doubt, he had left it as an offering in one
of the temples. He was succeeded by Shalmanuasharid,* better known to
us as Shalmaneser I., one of the most powerful sovereigns of this heroic
age of Assyrian history.

[Illustration: 155.jpg THE SABRE OF RAMMAN-NIRARI]

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from the sketch published in the
_Transactions_ of the Bibl. Arch. Soc.

His reign seems to have been one continuous war against the various
races then in a state of ferment on the frontiers of his kingdom. He
appears in the main to have met with success, and in a few years had
doubled the extent of his dominions.* His most formidable attacks were
directed against the Aramaeans** of Mount Masios, whose numerous tribes
had advanced on one side till they had crossed the Tigris, while on the
other they had pushed beyond the river Balikh, and had probably reached
the Euphrates.***

* Shalmanu-asharid, or Shulmanu-asharid, signifies "the god
Shulmanu (Shalmanu) is prince," as Pinches was the first to
point out.

** Some of the details of these campaigns have been
preserved on the much-mutilated obelisk of Assur-nazir-pal.
This was a compilation taken from the Annals of Assyria to
celebrate the important acts of the king's ancestors. The
events recorded in the third column were at first attributed
to the reign of Tiglath-pileser I.; Fr. Delitzsch was the
first to recognise that they could be referred to the reign
of this Shalmaneser, and his opinion is now admitted by most
of the Assyriologists who have studied the question.

*** The identity of the Arami (written also Armaya, Arumi,
Arimi) with the Aramoans, admitted by the earlier Kammin-
nikabi Assyriologists.

He captured their towns one after another, razed their fortresses, smote
the agricultural districts with fire and sword, and then turned upon the
various peoples who had espoused their cause--the Kirkhu, the Euri, the
Kharrin,* and the Muzri, who inhabited the territory between the basins
of the two great rivers;** once, indeed, he even crossed the Euphrates
and ventured within the country of Khanigalbat, a feat which his
ancestors had never even attempted.***

* The people of the country of Kilkhi, or Kirkhi, the
Kurkhi, occupied the region between the Tigris at Diarbekir
and the mountains overlooking the lake of Urumiah. The
position of the Ruri is not known, but it