dea into Mefopotamia, into Canaan, Philiftia, and Egypt; the prophane Writers fpeaking of him under the Name of Chronus fay he travelled over the whole World (t): thus the Egyptians might record of Sefoftris, that he conquered the whole World; and the Hiftorians that took the hints of what they wrote from them, might, to embellifh their Hiftory, give us what they thought the most confiderable parts of the World, and thereby magnify the Conquefts of Sefoftris far above the Truth But Herodotus feems in this Point to have been more careful: He examined Particulars, and according to the utmost of what he could find, none of the Victories of this Egyptian Conqueror reached to any of the Nations fubject to the Affyrians. But Sir Isaac Newton mentions Memnon as another Egyptian Conqueror, who poffeffed Chaldea, Affyria, Media, Perfia and Bactria, &c. fo that it may be thought that fome Succeffor of Sefoftris (for before him the Egyptians had no Conquerors) fubdued and reigned over these Countries. I shall therefore, 3. give a fhort Abftract of the Egyptian Affairs from Sefac, until Nebuchadneffar took intirely away from them all their Acquifitions in Afia. At the Death of Sefac the Egyptian Power funk at once, and they loft all the foreign Nations which Sefac had conquered. Herodotus informs us, that Sefoftris was the only King of Egypt that reigned over the Ethiopians (u), and agreeably hereto we find that when Afa was King of Judah, about A. M. 3063 (w), about 30 Years after Sefoftris or Sefac's Conquefts, the Ethiopians (x) were not only free from their Subjection to the Egyptians, but were grown up

(t) See Eufeb Præp. Evang. 1. 1. c. 10.

(u) Herodot. 1. 2. C. 110. (w) Uther's Chronol. (x) Hebrew Word is the Cufhites, it should have been tranflated the Arabians, See Vol. I. B. 3. p. 166.

into a ftate of great Power, for Zerab their King invaded Judea with an Hoft of a thousand thousand, and three hundred Chariots (y). Our great Author fays, that Ethiopia ferved Egypt until the Death of Sefoftris and no longer, that at the Death of Sefoftris Egypt fell into Civil Wars, and was invaded by the Libyans, and defended by the Ethiopians for fome Time, but that in about ten Years the Ethiopians invaded the Egyptians, flew their King and feized his Kingdom (z). It is certain, that the Egyptian Empire was at this Time demolished: The Ethiopians were free from it, and if we look into Palestine we fhall not find Reason to imagine that the Egyptians had the fervice of any Nation there, from this Time for many Years. Afa King of Judah and Baafha King of Ifrael had neither of them any dependence upon Egypt, when they warred against (a) one another, and Syria was in a flourishing and independent ftate, when Afa fought an Alliance with Benhadad: About A. M. 3116, about 83 Years after Sefac, we find Egypt ftill in a low ftate, the Philistines were independent of them; for they joined with the Arabians and diftreffed Jehoram (b). About 117

Years after Sefac, when the Syrians befieged Samaria (c), it may be thought that the Egyptians were growing powerful again; for the Syrians raifed their Siege, upon a Rumour that the King of Ifrael had hired the Kings of the Hittites and of the Egyptians to come upon them (d). The - Egyptians were perhaps by this Time getting out of their Difficulties; but they were not yet grown very formidable, for the Syrians were not terrified at the Apprehenfion of the Egyptian Power, but of the Kings of the Hittites and of

1

the Egyptians joined together. From this Time the Egyptians began to rife again, and when Sennacherib fent Rabfbekah against Jerusalem (e) about A. M. 3292, the King of Ifrael thought an Alliance with Egypt might have been fufficient to protect him against the Affyrian Invasions (ƒ); but the King of Affyria made war upon the Egyptians, and rendred them a bruised Reed (g), not able to affift their Allies, and greatly brake and reduced their Power (b); fo that whatever the Empire of Egypt was in thofe Days, there was an Affyrian Empire now ftanding able to check it. In the Days of Jofiah, about A. M. 3394, the Egyptian Empire was revived again. Necho King of Egypt went and fought against Carchemish by Euphrates (i), and in his return to Egypt put down Jeboabaz, who was made King in Jerufalem upon Jofiah's Death, and condemned the Land of the Jews to pay him a Tribute, and carried Jeboabaz Captive into Egypt, and made Eliakim, whom he named Jehoiakim, King over Judah and Jerufalem (a). But here we meet a final Period put to all the Egyptian Victories; for Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon came up against Jehoiakim, and bound him in Fetters, and carried him to Babylon, and made Zedekiah his Brother King over Judab and Jerufalem (b), and the King of Babylon took from the River of Egypt unto the River Euphrates all that pertained to the King of Egypt, and the King of Egypt came not again any more out of his own Land (c). Whatever the Empire of Egypt over any Parts of Afia had been, here it ended, about A. M. 3399 (d), about 366 Years after its first Rife under Sefac: Its neareft Ap

(e) 2 Kings xviii.

(f) Prideaux Connect. Vol. I. (g) 2 Kings xviii. 21. (b) Prideaux ubi fup. xxiii. 29. 2 Chron. xxxv. 20. (i) 2 Kings (a) z Chron. xxxvi. 3, 4.

(b) 2 Chron.xxxvi. 10. (c) 2 Kings xxiv. 7. (d) Ufher's Annal.

proach

proach upon the Dominions of Ayria appears to have been the taking of Carchemish, but even here it went not over the Euphrates; however upon this Approach, Nebuchadnezzar faw the neceffity of reducing it, and in a few Years War ftripped it intirely of all its Acquifitions. This is the Hiftory of the Empire of the Egyptians, and I fubmit it the Reader, whether any Argument can be formed from it against the Being of the ancient Empire of the Affyrians.

5. Sir Ifaac Newton contends, that there was no ancient Affyrian Empire, because the Kingdoms of Ifrael, Moab, Ammon, Edom, Philiftia, Zidon, Damafcus, and Hamath were not any of them fubject to the Affyrians until the Days of Pul (e). I anfwer: The Prophane Hiftorians have indeed reprefented this Affyrian Empire to be of far larger Extent, than it really was. They fay that Ninus conquered Afia, which might more eafily be admitted, if they would take care to describe Afia fuch as it was, when he conquered it. It does not appear that he conquered all this Quarter of the World; however, as he fubdued most of the Kingdoms, that were then in it, he might in the general be faid to have conquered Afia. All the Writers that have contended for this Empire, agree that Ninus and Semiramis were the Founders of it (f), and they are farther una nimous that the Succeffors of Semiramis did not make any confiderable Attempts to enlarge the Empire, beyond what the and Ninus had made it (g); Semiramis employed her Armies in the Eastern Countries (b), fo that we have no Reason to think that this Empire extended Weftward any,

(e) Newton's Chronol. p. 269. (f) Diodor. Sic. 1 2. Juftin 1. 1. (g) Id. ibid. what Justin fays of Ninyas may be applied to bis Succeffors for many Generations, contenti a Parentibus elaborato Imperio belli ftudia depofuerunt. (b) Id. ibid.

or

or but little, farther than Ninus carried it. We read indeed that the King of Elam-had the five Cities on the Borders of Canaan 1ubject to him (i); but upon Abraham's defeating his Army, he loft them, and never recovered them again: But I would obferve, that even whilft he had the Dominion of thefe Cities, in the full ftretch of his Empire, it did not reach to the Kingdoms of Ifrael, or which then were the Kingdoms of Canaan; for he never came any farther, than to the five Cities; neither was he Mafter of Philistia, for that was farther Weftward; nor does he appear to have come near to Sidon. As to the other Kingdoms, mentioned by our learned Author, namely, the Kingdoms of Moab, Ammon, Edom, Damafcus, and Hamath, they were not in Being in these Times. Moab and Ammon were the Sons of Lot, and they were not born until after the Deftruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (k), and the Countries which were planted by them and their Defcendents could not be planted by them until many Years after this Time. The Emims dwelt in these Countries in thefe Days (1), and Chedor laomer fubdued them (m); but as he loft all these Countries upon Abraham's routing his Forces, fo I do not apprehend that he ever recovered them again: The Emims after this lived unmolefted, until in After-Times the Children of Lot conquered them, and got the Poffeffion of their Country (2), and at that Time the Affyrians had nothing to do in thefe Parts. The fame is to be faid of Edom: The Horites were the ancient Inhabitants of this Land (0), and Chedorlaomer fmote them in their Mount Seir, (p); but as he loft his Dominion over thefe Nations, fo the Horites or.

(i) Gen. xiv. (m) Gen. xiv. 5.

ii. 12.

(k) Gen. xix. 37, 38. (1) Deut. ii. 10. (n) Deut. ii. 9. Gen. xix. 37, 38. (•) Deut. (p) Gen. xiv. 6.