ABSTRACT

THE campaign is ended in Elam, but it continues in the land of Gambul, where the King Dunanu and Prince N abuzulli still resist the Assyrian armies. Gambul is one of the numerous small Aramean States which have established themselves at the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates, half in the marshes, half upon dry land. That portion of the population that lives upon dry ground is almost identical with the Chaldeans in language and customs.· They worship the same gods, obey the same laws, wear the same costume, and follow the same industries; yet the national character is affected by the vicinity of Elam, and is rougher and more warlike. On the other hand the inhabitants of the marshes are barbarians that live on the produce of fishing and hunting. Like the Delta of the Nile, that of the Tigris and Euphrates is ari immense plain, always being increased at the expense of the Bea by alluvial deposits. Where the soil is sufficiently raised above the usual level of the floods, cultivation has conquered, and wrests from it two good harvests every year. The cities, placed upon artificial mounds, are surrounded by evergreen gardens; date-trees and acacias grow along

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338 THE FLEET AND THE SIEGE OF A CITY.