in the empire by his magnanimous treatment of
rebel kings who had been intimidated by their neighbours and forced to
entwine themselves in the meshes of intrigue. His wars were directed
mainly to secure the protection of outlying provinces against
aggressive raiders.

The monarch was strongly influenced by his mother, Naki'a, a
Babylonian princess who appears to have been as distinguished a lady
as the famous Sammu-rammat. Indeed, it is possible that traditions
regarding her contributed to the Semiramis legends. But it was not
only due to her that Esarhaddon espoused the cause of the
pro-Babylonian party. He appears to be identical with the Axerdes of
Berosus, who ruled over the southern kingdom for eight years.
Apparently he had been appointed governor by Sennacherib after the
destruction of Babylon, and it may be that during his term of office
in Babylonia he was attracted by its ethical ideals, and developed
those traits of character which distinguished him from his father and
grandfather. He married a Babylonian princess, and one of his sons,
Shamash-shum-ukin, was born in a Babylonian palace, probably at
Sippar. He was a worshipper of the mother goddess Ishtar of Nineveh
and Ishtar of Arbela, and of Shamash, as well as of the national god
Ashur.

As soon as Esarhaddon came to the throne he undertook the restoration
of Babylon, to which many of the inhabitants were drifting back. In
three years the city resumed its pre-eminent position as a trading and
industrial centre. Withal, he won the hearts of the natives by
expelling Chaldaeans from the private estates which they had seized
during the Merodach-Baladan regime, and restoring them to the rightful
heirs.

A Chaldaean revolt was inevitable. Two of Merodach Baladan's sons gave
trouble in the south, but were routed in battle. One fled to Elam,
where he was assassinated; the other sued for peace, and was accepted
by the diplomatic Esarhaddon as a vassal king.

Egypt was intriguing in the west. Its Ethiopian king, Taharka (the
Biblical Tirhakah) had stirred up Hezekiah to revolt during
Sennacherib's reign. An Assyrian ambassador who had visited Jerusalem
"heard say concerning Tirhakah.... He sent messengers to Hezekiah
saying.... Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee
saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of
Assyria. Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done
to all lands by destroying them utterly; and sha