defiance ancient laws by seizing private estates and
transferring them to his Chaldaean kinsmen. He still received the
active support of Elam.

Sargon's first move was to interpose his army between those of the
Babylonians and Elamites. Pushing southward, he subdued the Aramaeans
on the eastern banks of the Tigris, and drove the Elamites into the
mountains. Then he invaded middle Babylonia from the east. Merodach
Baladan hastily evacuated Babylon, and, moving southward, succeeded in
evading Sargon's army. Finding Elam was unable to help him, he took
refuge in the Chaldaean capital, Bit Jakin, in southern Babylonia.

Sargon was visited by the priests of Babylon and Borsippa, and hailed
as the saviour of the ancient kingdom. He was afterwards proclaimed
king at E-sagila, where he "took the hands of Bel". Then having
expelled the Aramaeans from Sippar, he hastened southward, attacked
Bit Jakin and captured it. Merodach Baladan escaped into Elam. The
whole of Chaldaea was subdued.

Thus "Sargon the Later" entered at length into full possession of the
empire of Sargon of Akkad. In Babylonia he posed as an incarnation of
his ancient namesake, and had similarly Messianic pretensions which
were no doubt inspired by the Babylonian priesthood. Under him Assyria
attained its highest degree of splendour.

He recorded proudly not only his great conquests but also his works of
public utility: he restored ancient cities, irrigated vast tracts of
country, fostered trade, and promoted the industries. Like the pious
Pharaohs of Egypt he boasted that he fed the hungry and protected the
weak against the strong.

Sargon found time during his strenuous career as a conqueror to lay
out and build a new city, called Dur-Sharrukin, "the burgh of Sargon",
to the north of Nineveh. It was completed before he undertook the
Babylonian campaign. The new palace was occupied in 708 B.C. Previous
to that period he had resided principally at Kalkhi, in the restored
palace of Ashur-natsir-pal III.

He was a worshipper of many gods. Although he claimed to have restored
the supremacy of Asshur "which had come to an end", he not only adored
Ashur but also revived the ancient triad of Anu, Bel, and Ea, and
fostered the growth of the immemorial "mother-cult" of Ishtar. Before
he died he appointed one of his sons, Sennacherib, viceroy of the
northern portion of the empire. He was either assassinated at a
military review or in some frontier war. As much i