Page:Discovery and Decipherment of the Trilingual Cuneiform Inscriptions.djvu/437

408 great work of liayard was quickly followed by a popular edition, and was translated into German. Curiosity was stimulated by the appearance, in 1853, of an account of the results of fartlier exj)lorations. Whether the new learniniif would tend to confirm the ancient records or wliether it would compel a revision of cherished beliefs l)cgan to Ije dcl)ated in many quarters, far l)eyond the cinde of learned societies.

An a(*count of the progress subsequently made in the knowledge of the Assyrian lanaiuiire lies beyond the scope of our present work. It was indeed a happy accident that the power of reading Assyrian should have Ijeen acquired just as a countless number of inscriptions in that language were brought to light. Excavations contiimed at Nineveh and elsewhere under the direction of Mr. Layard durinir the winters of 1840 and 1850; and hi the autnnui of 1851, Colonel Raw- linson returned to Haiidad. lie was charged with the general supervision of the work, while Mr. Hormuzd Uassam assununl the pi*actical direction in the field, rarlianient sanctioned a grant of tliree thousand pounds, and many large sums were contributed by private indi\iduals, including five hundred pounds from Lord tlohn I\ussell.^ Soon aft(M-, Rassam discovered the famous inscription of Tiglath Pelescr, which aflbrded the earliest glimpse into a long-foigotten history. In it the o'enealoi>T of the Assyrian kiims was traced back to the fourteenth century u.c., and the names of no less than twenty-five sovereiuiis were recorded.- The inscription itself was written at a time when Assur was still the capital of the kingdom and Xineveh was too unimportant to be mentioned, liawlinsoii was surprised to find that the language was more ])olislicd then than at a later time, and he was obliged to admit that

^ Memoir, \). ]7l>. - Ih. ]). ISI.