NAR-MARRATUM IN THE TIME OF SENNACHERIB]

Sennacherib decided to march his force to the mouth of the Euphrates,
and, embarking it there, to bring it to bear suddenly on the portion
of Elamite territory nearest to Nagitu: if all went well, he would thus
have time to crush the rising power of Merodach-baladan and regain his
own port of departure before Khalludush could muster a sufficient army
to render efficient succour to his vassal.

More than a year was consumed in preparations. The united cities of
Chaldaea being unable to furnish the transports required to convey such
a large host across the Nar-Marratum, it was necessary to construct
a fleet, and to do so in such a way that the enemy should have no
suspicion of danger. Sennacherib accordingly set up his dockyards at
Tul-barsip on the Euphrates and at Nineveh on the Tigris, and Syrian
shipwrights built him a fleet of vessels after two distinct types.
Some were galleys identical in build and equipment with those which the
Mediterranean natives used for their traffic with distant lands. The
others followed the old Babylonian model, with stem and stern both
raised, the bows being sometimes distinguished by the carving of a
horse's head, which justified the name of _sea-horse_ given to a vessel
of this kind. They had no masts, but propelling power was provided
by two banks of oars one above the other, as in the galleys. The two
divisions of the fleet were ready at the beginning of 694 B.C., and
it was arranged that they should meet at Bit-Dakkuri, to the south of
Babylon.

[Illustration: 049.jpg THE FLEET OF SENNACHERIB ON THE NAR-MARRATUM]

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from Layard.

The fleet from Tul-barsip had merely to descend the Euphrates to reach
the meeting-place,* but that from Nineveh had to make a more complicated
journey.

* The story of the preparations, as it has been transmitted
to us in Sennacherib's inscriptions, is curiously similar to
the accounts given by the Greek historians of the vessels
Alexander had built at Babylon and Thap-sacus by Phoenician
workmen, which descended the Euphrates to join the fleet in
the Persian Gulf. This fleet consisted of quinquiremos,
according to Aristobulus, who was present at their
construction: Quintus-Curtius makes them all vessels with
seven banks of oars, but he evidently confuses the galleys
built at Thapsacus with those which came in sections from
Ph