* The mountain cantons of Saratini and Duppani (Kalpani l’Adpani?), situated immediately to the south of the Nahr-el- Kebir, correspond to the southern part of Gebel-el-Akrad, but I cannot discover any names on the modern map at all resembling them.

** Beyond Duppani, Assur-nazir-pal encamped on the banks of a river whose name is unfortunately effaced, and then reached Aribua; this itinerary leads us to the eastern slope of the Gebel Ansarieh in the latitude of Hamath.  The only site I can find in this direction fulfilling the requirements of the text is that of Masiad, where there still exists a fort of the Assassins.  The name Aribua is perhaps preserved in that of Rabao, er-Rabahu, which is applied to a wady and village in the neighbourhood of Masiad.

*** Lukhuti must not be sought in the plains of the Orontes, where Assur-nazir-pal would have run the risk of an encounter with the King of Hamath or his vassals; it must represent the part of the mountain of Ansarieh lying between Kadmus, Masiad, and Tortosa.

The forts of the latter were destroyed, their houses burned, and prisoners were impaled outside the gates of their cities.  Having achieved this noble exploit, the king crossed the intervening spurs of Lebanon and marched down to the shores of the Mediterranean.  Here he bathed his weapons in the waters, and offered the customary sacrifices to the gods of the sea, while the Phoenicians, with their wonted prudence, hastened to anticipate his demands—­Tyre, Sidon, Byblos, Mahallat, Maiza, Kaiza, the Amorites and Arvad,* all sending tribute.

* The point where Assur-nazir-pal touched the sea-coast cannot be exactly determined:  admitting that he set out from Masiad or its neighbourhood, he must have crossed the Lebanon by the gorge of the Eleutheros, and reached the sea- board somewhere near the mouth of this river.

One point strikes us forcibly as we trace on the map the march of this victorious hero, namely, the care with which he confined himself to the left bank of the Orontes, and the restraint he exercised in leaving untouched the fertile fields of its valley, whose wealth was so calculated to excite his cupidity.  This discretion would be inexplicable, did we not know that there existed in that region a formidable power which he may have thought it imprudent to provoke.  It was Damascus which held sway over those territories whose frontiers he respected, and its kings, also suzerains of Hamath and masters of half Israel, were powerful enough to resist, if not conquer, any enemy who might present himself.  The fear inspired by Damascus naturally explains the attitude adopted by the Hittite states towards the invader, and the precautions taken by the latter to restrict his operations within somewhat narrow limits.  Having accepted the complimentary presents of the Phoenicians, the king again took his way northwards—­making a slight detour in order to ascend the Amanos for the purpose of erecting there a stele commemorating his exploits, and of cutting pines, cedars, and larches for his buildings—­and then returned to Nineveh amid the acclamations of his people.