u, while about the same time the strongholds
of Sukkia, Bala, and Abitikna, which were on the borders of Urartu,
broke the ties which had long bound them to Assyria, and concluded a
treaty of alliance with Rusas. Sargon was not deceived as to the meaning
of these events, and at once realised that this movement was not one of
those local agitations which broke out at intervals in one or other of
his provinces. His officers and spies must have kept him informed of the
machinations of Eusas and of the revolutions which the migrations of
the last thirty years had provoked among the peoples of the Iranian
table-land. A new race had arisen in their rear, that of the Cimmerians
and Scythians, which, issuing in irresistible waves from the gorges of
the Caucasus, threatened to overwhelm the whole ancient world of
the East. The stream, after a moment's vacillation, took a westerly
direction, and flooded Asia Minor from one end to the other. Some
tribes, however, which had detached themselves from the main movement
sought an outlet towards the south-east, on to the rich plains of the
Araxes and the country around Lake Urumiah. The native races, pressed in
the rear by these barbarians, and hemmed in on either side and in front
by Urartu and Assyria, were forced into closer proximity, and, conscious
of their individual weakness, had begun to form themselves into three
distinct groups, varying considerably in compactness,--the Medes in the
south, Misianda in the north, with Zikartu between them. Zikartu was
at that time the best organised of these nascent states, and its king,
Mitatti, was not deficient either in military talent or political
sagacity. The people over whom he ruled were, moreover, impregnated with
the civilisation of Mesopotamia, and by constantly meeting the Assyrians
in battle they had adopted the general principles of their equipment,
organisation, and military tactics. The vigour of his soldiers and the
warlike ardour which inspired them rendered his armies formidable even
to leaders as experienced, and warriors as hardened, as the officers
and soldiers of Nineveh. Mitatti had strongly garrisoned the two rebel
cities, and trusted that if the Assyrians were unable to recapture them
without delay, other towns would not be long in following their example;
Iranzu would, no doubt, be expelled, his place would be taken by a
hostile chief, and the Mannai, joining hands with Urartu on the right
and Zikartu on the left, woul