g; it could be reached only by traversing miles
of arid and rocky plains, exposed to the rays of a burning sun, vast
extents of swamps and boggy pasture land, desolate wastes infested with
serpents and scorpions, and a mountain range of blackish lava known as
Khazu. It would have been folly to risk a march with the heavy Assyrian
infantry in the face of such obstacles. Esarhaddon probably selected for
the purpose a force composed of cavalry, chariots, and lightly equipped
foot-soldiers, and despatched them with orders to reach the Jauf by
forced marches through the Wady Hauran. The Arabs, who were totally
unprepared for such a movement, had not time to collect their forces;
eight of their chiefs were taken by surprise and killed one after
another--among them Kisu of Khaldili, Agbaru of Ilpiati, Mansaku of
Magalani,--and also some reigning queens. La, the King of Yadi, at first
took refuge in the mountains, but afterwards gave himself up to
the enemy, and journeyed as far as Nineveh to prostrate himself at
Esarhaddon's feet, who restored to him his gods and his crown, on the
usual condition of paying tribute. A vassal occupying a country so
remote and so difficult of access could not be supposed to preserve an
unbroken fidelity towards his suzerain, but he no longer ventured to
plunder the caravans which passed through his territory, and that in
reality was all that was expected of him.

Esarhaddon thus pursued a prudent and unadventurous policy in the
northern and eastern portions of his empire, maintaining a watchful
attitude towards the Cimmerians and Scythians in the north, carrying on
short defensive campaigns among the Medes in the east, preserving peace
with Elam, and making occasional flying raids in the south, rather from
the necessity for repressing troublesome border tribes than with any
idea of permanent conquest.

[Illustration: 137.jpg SHABITOKU, KING OF EGYPT]

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from Lepsius.

This policy must have been due to a presentiment of danger from the
side of Egypt, or to the inception of a great scheme for attacking the
reigning Pharaoh. After the defeat of his generals at Altaku, Shabitoku
had made no further attempt to take the offensive; his authority over
the feudal nobility of Egypt was so widely acknowledged that it causes
us no surprise to meet with his cartouches on more than one ruin between
Thebes and Memphis,* but his closing years were marred by misfortune.
There was th