s on this side of Susa, and there awaited the enemy's attack.*

* The site of Tulliz is unknown. Billerbock considers, and
with reason, I think, that the battle took place to the
south of Susa, on the river Shavur, which would correspond
to the Ulai, on the lowest spurs of the ridge of hills
bordering the alluvial plain of Susiana.

His position was a strong one, flanked on the right by a wood and on the
left by the Ulai, while the flower of the Elamite nobility was ranged
around him. The equipment of his soldiers was simpler than that of the
enemy: consisting of a low helmet, devoid of any crest, but furnished
with a large pendant tress of horsehair to shade the neck; a shield of
moderate dimensions; a small bow, which, however, was quite as deadly a
weapon as that of the Assyrians, when wielded by skilful hands; a lance,
a mace, and a dagger. He had only a small body of cavalry, but the
chariotry formed an important force, and presented several original
features. The chariot did not follow the classic model, rounded in front
and open at the back; it was a kind of light car, consisting of a square
footboard placed flat on the axle of the wheels, and furnished with
triangular side-pieces on two sides only, the vehicle being drawn by a
pair of horses. Such chariots were easier to manage, better adapted for
rapid motion, and must have been more convenient for a reconnaissance
or for skirmishes with infantry; but when thrown in a mass against
the heavy chariotry of the peoples of the Euphrates, they were far too
slightly built to overthrow the latter, and at close quarters were of
necessity crushed by the superior weight of the adversary.

[Illustration: 206.jpg ITUNI BREAKS HIS BOW WITH A BLOW OF HIS SWORD,
AND GIVES HIMSELF UP TO THE EXECUTIONER]

Drawn by Boudier, from a photograph taken from the original
in the British Museum.

[Illustration: 206b.jpg THE BATTLE OF TULLIZ]

Tiumman had not succeeded in collecting all his forces before the first
columns of the Assyrian army advanced to engage his front line, but
as he was expecting reinforcements, he endeavoured to gain time by
despatching Ituni, one of his generals, with orders to negotiate a
truce.

The Assyrian commander, suspecting a ruse, would not listen to any
proposals, but ordered the envoy to be decapitated on the spot: Ituni
broke his bow with a blow of his sword, and stoically yielded his
neck to the executioner. Th