harass Judah, they did so with great cruelty. They built up their city by shedding blood, enslaving people, performing cruel acts of torture and by having a disregard for human life. They engaged in sorcery and witchcraft and the Assyrian people of Nineveh treated so many groups of conquered people with extreme contempt. God also punished the Assyrians because of their pagan worship of false gods. Even though he used this kingdom to punish Israel for the sin of idolatry, he then decided to judge them for doing the very same thing.

One of the reasons why Jonah didn’t think that God should have spared the people of Nineveh is because of all of their evil deeds. When the prophet of Jonah was sent to these people, many of them turned their hearts toward God in repentance. However, a lot of Assyrian people didn’t turn from their sins nor were they sorry for the evil that they had committed. When Nineveh fell, the Assyrian power base went into decline and even though the Medes are credited with destroying the city, it was the Babylonians who would rule over the land. Assyria never rose to power again after they were defeated by the Babylonians.

Biblical References:

The whole entire book of Nahum outlines Gods judgment against the Assyrians.
The book of Jonah deals with the theme of God showing mercy on Assyrians regardless of their cruelty.

References:
http://www.bible-history.com/old-testament/the_assyrians.html
http://www.growingchristians.org/dfgc/nahum.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nineveh_map_city_walls_%26_gates.JPG

Posted on October 19, 2012April 5, 2016 by Margaret Hunter — Leave a comment

Tiglath Pileser III

Since the time that the kingdom of Israel and Judah had split into two separate parts, both kingdoms fought against each other for power. This situation created a long lasting rivalry that span hundreds of years. It was around 740 B.C., and King Pekah of Israel, and King Ahaz of Judah were going to war with each other. King Pekah of Israel decided to join forces with the King of the Arameans against King Ahaz and Judah. King Ahaz then appealed to Tiglath-Plilezer by paying him with the treasure from the Temple so that he would aid him against this alliance.

The Assyrian king complied, but he took advantage of the situation. He appears multiple times on the Bible Timeline for each event. God was angry with Ahaz, so he allowed King Tiglath-Pilezer to march into Judah and to harass him while he was there. He took tribute from the Judean king, but he didn’t unify with them against Israel.

The Israelites defeated many of Judah’s troops because Ahaz was a wicked man who promoted idolatry. Tiglath-PIlezer was given power by God to go out and subdue many different kingdoms who refused to worship him. The foreign people who lived all over the Middle East were aware of the God of the Hebrews, but many of them didn’t adhere to his Commandments. So he not only used this Assyrian king to punish Israel he also used him to punish foreigners.

Tiglath-Pilezer and many Assyrian kings had a policy of defeating kingdoms and then shipping the people off to other parts of the Assyrian empire. As a matter of fact, he transported foreigners into Israel once he took this kingdom over. Before Tiglath-Pilezer harassed Judah or forced King Pekah of Israel to pay him tribute, he made a former Israeli king named Menahem to pay him tribute. He had established a pattern of harassing Israel and Judah, and this was only because God allowed him to so.

He even encouraged Hoshea to assassinate Pekah and gave him the right to rule Israel. Tiglath-Pilezer played various Israeli and Judean kings against each other and themselves. Tiglath-Pilezer conquered other territories including Syria, Tyre, Arpad and Damascus. He forced these foreigners to pay the Assyrians tribute. King Tiglath-Pilezer also created many sweeping reforms within his empire. His policy was not only to deport foreigners to different parts of the kingdom he also divided up many of the lands that he conquered into smaller provinces. He elected rulers in each area, and this was done so that they would fight against each other if anyone would decide to revolt.

He also expanded his army with foreign soldiers. Tiglath-Pilezer continued his policies as long as he was in power, and future Assyrian kings also followed the same pattern of rule. They continued to harass the people of Judah and Israel, and they controlled many other territories as well. God might have given the Assyrians great power to carry out their agenda, but he eventually would punish them for their sins. Tiglath-Pilezer’s rule came to an end when he died in 727 B.C. His name means “my trust is in the son of Esharra”.

Biblical References:

2 Kings 15: 29 Tiglath-Pilezer conquers many territories
2 Kings 16: 7 – 9 Tiglath-Pilezer decides to harass Judah and Israel after King Ahaz requests his help.
2 Chronicles 28 Tiglath-Pilezer destroys Judean towns and takes Israelites captive.

References:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Kings+16&version=NIV http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Chronicles+28&version=KJV http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiglath-Pileser_III http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14393-tiglath-pileser http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoshea http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tilglath_pileser_iii.jpg

Posted on October 18, 2012May 16, 2016 by Margaret Hunter — Leave a comment

Senechereb II

King Senechereb was a former ruler of the ancient empire of Assyria he was the son of Sargon II. His name means “the god Sin has replaced his brothers”. Senechereb began his reign around 705 B.C. which is where he appears on the Biblical Timeline Poster with World History. During his time in the power, God used this king to punish Judah. About 20 years earlier God allowed another king named Shelmanezer to overrun Israel and carry away the people into captivity. Since that time Assyrian rulers were used by God punish his people and he also used them against the people of Judah when they refused to turn from idolatry.

King Hezekiah ruled Judah during this period and even though he was a righteous ruler many of the people in Judah were into worshipping pagan gods. So the Lord allowed King Senechereb to demand tribute from Judah. King Hezekiah didn’t like paying tribute and one year he refused to pay. When he did, the Assyrian king mobilized his forces and marched on Judah. God empowered the Assyrians to defeat the Judeans and capture many of their towns. Hezekiah realized that Judah wasn’t going to win a war against the Assyrians, so he begged the Assyrian King to stop his assault and admitted that he was wrong for not paying the tribute. The King of Judah then took the treasures from God’s Temple to pay tribute to the king of Assyria. Apparently, this wasn’t enough to make things right.

King Senechereb sent his vast armies against Judah, and once they arrived in Jerusalem, they began to blaspheme God and his people. They taunted Judah by claiming that God couldn’t protect them and that their armies were weak and pathetic. They also said that their alliance with Egypt was worthless. They went on to tell the people not to listen to the king and not to rely on God or anything else. King Hezekiah was distressed over this situation. God had allowed the Assyrians to blaspheme him and discredit the Judeans so that he could show them his power while punishing the Assyrians for their sins.

Ultimately, God killed 185,000 Assyrians and forced them to leave Jerusalem. King Senechereb never went back to Jerusalem during his reign because he was murdered a short time later by his sons. King Hezekiah learned to trust in God more than ever through this situation. The prophet Isaiah made many prophesies against King Senechereb while he was in power. Isaiah encouraged Hezekiah and Jerusalem with messages from God. He told them that God would destroy the Assyrians for their blasphemy and that they shouldn’t worry about this enemy. The people were truly grateful for God’s deliverance though they didn’t turn away from their sins.

Biblical References:

2 Kings 18: 13 – 18 King Senechereb attacks Judah, and King Hezekiah wants him to leave.
2 Kings 18: 19 – 35 The Assyrian army encircles Jerusalem and blasphemes God and king.
2 Kings 19: 1 – 7 Isaiah reassures Hezekiah will be victorious over King Senechereb.
2 Kings 19: 14 – 19 King Hezekiah prays for Sennacherib’s defeat.
2 Kings 19: 20 – 28 Isaiah prophesies the downfall of Senechereb once again.
2 Kings 19: 32 – 34 God says he will defend Jerusalem
2 Kings 19: 35 – 37 King Sennacherib’s forces are defeated, and this Assyrian king loses his life.

References:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Kings+18&version=ESV
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Kings+19&version=ESV
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sennacherib
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sennacherib.jpg

Posted on October 17, 2012September 24, 2015 by Margaret Hunter — Leave a comment

Shalmaneser Assyrian Ruler

Shalmaneser was the son of Tiglath-Pileser III and he ruled Assyria from 727 to 722 B.C., which is where he appears on the Bible Timeline Poster with World History. This particular king came to power after Tiglath-Pileser had passed away. His birth name was Ululayu, and he later changed it to Shalmanezer.

During the reign of Shalmaneser, he conquered the northern tribes of Israel. God allowed this Assyrian king to judge his people for their sin of idolatry. When Shelmanezer went up against Israel, he defeated King Hoshea.

This particular king was considered an evil ruler by God, but the Lord also says that he wasn’t as wicked as many of the Israeli rulers before him. After defeating Israel, Shalmaneser allowed King Hoshea to stay in power as long as he paid him tribute. King Hoshea went along with King Shalmanezer’s demands, but the Israeli monarch eventually rebelled against Assyria.

King Hoshea tried to form a secret alliance with Pharaoh So of Egypt. While Hoshea formed this alliance, he didn’t pay any tribute to King Shalmaneser. The Assyrian rulers then put him in chains and carried him away to prison. King Hoshea ruled Israel for 9 years before he was imprisoned. The Assyrian king decided to march the Israelites back to Assyria or other parts of his empire. He placed them in areas such as Harbor, Gozan, and Medes. These areas would have been in places such as modern-day Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia.

King Shalmaneser then transported peoples from other parts of his empire such as Babylon and Hamath and placed them in various Israeli cities such as Samaria. After King Shalmaneser placed these people inside of Samaria God had to send lions against some of these people because they would not obey him. The Assyrian king then authorized a priest to go back to Israel to teach the people about God. Instead of turning completely away from idol worship the people continued to pray to pagan gods while worshipping the Lord. They even designated priests to lead them in the worship of foreign deities.

God told the people that if they feared him and worshiped him alone he would deliver them from their enemies, but the people didn’t listen. They continued to worship other gods, and they taught their children to do the same thing for many generations. God had used a foreign ruler to help get his people to get back in line with his truth. He allowed these rulers to use extreme measures to get the people to come to their senses. Some of the people did respond to God’s methods of correction but many did not. Eventually, King Shelmanezer had passed away, and Israel no longer had a king since Hoshea was the last ruler before the people were exiled.

Biblical References:

2 Kings 17: 1 – 4 Outlines King Hoshea’s reign and how he was forced to pay Assyria tribute.
2 Kings 17: 5 – 23 Shelmanezer carries away many Israelites and God condemns his people for their sins.
2 Kings 17: 24 – 33 Assyria resettles foreigners in Samaria.
2 Kings 17: 29 – 41 God tells the people to turn to him so that they will be protected, but the people still refuse to listen.

References:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Kings+17&version=NKJV http://www.ucl.ac.uk/sargon/essentials/kings/shalmaneserv/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalmaneser_V http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shalmaneser_V.jpg

Posted on October 16, 2012May 10, 2016 by Margaret Hunter — 1 Comment

Tyre Subject to Babylon

Tyre is an ancient city that was known as a great seafaring kingdom. The Phoenicians were an ancient Semitic people that founded Tyre around 1200 B.C. Scholars and historians believed that they were descendants of the Canaanites. The city of Tyre started off as a small settlement and eventually grew to become a large and powerful city of commerce. Tyre was a prominent ancient kingdom that had established many different trade routes that dominated the Mediterranean Sea. It eventually was conquered by Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar. This event appears on the Biblical Timeline Chart.

For many centuries, the city of Tyre built up its financial power and by the time that King David of Israel took the throne around 1000 B.C. Tyre had become a powerful city-state. Toward the end of his rule, King David wanted to build God a permanent home on Earth. God didn’t want him to complete the temple but he allowed David to gather the supplies he would need to get the job done. King David formed an alliance with King Hiram and they became good friends. This alliance carried over to Solomon, who used the aid of Hiram to finish the temple. King Hiram allowed King Solomon to establish a navy inside of Tyre. The two kingdoms became strong allies from this alliance.

The Bible doesn’t mention this alliance too much after the death of Solomon but the city had apparently broken its alliance with Israel and Judah. As a matter of fact, Tyre was glad when Judah and Israel were taken into captivity by Assyria and Babylon. God would punish them for this sin. The prophet Ezekiel spoke out against this city in Ezekiel 26. God said that he would encourage Nebuchadnezzar to march against Tyre and siege the city because of how it treated his people during their captivity. With Israel and Judah out of the way, the leaders of Tyre wanted to establish overland trade routes to the East. Instead of fulfilling this desire God used Nebuchadnezzar against them.

The Bible stated that Nebuchadnezzar would destroy the mainland city of Tyre and the surrounding areas and then he would destroy their offshore fortress where they would seek refuge in the event that the city would fall in battle. This offshore refuge was an island fortress that was located a few miles from the main city of Tyre. The Lord had already given Nebuchadnezzar the idea to siege the island fortress and for 13 years he was able to wreak havoc on Tyre and its inhabitants. King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed buildings, slaughtered the people and stripped the city of its wealth but he was not able to reach the people who escaped to the island fortress. God carried out the destruction of Tyre over a series of years and Babylon was the first of many nations that would be used to bring about the cities ultimate demise.

The historical accounts about how Babylon defeated Tyre lined up perfectly with scripture. In other words, everything that God said Babylon would do to Tyre was carried out under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar. The prophet Ezekiel relayed his messages from God with accuracy and clarity. He also made other prophecies concerning Babylon in the later chapters of his book. In the end, Tyre’s fall to Babylon was the beginning of God’s punishments being brought against this nation for it sins.

Biblical References:

Ezekiel 26: 1 – 6 God gives the prophet Ezekiel a message about the destruction of Tyre during King Jehoiachin’s captivity.
Ezekiel 26: 7 – 14 Describes how Babylon would destroy Tyre.
Ezekiel 27 and 28 Further prophecies concerning the downfall of Tyre.

References:
http://joseph_berrigan.tripod.com/ancientbabylon/id23.html
http://www.atlasofworldhistory.com/NATIONS/Semites.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebuchadnezzar_II
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyre,_Lebanon

Posted on October 15, 2012April 5, 2016 by Margaret Hunter — 1 Comment

Carthage A Major Sea Power

Carthage was an ancient city port established by the Phoenicians. This particular port became so powerful that it was able to form its own unique kingdom independent of Tyre. Ancient Phoenician traders from Tyre created the port as a western hub for trade within the Mesopotamian Sea. Once Carthage was established as a trade colony in time it grew to become a major power within the Mesopotamian region. The city was established in 841 B.C. which is where it appears on the Bible Timeline Chart with World History.

One of the reasons why Carthage became so powerful was because of their ability to dominate the waterways of the Mesopotamian Sea. Carthage not only controlled oversea trade routes for commerce they also had one of the most powerful navies in ancient history.

The Carthage navy was powerful for a number of reasons. The first being is that Carthage had a naval force that was feared by many kingdoms and empires in the ancient world. This city-state had a vast number of ships that they could use immediately for warfare. Historical sources claim that the Carthaginians could place about 350 warships into the sea for the purpose of defence or to assault an enemy.

Carthage_A_Major_Sea_Power revised — Roman Ship from Carthage

Many Carthaginians were excellent seafarers and they knew how to sail and fight on the open waters of the Mesopotamia. A lot of the sailors were trained in basic naval functions and military tactics. The Carthaginians were considered the best sailors in the ancient world and they were a deadly force to contend with if they were engaged on the seas by an enemy. The Carthaginians used quadriremes and quinqueremes. These were three-decked ships that were powered by rowers and sails. They were used to ram enemy vessels or they shot long bolts at enemy boats with large sized bolts that resembled modern day harpoons. The use of Greek Fire (burning oil or pitch) was also as a weapon when sea battles occurred.

God established the city of Tyre to be a powerful trading city-state. The Phoenician kings of Tyre had befriended both Kings David and Solomon before the kingdom of Israel split apart. King David had King Haram of Tyre supply him with supplies and other goods for Solomon when he was ready to build the Temple. King Solomon built the Temple he also used King Hiram’s assistance with supplies, goods and craftsmen for the project. Solomon and Hiram established an alliance and from this alliance Israel established its first navy that was based in Tyre. The powerful city-state of Tyre still remained allies with the people of Judah and Israel but their alliances are barely mentioned after the rule of Solomon.

Even though Carthage isn’t specifically mentioned in the Bible, it can be reasonably said that the city wasn’t too different from that of Tyre.

Biblical References:

1 Kings 8: 10 – 11, 26 – 28 King Solomon’s navy established at Tyre.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carthage
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_ancient_Carthage
http://www.roman-empire.net/republic/carthage.html