CURRENT WAR TOPICS.
The Russians are still progressing in Asia Minor and Mesopotamia. Their cavalry is sated to be at Rowanduz, which is 80 miles east by north of Mosul on a tributary of the Great Zab, while the vanguard is at Arbela, an--1 other city of Assyria, which was famous as the centre for the worship ot ■■ Ishtar. The Ishtar of Assyria was. identical with Astarte, the Syrian Venus, and with “Ashtaroth”, the abominations of the Zidonians (2 Kings 23,13). The licentious worship of the devotees of Astarte in her temples in Tyre and Sidon hendered the names of these cities in the Jewish Scriptures, synonymous' with all that was wicked. -There was a temple in her honor at Memphis, as early as the period of the 19th Egyptian dynasty, about which time it is supposed that the cult of Astarte was brought into Egypt from Assyria. All this has naught to do with the Russian advance, of course,’ but at the mention ‘' of 'such a places at Nineveh one must delve into history. : !• : •>< 1 •
r, p,« D9ln*7 ir v m‘l -i,i »■ Mosul, mentioned,. yesterday,, ,is 220 miles up the river from Bagdad, on the Treijt bank of the. Tigris.-; Well, _, jtheifUins, of Nineveh, the city of anti- ,,, quit,}’,, is on the opposite, bank. The rpins consist of. the remains of a wall about 7 miles in circumference, broken /( next the Tigris by two large mounds or palace-platforms, Kuyunjik and Nebi-Yunus. Kuyunjik. the larger ... mound, has tbe ruins of,two. palaces'. That to the south was apparently an
old structure, enlarged by Senryjcherib, who decorated its walls with elabort. ate illustrations of his campaigns, as m the siege of Lachish and the setting up oof his winged; bulls iat Nineveh. Ibis palace was destroyed by fire, and •most of its glories consumed. The northern palace/* built' by-Assur-bani-pal, has yielded, among other things, the splendidPTaWWA of •hdntirfgvsdones now in the British Museum, and the largest collection- of Assyrian inscriptions known. 3 3 The momid of Nebi-Yunus (‘the Phophet Jonah’) has not yet been thoroughly explored, but it is known to contain palpces of Sennacherib and Esarhaddoh. his son, and seems to have been the place where military stores were kept. The date of the foundation of Nineveh is doubtful; but as the city, with its great temple of Istar, E-mesmes, is mentioned by Hammurabi in his code of laws, it must have been of considerable antiquity, dating probably from the beginning of the third millenium B.C. It was destroyed by the Medes and Bahy- . lopians about 600 8.0.'
Assyria proper was that tract of ’ country to the east of Mesopotamia, • having as its east boundary the modern Kurdistan. Its south boundary was, Babylonia, often called Kar-Dun-ias in the inscriptions. On its north
border it had the land of Armenia, called Urartu in the inscriptions. Its . west boundary' embraced a certain portion of the country on the west bank of the Tigris, and therefore encroached slightly on Mesopotamia proper. The country was exceedingly fertile, with excellent clay for brickmaking . and pottery (including tablets). The ancient capital, Assour, now called Kalaat Shergat, about CO miles below Mosul, was the residence of the early kings and viceroys; but the place was seemingly abandoned as the capita! about 1300 8.C., and Nineveh substituted. It is noteworthy that the ancient form of the name of this city is Ninua or Nina, and that there,, was a little town of that name in the small kingdom of Lagas, in Babylonia, so called after the temple of the goddess Nina, which was situated there. The origin of the name was in all probability in both cases the same. Nineveh is now represented by the mounds of Kuyunjik and Nebi Yunus, opposite Mosul. Another important city was Calah, the Kalakh of the inscriptions, about 12 miles south o! : Nineveh, It is now represented by the mounds known as Nimrud.
The largest expedition that ever left the shores of India before the present war numbered only 18,000 men, but since the outbreak of war India has dispatched about 300.000 soldiers overseas and has contributed rove ; 1 million pounds’ worth of war materi 1 t > the Empire. The total includes I’rit-
ish as well as native Indian troops. India’s pre-war military establishment consisted of 75,897 British troops of all ranks, while the Native troops comprised 163,000 active service men, with 35,000 reservists. There were also about 20,000 Imperial Service troops and approximately 39,000 volunteers, so. that the total British and Native troops that could he mobilised would be under 335,000. It is aptly observed by a contemporary that '‘in view of the fact that certain elements of danger existed within the country and that last year a formidable conspiracy against the Government was disclosed, it was impossible to denude India of trained troops. The rcgh ments sent oversea had to lie replaced, and although neiv levies and territorials could be utilised to some extent it is obvious that a large proportion of the trained, reliable troops had to be retained. Consequently the dispatch of some 300,000 men for service abroad was ,no mean achievement.” . ,
Dogs,, as well as men, a,r ( e heroes in this war, particularly, in, the mountain areas, where (says a correspondent), “they, really do the work of the combatant and non-combatant soldier. First rgpks the sentry , dog; by his keen ,§cent ;he is invaluable to the soldier on guard. The dog on patrol goes in front of the march, and in his incessant goings and comings warns the soldier, of danger ahead. The des-patch-bearer must he singularly intelligent, with a keener power of scenting. He carries messages very rapidly, and’; when thus engaged, cometimes remains for 48 hours without food or rest, rendering immense service where the telephone lines have been destroyed. Indeed, he helps to link-up between distant outposts. .Reinforcements, are made up of dogs of various breeds of Belgian, French, and even mongrels. , In the Vosges Mountains actual transport companies have been formed of Esquimaux and Alaska dogs. These companies are from 200 to 220 strong, and they draw .. sledges laden with provisions and munitions over ‘the long snow-covered stretches. They even carry the wounded. Nine are harnessed together, while the most intelligent, being leader, is obedient to the driver’s voice. The long rope which serves as a trace is fixed to the sledge by a spring. This lessens the jolt of starting for both man and beast. The speed is regulated by means of a pedal-brake going into the snow. Some of these dogs have perished by shot and shell; others have been wounded, while numbers are constantly being trained to take their places.”
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Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 36, 17 May 1916, Page 5
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1,109CURRENT WAR TOPICS. Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 36, 17 May 1916, Page 5
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