must have felt in verifying his assertions. His
zeal in collecting examples was probably stimulated by the fact that
some of the exploits which he attributes to the ancient Sargon had been
recently accomplished by a king of the same name: the brilliant career
of Sargon of Agade would seem to have been in his estimation something
like an anticipation of the still more glorious life of the Sargon of
Nineveh.* What better proof of the high veneration in which the learned
men of Assyria held the memory of the ancient Chaldaean conqueror?
Naramsin, who succeeded Sargon about 3750 B.C.** inherited his
authority, and to some extent his renown.

* Hommel (Gescamede, p. 307) believes that the life of our
Sargon was modelled, not on the Assyrian Sargon, but on a
second Sargon, whom he places about 2000 B.C. Tiele refuses
to accept the hypothesis, but his objections are not
weighty, in my opinion; Hilprecht and Sayce accepted the
authenticity of the facts in their details, and the recent
discoveries have shown that they were right in so doing.
There is a distant resemblance between the life of the
legendary Sargon and the account of the victories of Ramses
II. ending in a conspiracy on his return.

** The date of Naramsin is given us by the cylinder of
Nabonidos, who is cited lower down. It was discovered by
Pinches. Its authenticity is maintained by Oppert, by
Latrille, by Tiele, by Hommel, who felt at first some
hesitation, by Delitzsch-Murdter; it has been called in
question, with hesitation, by Ed. Meyer, and more boldly by
Winckler. There is at present no serious reason to question
its accuracy, at least relatively, except the instinctive
repugnance of modern critics to consider as legitimate,
dates which carry them back further into the past than they
are accustomed to go.

The astrological tablets assert that he attacked the city of Apirak, on
the borders of Elam, killed the Sing, Rish-ramman, and led the people
away into slavery. He conquered at least part, if not the whole of Elam,
and one of the few monuments which have come down to us was raised at
Sippara in commemoration of his prowess against the mountaineers of the
Zagros. He is represented on it overpowering their chief: his warriors
follow after him and charge up the hill, carrying everything before
their steady onslaught. Another of his warlike expeditio