ASSYRIA (as's'yei-a). We must here distin guish between the country of Assyria and the As syrian emftire. (Heb. ash-shoor', or ash shoor'), the name of a country, the people being also described by the same term, only that in the latter sense it is masculine, in the former, femi nine. In the Septuagint it is commonly rendered by Assour, or Assurious, and in the Vulgate by Assur and Assyrii, and seldom or never by As suria, or Assyria.
1. Name. The biblical derivation of the name seems to be from Asshur, son of Shem (Gen. x:22; i Citron. i:17).
The recovery of the monuments of ancient Nin eveh, once the capital of Assyria (Gen. x:t t), and the translation of their inscriptions, have thrown new and confirmatory light on scriptural state ments and made the history of Assyria and its people of intense interest to Bible students.
Assyria, or the land of Assur, took its name from the city of Assur, 'water boundary,' which was the capital of a once small district on the west bank of the Tigris river between the greater arid lesser Zab. This name, as well as Sar, the god who represented the firmament, became somewhat changed by the Semitic Assyrians and the two names took the form of the word that meant 'gracious;' so that Assur became the divine personification of the power and constitution of Assyria, and at the same time he was also the 'gracious' divinity, and the primeval firmament of heaven.
2. General Physical Features. The coun try within these limits is of a varied character. On the north and east the high mountain chains of Armenia and Kurdistan are succeeded by low ranges of limestone hills of a somewhat arid aspect, which detach themselves from the principal ridges, running parallel to them, and occasionally enclos ing between their northern or northeastern flank and the main mountain line rich plains and fertile valleys. To these ridges there succeeds at first an undulating zone of country, well watered and fairly productive, which finally sinks down with some suddenness upon the great Mesopotamian plain, the modern district of El-Jezireh. This vast flat, which extends in length for 25o miles, from the latitude of Mardin (37 deg. 20 min.) to that of Tekrit (34 deg. 33 min.), and which is, in places, of nearly equal width, is interrupted only by a single limestone range—a narrow ridge, rising abruptly out of the plain; which, splitting off from Zagros in lat. 33 deg. 3o min. may be traced under the names of Sarazdr, Ilamrin, and Sinjar, from Iwan in Luristan nearly to Rakkah on the Eu phrates. "From all parts of the plain the Sinjar is a beautiful object. Its limestone rocks, wooded here and there with dwarf oak, are of a rich gold en color; and the numberless ravines which fur row its sides form ribs of deep purple shadow" (Layard, Nineveh and Babylon, p. 265). Above and below this barrier, stretching southward and westward further than the eye can reach, and ex tending northward and eastward 7o or So miles to the hill-country before mentioned, is an immense level tract, now for the most part a wilderness, scantily watered on the right bank of the Tigris, but abundantly supplied on the left, which bears marks of having been in early times throughout well cultivated and thickly peopled. This plain
is not alluvial, and most parts of it are even con siderably raised above the level of the rivers. It is i covered in springtime with the richest vegetation, presenting to the eye a carpet of flowers, varying in hue from day to day; but as the summer advances it is parched up, and gradually changes to an arid and yellow waste, except along the courses of the rivers. All over this vast flat, on both sides of the Tigris, rise "grass-covered heaps, marking the site of ancient habitations" (Layard, p. 245; Smith, Bib. Diet.) 3. Climate. The proximity of hills and moun tains materially affected the climate, which was in general cooler than that of Babylonia. It is, how ever, impossible to secure any definite information sufficiently comprehensive for a general view of the climate. The ancient inhabitants, who wrote so much concerning their lives, kept no records of temperature, and in modern times the passing I traveler has only noted the temperature at rregu lar intervals. From the records it appears that the average maximum temperature indoors in Bagdad during June and July is to7 deg. Fahren heit, while it sometimes goes up as high as 120 deg. or 122 deg. This average (ro7 deg.) seems now also to be reached in Assyria, at least along the river Tigris, in the neighborhood of the modern town of Mosul. There is littie doubt, however, that this is higher than the regular temperature in. ancient times, for the failure of the extensive sys tem of irrigation, the encroachment of the desert sands, and the denudation of forests have all con spired to change the climate. (Barnes' Bib. Diet.) 4. Fauna. The fauna was formerly far more varied than it is to-day, as the pictures on the monuments and the statements in the inscriptions prove beyond the possibility of doubt. In addi tion to hares, roes, stags, and mountain goats, lions and wild oxen (rimu, Heb. re'em) were found in great numbers—the former in the tall reed plantations on the banks of the Tigris, the latter in the mountain districts, the happy hunt ing-grounds of the Assyrians. Magnificent horses—the famous Assyrian chargers, which were probably of the Medo-Elamite type—and cattle, goats, and sheep pastured on the slopes; while wild asses and camels are known only in latter times, through the Assyrian incursions into the Syro-Arabian desert. The culture of bees was also actively carried on. Of domestic affi mals, the dog may be mentioned; of wild beasts, the panther, the wolf, the bear, and some others.