by wild Beasts than Men. A little after began the Egyptian Dynasties which were in number four the Theban Thinitican Memphitican and Tanitican Dynasties whose respective Metropolitan Cities were Thebes This and Memphis in the Higher Egypt and Tanis seated in that part of the Country called the Lower Egypt but the first that seems to have possest all Egypt was Menes the first King in each Dynasty He seems to have been the same with Cham Noah's Son Sir John Marsham has a Catalogue of his Successors Sec. 1. and onwards who is to be consulted with concerning the Antiquities of Egypt About these times Fohi seems to have flourished as first Emperor of China though their Calculation exceeds that of the Hebrews which we follow and doth better accord with the Greek of the Septuagint but wherein the error lies who can tell See Is Vossius de Aetate Mundi The Kingdom of Scicyone in the Peloponnesus is thought to have had its beginning not long after whereof Aegialeus was the first King who is placed by Chronologers about these times See Petavius Arts seemed to have flourished about the end of this Period and Architecture was now first known because certain Pyramids of a Stupendious bigness and height are thought to have been built at this time in Egypt but seeing the beginning of all Ancient History commences here we have commonly no more than the Names of Kings and Patriarchs and Fables beyond At this very time Idolatry seems to have sprung up in the World seeing before now all Mankind worshipped one only God And this was the Original thereof Men knew that there were certain separate Essences which were called Angels besides the Supream God whom the Almighty sent as his Legates or Embassadors and if I may say so as it were lesser Gods unto Men. These Mankind at first worshipped as Gods Embassadors as we see the Hebrews themselves held them in great Reverence But when they once fell into that Notion that the Supream God committed Empires Cities and Families to the care of these lesser ones they grew by degrees almost forgetful of the Supream Deity and shewed that Reverence to those lesser Gods that was due to him alone Then they fell into an opinion that the Souls of Excellent Men after their decease were admitted into the Order of those lesser Deities and hence it came to pass that Deceased Kings were worshipped as if they had been taken into the number of the Gods All which however did not hinder but that that Ancient and True Opinion still Survived amongst most Nations that there was a Supream God and that it was upon him alone that the rest of the Inferior Deities had their dependance Moreover because Angels sometimes delivered Oracles in Statues as John Spencer concerning Urim and Thummin prettily conjectures the Heathens erected Statues to their Gods And it should seem afterwards to have come to pass that when both the Worship and Manners of the Gentiles displeased the Angels of Light because they saw many put them up in the place of the Creator they forsook them and the Angels of Darkness succeeded in their places whence the Scripture says the Heathens worshipped Devils not that the Heathens did believe they adored Evil Spirits which we call Devils but because their Temples and Statues were only inhabited by Devils But the discussion of these things require a larger Volume The Calling of Abraham The Third EPOCH From Abraham's Calling to the Law given by Moses are 431 years which makes up The Third PERIOD The year of the World The year before Christ 2022. 1962. IDolatry being now grown prevalent in the World God was pleased to make choice of some Family from among the rest of Mankind wherein the Knowledge and Worship of one only Supream God might be kept up and therefore he called Abraham one of the Posterity of Sem out of Ur of the Chaldees and commanded him to go into the Land of Canaan where he made himself oftner and more clearly known unto him by the Ministry of Angels and especially gave him that Signal promise that it should some time come to pass that one of his Posterity should bring the Blessings of Heaven unto all Nations A little after the coming of Abraham into the Land of Canaan as there were several petty Kings both on this and the other side of the Euphrates there hapned to be a War between them as you have it in Gen. 14. where mention is made of Amraphael King of Sinaar or Babylon not as King of all Asia as is commonly thought the Kings of Babylon then were but as the Companion of Kedorlaomer King of Elam who was much more Potent as having certain Kings in the Land of Palaestine that were his Subjects And here is an Invincible Argument for the overthrow of that opinion concerning the Kingdom of Babylon that it extended over all Asia before Abraham's time under Ninus and Semiramis and Ninyas Semiramis Son seeing Amraphael was King of Babylon at this time and not Arius as they would have it who follow Ctesia or Ninyas the Son of Ninus as Vopiscus after Africanus is of opinion neither was the King of Babylon equal in power to the King of Elam There were several Kings in these times in the Land of Palaestine among whom Abimelec and Melchisedec are mentioned and who yet retained the knowledge of the True God The Scriptures also contain the History and Birth of Ismael Isaac Esau and Jacob which may be consulted for that end 2046. 1938. Abraham was 99 years Old when God gave him his Commandment about Circumcision and the same year were Sodom Gomorra Adma and Tseboim overthrown with Lightning setting fire to the Sulphurous Earth which thereupon sunk whereunto the River Jordan and other Rivulets flowing and mixing their Waters with the Sulphurous matter formed the Lake Asphaltites concerning which I have made a particular Dissertation elsewhere This Conflagration which Lot with his Wife and Daughters was flying from reach'd his Wife who out of Curiosity stopped or turned her face back and made her give up the Ghost with the fright of such a dreadful Spectacle for so are those words in Scripture to be understood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and she was a Statue for ever that is she grew stiff and remained like a Statue in the same place which we have also shewed in another Dissertation 2122. 1857. In Isaac's Days Inachus founded the Kingdom of the Argives in the Peloponnesus and had Successors of which see Petavius Tanaquillus Faber a very Learned Man after he had observed in his Notes upon the Bibliotheca of Apollodorus That there was nothing in Greece older than the time of Inachus says that Inachus was of Eternal Original which the Name of it self sufficiently discovered for that Inachus was no other than Anach or Enach from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in old Greek which word as is manifest from the Writings of the Poets signified a God or Gods So far he We
to pass that the Pentateuch which was written in the Ancient Letters is so handed down to us There are Relicks of them to this day in Mount Gerizim In this Age Herodotus whom the Greeks call the Father of History published his Books when there was already an History of the Hebrews for fifteen Ages beginning only with Abraham without going higher He seems to have said nothing of the Hebrews because that the Land of Judaea at that time was through the long absence of its Inhabitants in a mean State and the Jewish affairs were inconsiderable besides that it was the business of the Greeks to know only those Nations with whom they had some commerce or other Artaxerxes King of Persia being overthrown several times by the Greeks but more particularly by the Athenians under the Conduct of Cimon was forced to make a Dishonourable Peace with them upon these conditions amongst others that he should be oblig'd to leave the Maritime Cities of Asia free that he should not come nearer to the Sea than the space of ground that a Horse could run over without stopping and that he should not be carryed in a Ship between the Cyamean and Chelidonean Islands While the Athenians were overcoming the common Enemy they procured to themselves the envy of their Neighbours and especially of the Lacedaemonians from whence breaking out into an open War the Lacedaemonians were often worsted in Battle by Pericles and Tolmides the Athenian Generals At last both sides agreed to a Truce of thirty years which neither kept In these times flourished Democritus Melissus Empedocles Parmenides Zeno Eleates and Socrates who is to be preferred before all the rest of the Philosophers As also the orators Gorgias Prodicus Lysias together with the Poets Sophocles Aristophanes and Euripides 3540. 444. LXXXIV i. 310. This year were the Tribunes of the People upon a Tumult of the People first created with Consular Power but finding that would not do about three Months after they put Consuls in their room Next year the Quinquennial Censors were first Created who had full power over the manners of the Citizens so as to punish and regulate them as they pleased not long after Sp. Melius in the time of a great Famine at Rome by distributing of Corn to the People thought to make himself King but L. Quinctius being made Dictator he was Slain in pursuance to his commands by C. Servilius Ahala The Romans in the succeeding years gained several Victories over the Vejentians and Etrurians especially under the leading of Mamercus Aemilius In the mean while there were divers Commotions raised in Greece the Athenians under the Command of Pericles reduced once and again the Revolting Samians under their Obedience And seeing according to Thucydides it was not long after that the first War between the Corcyraeans and Corinthians brake forth the Athenians by the perswasion of the Embassadors of Corcyra made an Allyance with them by whose Aid they became Conquerors And now the Lacedaemonians out of envy to the Athenians having called a Dyet concluded that the Truce made fourteen years since was violated by the Athenians 3553. 431. LXXXVII ii 323. Hence sprung the Peloponnesian War while the Romans being involved in a War with the Aqui and Volscians under the Conduct of A. Posthumius the Dictator triumphed over them This Posthumius put his Son to Death because he had fought contrary to his Commands These were the principal causes of the Peloponnesian War because the Lacedaemonians envyed the power of the Athenians and for that Pericles after he had spent Seven thousand Talents during the time of his Magistracy refused to give an account thereof which he hoped to get clear of when the People were involved in War neither was he mistaken therein for two years after he dyed In this War which lasted for seven and twenty years Theramenes Thrasybulus Demosthenes and Alcibiades on the Athenian side performed many brave Exploits and those that were Famous among the Lacedaemonians were Brasides Myndarus and Lysander Admiral of their Fleet who took Athens rased the Walls of the City and committed the Government of it to thirty Tyrants Thucydides has written an accurate History of this War and he lived in that Age. We shall pass by the circumstances thereof and briefly touch upon other things that fell out in the interim of time 3558. 326. LXXXVIII iii. 328. This year there were again created at Rome four Military Tribunes who fought against the Vejentians with bad Success But Mamercus Aemilius being made Dictator he overcame them together with the Fidenates and took and rased the City Fidena it self Next year upon the Death of Artaxerxes who Reigned forty years Xerxes Succeeded for two Months and Sogdianus for Seven 3560. 424. LXXXIX ii 331. Darius The Bastard Succeeded him and was the Ninth King of Persia who Reigned nineteen years There were two Consuls created at Rome next year according to Ancient custom who were Succeeded by nine Military Tribunes with the same power for the space of nine years 3568. 416. XCI 338. The Athenians undertake the Sicilian War in favour of the Citizens of Aegesta and the Leontini against those of Selinos and Syracuse Alcibiades Nicias and Lamachus being constituted Generals of their Forces Alcibiades was presently after recalled as being accused of an impious fact because he had taken care to throw down all the carv'd Statues of Mercury the night before his departure but Alcibiades fled to Lacedaemon whom he excited to send Succours to the Syracusians who sent Gylippus by whom at last the Athenians received great overthrows Alcibiades a little after got leave to return home from his Banishment and brought things so to bear that Tissaphernes who was angry with the Athenians was reconciled to them and that an Oligarchy was set up in Athens Wherefore there were four hundred appointed for the Administration of the Government butthey degenerating into Tyrants were removed and other Magistrates put into their room to whom the care of the Commonweath was committed 3574. 410. XCII iii. 344. While the War was carryed on in Sicily between the Cities of Aegesta Syracuse and others of that Island Hannibal the Grandson of Amilcar the Son of Giscon was sent thither by the Carthaginians to whom the Aegestans fled for Succour At length the People of Rome did the year following prevail to get three Quaestors of the People made The Romans afterwards overthrew the Volscians divers times and hitherto confined themselves within the bounds of Italy Hence forward also the Military Tribunes managed the Republick for fifteen years 3579. 405. XCIII iv 349. Many Memorable things hapned this year when the Siege of Veij began which lasted ten years And Dionysius raised such accusations against the Commanders of the Syracusians that he was at last in conjunction with others chosen General And when afterwards he commanded the Army alone he set himself up for a Tyrant and compelled the Carthaginians though often conquerors to make Peace
that such a vast number of People could be contained in the lower Egypt but the wonder will be lessen'd to him that considers how populous and fertil Egypt was of Old Concerning which consult J. Vossius observ var. c. 10. Neither could there be any danger in the Opinion though we were to grant that the Copyers or Transcribers might through neglect mistake in the number so as that they are sometimes found in our Books to be more than really they were But of this we shall speak elsewhere After they had passed dry-shod through the Red-Sea they lived forty years in the Desarts of Arabia where what befell them is contained in Exodas Leviticus Numbers and Deuteronomy There it was more especially that they received the Law which comprehended three sorts of Precepts The first related to good Manners and were common to all Mankind alike others related to Sacred Rites and the third were established for the Government of Civil Society The Moral Precepts were approved of by all Civilized Nations and every Wife Man as to the Ceremonials there are several of them taken from those of the Egyptians which God established by a Law because the Israelites were already used to them those being rectified which might be faulty concerning which you may consult the Famous J. Marsham and J. Spencera There were also many things in their Polity alike from whence it came to pass that the Athenian Laws agreed in many things with those of the Hebrews as Learned Men and especially Sam. Petyte have observed which last has made a Collection of them because that as Cecrops the first King of Athens being an Egyptian born brought his own Country Laws into the Country of the Athenians so also Moses by God's Command the Children of Israel having been used to the Laws of Egypt commanded many Precepts out of them though he added many particular ones But above all others this was peculiar to the Common-wealth of Israel that God was the chief Magistrate therein and that there was no name of any other Polity could agree with it so that a new one was to be invented which they called a Theocracy 2493. 1421. Moses dyed before he got into the Land of Canaan leaving to the Jews that Law which he had given them in the Name of God 2498. 1486. Joshua having Subdued the Land of Canaan divided it among the twelve Tribes and dyed eight years after 2570. 1425. The Argives having turned out Gelanor the last King of Inachus's Race gave the Government to Danaus who came from Egypt into Greece 2525. 1459. When the Children of Israel after the Death of Joshua fell into Idolatry they were Conquered by Cuschan King of Mesopotamia and paid him Tribute for eight years but at length they were delivered by Othoniel the first Judge after Joshua in Israel 2583. 1401. The Israelites returning again to their former sins were subdued by Eglon King of Moab who was Slain by Ehud their second Judge Some think that Minos Reigned about this time others will have him to have Reigned King of Crete much later some again contend there were two of them one more Ancient and a famous Law-giver and the other co-temporary with Theseus who also lived about the end of this our Period The Kingdom of Troy was Erected and Enlarged in the lesser Asia by Dardanus Erichthonius Tros Assaracus Laomedon and some other Princes Pelops the Phrygian the Son of Tantalus Reigned in Peloponnesus and left his Name to all that Country At this time the Isthmian Games were institutedh which were Celebrated in Honour of Archemorus every third year at the Isthmus of Corinth But some will have them to have been Consecrated to the Memory of Archemorus by Adrastus and those Captains that went to Thebes which hapned later perhaps these only restored them in Honour of Archemorus Belus in the same Age Reigned in Assyria and after his Death was reputed to have been taken into the number of the Gods 2663. 1321. Jabin King of Canaan Subdued the Israelites but they were delivered Twenty years after by Deborah and Barak 2730. 1254. He was Succeeded by Gideon who overthrew the Midianites without fighting this Man was otherwise called Jerubbaal and Sanchoniathon of Berytis consulted him when he writ his History which he composed in the Phoenician Tongue and which Philo-byblius translated into Greek of which version there are some fragments still remaining See Sam. Bochaâ—tus in his Canaan lib. 2. Cap. ult You may also consult Henry Dodwell's Dissertation concerning it who would have Sanchoniathon to be a Supposititious Author 2770. 1214. Abimelech the Son of Gideon after he had Slain his Seventy Brethren Invaded the Office of Judge He was Succeeded by Thola Jair and Jephtha whose Deeds are recorded in the Book of Judges We shall only observe out of the History of Jephtha who vowed his Daughter in Sacrifice that some Learned Men have thought the Fable of Iphigenia to have sprung from thence whom the Greeks are said to have Slain in Aulis Certainly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 do not much differ about which you may consult Capellus in his Diatriba de voto Jephthae But these belong to the following Period Many things during the time of these Judges in Israel worthy of Remembrance have hapned both in the East and West which cannot be reduced to any certain year Ninus the Son of Belus Reigned in the Greater Asia in the time of Deborah the same that built Niniveh and extended the Empire of Assyria far and near through Asia It was then this Empire seems to have begun to Flourish so as that Ninus may be esteemed as it were the founder of it The Computation of Herodotus is herein more exact from which it appears that the Empire of the Ancient Assyrians lasted only 500. years especially in the upper Asia After Ninus his Death his Widow Semiramis Ruled the Empire concerning whom as well as Ninus you may read Justin lib. 1. Palaetyrus or old Tyre was built in the Reign of Ninus as some would have it but others have thought it to be much older As for Greece there were several Kings who Reigned one after another as well in Athens as in Peloponnesus In Erichthonius his Reign who was the fourth King of the Athenians from Cecrops were the Panathenaea or Minerva's Festival instituted and under Erichtheus the Sixth King were appointed the Eleusinian Sacrifices in Eleusis a City in the Province of Athens which were attended with very Great and Sacred Rites and Phoemonoe was the first Priest at Delphos that delivered Oracles in Hexameter Verse Amphion Reigned in these times at Thebes and Perseus at Mycene A little after the time of Baruck the Theban Hercules the Son of Amphitryon and Alcmene Flourished He was believed to have been Jupiter's Son because in Old Times all that were Valiant were called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Jupiter's Sons even as the Hebrews called them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉