of
that extraordinary wealth in the precious metals which is ascribed by
all antiquity to Assyria. This wealth no doubt flowed in, to a
considerable extent, from the plunder of conquered nations and the
tribute paid by dependent monarchs. But the quantity obtained in this
way would hardly have sufficed to maintain the luxury of the court and
at the same time to accumulate, so that when Nineveh was taken there was
"none end" of the store. It has been suggested that "mines of gold were
probably once worked within the Assyrian dominions," although no gold is
now known to be produced anywhere within her limits. But perhaps it is
more probable that, like Judaea and Phoenicia, she obtained her gold in
a great measure from commerce, taking it either from the Phoenicians,
who derived it both from Arabia and from the West African coast, or else
from the Babylonians, who may have imported it by sea from India.

Tin, which has not been found in a pure state in the remains of the
Assyrians, but which enters regularly as an element into their bronze,
where it forms from one-tenth to one-seventh of the mass, was also,
probably, an importation. Tin is a comparatively rare metal. Abundant
enough in certain places, it is not diffused at all widely over the
earth's surface. Neither Assyria itself nor any of the neighboring
countries are known to have ever produced this mineral. Phoenicia
certainly imported it, directly or indirectly, from Cornwall and the
Scilly Isles, which therefore became first known in ancient geography as
the Cassiterides or "Tin Islands." It is a reasonable supposition that
the tin wherewith the Assyrians hardened their bronze was obtained by
their merchants from the Phoenicians in exchange for textile fabrics and
(it may be) other commodities. If so, we may believe that in many
instances the produce of our own tin mines which left our shores more
than twenty-five centuries ago, has, after twice travelling a distance
of many thousand miles, returned to seek a final rest in its native
country.

Ivory was used by the Assyrians extensively in their furniture, and was
probably supplied by them to the Phoenicians and the Greeks. It was no
doubt sometimes brought to them by subject nations as tribute; but this
source of supply is not sufficient to account, at once, for the
consumption in Assyria itself, and for the exports from Assyria to
foreign countries. A regular trade for ivory seems to have been carried
on from v