ted, taken
prisoner, and flayed alive. His kingdom was annexed to the Assyrian
empire, Qarqar was burnt to the ground, the fortifications of Hamath
were demolished, and the city obliged to furnish a force of two hundred
charioteers and six hundred horsemen, probably recruited from among
the families of the upper classes, to serve as hostages as well as
auxiliaries. Arpad, Zimyra, Damascus, Samaria, all succumbed without
serious opposition, and the citizens who had been most seriously
compromised in the revolt paid for their disaffection with their lives.
This success confirmed the neighbouring states of Tyre, Sidon, Judah,
Ammon, and Moab in their allegiance, which had shown signs of wavering
since the commencement of hostilities; but Gaza remained unsubdued, and
caused the more uneasiness because it was perceived that behind her was
arrayed all the majesty of the Pharaoh. The Egyptians, slow to bestir
themselves, had not yet crossed the Isthmus when the Assyrians appeared
beneath the walls of Gaza: Hannon, worsted in a preliminary skirmish,
retreated on Raphia, where Shabe, the Egyptian general, had at length
arrived, and the decisive battle took place before this town. It was
the first time that the archers and charioteers of the Nile valley had
measured forces with the pikemen and cavalry of that of the Tigris;
the engagement was hotly contested, but the generals and soldiers of
Bocchoris, fighting according to antiquated methods of warfare, gave
way before the onset of the Assyrian ranks, who were better equipped and
better led. Shabe fled "like a shepherd whose sheep had been stolen,"
Hannon was taken prisoner and loaded with chains, and Raphia fell into
the hands of the conqueror; the inhabitants who survived the sack of
their city were driven into captivity to the number of 9033 men, with
their flocks and household goods. The manifest superiority of Assyria
was evident from the first encounter, but the contest had been so fierce
and the result so doubtful that Sargon did not consider it prudent to
press his advantage. He judged rightly that these troops, whom he
had not dispersed without considerable effort, constituted merely an
advanced guard. 4 Egypt was not like the petty kingdoms of Syria or Asia
Minor, which had but one army apiece, and could not risk more than one
pitched battle. Though Shabe's force was routed, others would not fail
to take its place and contend as fiercely for the possession of the
countr