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Show Thefirfi Bookeafthe fritpart Cuar.s.Gn 6. X11 That Chedorlaomerthe chiefé ofthefoure Kings was not of Alfyria,bat of Perfia: and that the A/fyrian Empire at this time was much inipayred. Aftly,whereasit is conceiued that Chedorlaomer was the A//yrian nee: and that Amraphel was buta Satrape, Viceroy, or Prowinciall gouctnour of abylonia, and that the other Kings named were fuch alfo, I cannot agi ce wit h Perérius in this.For Me/és was too well acquainted with the names of A//ar and reer' call the Affjrian 4 king of E/am:thofe kings being in the Scriptures euermore cae dbythe name of Chaldes,Shinaar,Babylonis,or Afyria : but neuer by Elam; and Chedorlaomer or Ke-10 darlaomer wasfo called of Kidor, from Cidarim which in the Hebrewfigh ifie th kegale: for fo 2.Curtiwe calleth the garment which the Perfiae Kings wareoni their heads. Neither doe I beleeue that the .4//yrian or Babyloxian Empire {tood in anygreatnelle at the time of this inuafion;and myreafons are thefe: Firft, exampleandexperience teachvs,that thofe thiggs which are fetvp haftily,or forced violently,do pot long laf. Alexander became Lordofall Afia,gnthis fide of Jvdus, ina timeoffo fhorta life, asit Cuars§.u. and engins ofwarre,at the fame time loft;gaue an occafion and opportunitie euen to the pooreft foules and weakeft hearted creatures of the World;td repurchafe their for metlibertie. ae oe Secondly,it is affirmed by the beft and ancienteft Hiftorians, thar "rid the fonneok Ninias,or tAmraphelsnuaded the Ballrians and Ca/pians, and againe fabiected then: which needed not ifthey had not bin reuolted from Nisies, after Ninws death, And as Ariech recouered one part,fo did Baleus or Balaneusotherwife Xerxes,reduce the reft reuoltedtotheir former obedience. Ofwhom itis faidthat he conquered from Egypt to India: and therefore was called Xerxes, id eff, Victor c trinmphator, aconquerour and triampherwhich vndertakings had beeneno otherthanthe effets of madneffe,had not thofe Countries freed them{elues from the Babylonian {ubiection. Nowdf we fhall make any doubt hereof,thatis,ofthe reconqueft of Arius and Xerxes, both which liuedafter Ninus and Ninias,we may as wellthinke the reft of Nivusand Semiramis to be butfajned: butifwe grant this reconqueft,thenis it true that while wizizs or Amnraphelruled; the Affjrien Empire was torneafunder, according to that which hathbin gathered out of Afofes as before remembred, lafted not to ouer-looke whatit felf® had broughtforth.His fortunes werd violent, but not perpetual. Forhis Empire died at once with himfelfe: all whofe chicfe-Commanders became kings after him. Tamberlaine conquered Afi and India witha ftorme-like 20 and terrible fuccefle : but to preualent furie God hath adioyneda fhort life: id whatfoeuer things Nature her felfe workethin hafte,the taketh the leaft care of theircontitiuance. The fruit of his vitories perifhed with him,ifnot before. : Niawsbeing thefirft whom the madneffe ofboundleffe dominion tranfported ,inuaded his neighbourPrinces,and became viGtorious ouerthem : amanviolent, infolent, and cruell.Seiyamis taking the opportunitie,and being more proud, aduct iturous, and ambitious,than her Parameour:enlarged the Babylonian Eropire,& beautified many places therein with buildings vnexampled.Buther fonne hauing changed Nature and Cond tion with his Mother, proued noleffe femininethan fhe was mafculine. And as wounds 3 and wrongs,by their continual! {mart, putthe Patient in mindé howto cure the one, teuenge the other: fo thofe Kings adioyning/whofe fubiection, & calamities incident, Were but new,and therefore the moré gticuious ) cotild:not fleepe, when the aduantage wasoffered by fuch afucceffour. For,iz regno Babylonico hicparuwerefpleduit, this King fhined littlefaith Nauclerus of Ninias) in the Babylosian Kingdome. And likelyit is that the neckes ofmortall men hauing beene neuer before galled with the yoake of fortaile dominion, nor hauing euer had experience ofthat mot miferableand detefted condi tion ofliving in flauerie: no long defcent hauing as yet inuefted the Affyrian with 4 §. XIII. That it is not unprobable that thefoure Kings had no dominion in the Countries named, but 20 that they bad elfe-where with their colonics planted the wafelues:andfaretained th BABES. ofthe Couutries whence they came : whichif it befo,we neede notfaythat Amra phel was Ninias,zor trouble ourfelues with manyotherdifficulties. He confent ofall writers,whofe workes hare coine to myperufall, agreeing as they doe,that thefe foure Kings, 4mraphel of Shinaar,Chedorlaomer ofK/am,and thofe fellowes,were Lords ofthofe Regions,whereunto they are or feeme inti. tuled:doth almoft inforce vs to thinke that the hiftory mutt fo'be vnderftood,as I haue deliuered.But if in this place,as often elfe-wherein the Scriptures,the names of Coun= tries may be fet for people ofthofelands,or if(as Hier ome hath it)chedorleomer was king: o ofthe Elemites,as Tidal was faid to be ofthe Nations,that is,ofpeopleeither wantinga fixed habitation,or gathered out of fundry regions : then may we otherwife conceine ofthis Hiftorie : remouing thereby fome difficulties which; men perhaps haue bia vyn= willing to find, becaufe they could notfind howto refoluethem:: ‘Foras ithad bina ittange coniecture to thinke that Aviech was dtawneto aflit the Perfianjagainft the Sedo: miteas far as from Poutaswhereit is veryvnlikely that Chedorlaomer was knowne, and almoft impoffible thatthe vale ofSiddiv fhould haue bin oncenamed: fo in true eftii mationitis athing ofgreat improbabilitie,that Chedorlaomer,if he were King of Perfia right : nor any othertitle being for him pretended thana {trong hand : the foolifh aa alone,fhouldpaffe throughfo great a part of the World, as the Countries of Affyria; Princes and Nationshis vaflals,witha powerleffe maftering,and a minde leffe induftt'-4" ous thanhis Father and Motherhad vied before him. And heethat was fo muchgiuel fe very names how they fhould come tohis eare, being dif-ioynd by fo many great ‘nationsofdifferent languages,a wife man could hardly conie@ure. And ifall the Count greatelt part after he came to mans éftate:witneffed thereby to the World, that hee fo & that of Tida/,fo far off remoued, were become his dependants;what reafoncan we effeminate fonne ofa tyrannous and hated Father, could veryill hold fo many gte# Suerto licéntious idleneffesas to fuffer his Mother to reigne 42.yeares,and thereofthe muchprefered café before honour,& bodily pleafures before preatnefie,as tie neithet indeuoured to gaine what he,could not goucrne,nor to keepe what hee could not with: out contentious perill enioy: ; Thee Confiderations being ioyned to the forie of Amrapheldeliuered by 40/5"), Which we find that Amraphel King ofShinaar was rather an inféifour to the King. Strab.dis, 195 of the Hiflorieofthe World, Perfia,than citherhis faperiour,or equal,‘ makeit feeme probable, that rhe Empl oo Winns and Semiramis was at that time broken afunders& reftrained againe to Babylon| Foxconclifion IT williadde thefe two arguinents Confirming the former: Firft;that fuch time as it pleafed'Godto impofe'that great trauaile-vpon Abrabam,from Vr incH" deato Charrangandthen to Canaan,a paflage of 708.miles, orlittle leffe, with woes children;and carriages:the Countries th fough which he wandred werethen fetled ane in peace. Forit wasin the 23-yeereofNixias,when Abraham obeying the voycé ofC° tooke this great iourneyin hand: in which time of2 3-Yeares afterthe death of 5 vamis.the neighbourPrinces had recouered their libertie and forme ) rans Armic offoure millions,withthe¢felfe vtterly confumed in sediz. bald. Mefopotamia, Syriajand part ofArabia,and Cazaan,to fubdue thofe fiue Townes tries bordering Perfiatogether with the Babylonian himfelf,yea the kingdome ofElla/ay findthat might haue induced himto Hearken after Sodowse and Gomorrah? and when hee fhould have foughtthe eftablifhment of his newgotten Empire, by rooting out the po» {terity of Ninu(asNinwhad dealt by Pharausot Media,and Zoroafter of Batiriathen to imploythe forces of Amraphel,& thofe other Kings,againftfiue pettie Townes, leauing Tyres and Sidon,&& the great Citie of Dawma/co,with manyotherplaces of much impor tauice,and far neerer vnto him,vnfubdued? Nowas thefe doubts which maybe allead: 50 ged againft the [firft conqueft of the vale ofsiddim, are exceeding vehement : foare the obieétions to be made againtt his reconqueft ofthefefiue Cities, when theyhadre- uolted,as forcible;yea and more,as being groundedpartly vpon the Textit felfes «For firft,what madnefle hadit beene in that {mallProsincetorebell againft fo powerfull'a Monarch: Or ifit were fo that they dwelling farre from himp,hopedratherto be forgot. ten,than that he fhould'come 6r fend to reclaime them : was it not more than madneffe in themwhen his terrible armie approached, ftillto entertaine hope ofeuafion:yea to makerefiftance(being themfelues a diffolute & therefore vnwarlike people) againft the power ofall the Nations betweente Exphrates,yea betweenethemfelues and theriuerof dn die |