The Inside Assyria Discussion Forum #5

=> Marco Polo and the Babylonians

Marco Polo and the Babylonians

Posted by pancho (Moderator) - Sunday, March 15 2009, 21:13:19 (CET)
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Marco Polo and Babylonians

In the Chinese city of Un-guen Marco meets someone we know....

“But at the time this city became subject to his majesty’s (Kublai Khan, mine) government, there happened to be at the court some persons from Babylon who were skilled in the process, and who, being sent thither, instructed the inhabitants in the mode of refining sugar by means of the ashes of certain woods.”

Still no Assyrians but at least he got close. He doesn’t call the Babylonians pagans, or Christians or Muslims. Seems to me I read somewhere that Arabs brought the art of refining sugar...but I could be wrong. Babylon remained inhabited and well-populated much longer than Nineveh. Still, the people born in, or from, Babylon were not THE Babylonians...so everybody calm down.

In Malabar, off the coast of India Marco runs across people who make their living as pirates...and a very sensible people too. When they seize a ship....

“No injury is done to the crew, but as soon as they have made prize of the ship, they turn them on shore, recommending to them to provide themselves with another cargo, which, in case of their passing that way again, may be the means of enriching their captors a second time.”

Brilliant and, indirectly, humane. Why murder the source of future riches? If the pirates discouraged all shipping by murdering every last sailor they would starve themselves.

This good sense was the same displayed by the ancient Assyrians whenever they were forced to collect tribute from tardy vassals....such as the Jews of Jerusalem. Them ancient Hebrews, having little to brag about, turned the truth inside out by claiming the mighty Assyrians couldn’t smash through Jerusalem and kill them all...that their bloody god “protected” them....this from a god who never lost the chance to grind his people into the mud.

The funny Hebrews did what they did best; they fantabulated a victory from utter defeat. The Assyrians had no desire to destroy the Hebrews, raze their walls, kill their herds or ruin their fields. Why? What would be the gain? Like the pirates of Malabar they wanted their marks to live and prosper. They merely insisted on the prompt payment of tribute...which was a sort of fee or tax to pay for the cost incurred by the Assyrians in protecting the hapless Hebrews.

The Assyrians weren’t stymied by the walls of Jerusalem...neither were they defeated or even frustrated by the Hebrew warriors....rather they camped outside the walls and waited till the tribute was paid and then they went home...leaving the Hebrews alive and well and able to work some more, profit themselves AND raise the taxes owed next year. If the Hebrews wanted to brag about something they would have rushed out and sent the Assyrians scurrying without their tribute. Instead they paid...and lived to pay again. Can anyone believe that the Assyrians couldn’t have leveled Jerusalem if they wanted to? It was business...nothing personal...”pay your tribute on time and we’ll stay home”.

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