Today's program
begins in my home country
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London to be precise
at Westminster Abbey,
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where they
buried England's great.
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Well, not everyone
quite made it into the Abbey,
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so they were buried in
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St. Margaret's Chapel nearby.
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That's where David is
now to begin our program
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on the Winged Bulls of Assyria.
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Layard's Effetto
is really unique, aha,
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I just love it, it's so resting.
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I pray you
remember Henry Austen Layard
00:01:06.17\00:01:10.80
the discoverer of Nineveh.
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Well, he did discover Nineveh,
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but actually that's not what his
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ambition in life was.
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You see, his father
was a Member of Parliament
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and a very prominent member of
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the gentry here in England
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and that was
really Layard's ambition
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to make his way life in
parliament, in politics.
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And, he did very well.
Ultimately, he did become
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the or infective
fate of treated in kinda,
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he would have become the
prime minister of England,
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I think he was
too honest to be a
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successful
politician, but he did become
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the one of the
ministers of government here
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undersecretary
for Foreign Affairs,
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he did become the
British ambassador in Madrid,
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and the very important post of
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the British
ambassador in Constantinople,
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which was right at
the heart of the empower
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in those days, you
know, a key to the empire.
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And, so Layard was a
very important person,
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but how did he
get into archeology,
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it was really,
really all by chance.
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He received an
invitation to go to Ceylon,
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Colombo, as a
barrister in his uncle's firm
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because he was
trying to be a barrister
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and so he set
off to, go to Ceylon,
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but in those days you
either went by walking
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or you went by ship.
Now, the normal thing to
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do is go by ship,
but it's so happened
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that Layard had a
friend called Edward Mitford,
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the man ten
years, who is his senior
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and he also was under
appointment of Ceylon.
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And, so they
decided to travel together,
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now the only
problem was Mitford was a
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very bad sailor, he
just got seasick as far
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as publication, and
so he just couldn't face
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the journey by sea.
There was no alternative,
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I mean in those
days there was no British
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Airways or
Qantas, and so the only
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alternative was to go by land.
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Well, they set out and
they traveled over land
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first of all by
river boat, ferry steamer
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and stagecoach, but
by the time they reached
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Yugoslavia, the shores
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that was then
called the public transport
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system painted at,
it sometimes does that,
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you know, and so from then on
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they had to go by horse back.
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Now, Layard never
ridden a horse in his life,
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but when you got
13,000 kilometers to go,
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you pretty soon
learn, and so they started
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up by horse back.
Actually, these two man
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were not compatible,
the different natures,
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they had different interests,
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but so they had a
few problems, but anyway
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they reach
Constantinople and that's where
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Layard became very, very sick.
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And, he went
along to a doctor there,
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who leeched him, do you know,
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what leaching means,
he marked on the area
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on his stomach to
put leeches on to suck
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the bed blood
out, and I think Layard
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survived in spite of the
treatment not because of it,
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anyway he
recovered. And, they went
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down to the holy land.
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At last, the two intrepid
travelers reached Jerusalem.
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And, this must have
been a very satisfying
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experience for
Layard. Not that he was a
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particularly pious young man,
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but he was very knowledgeable in
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Bible history. And,
so he was so delighted
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to come here, but
this did not satisfy him,
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he want to be going to Petra.
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Now, in those
days, Petra was a very
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dangerous place.
Johann Burckhardt,
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the Swiss explorer,
had only just discovered
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it in the year 1812
and even when I went
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there for the first
time, I went to an heir and I
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am glad to look after as
well while we are in Petra.
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So, in those days, it
was dangerous and Mitford
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would have
nothing to do with it.
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And, so Layard had
to go down there by
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himself, leave
Mitford in Jerusalem.
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Well, he merely
did lose his life,
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he certainly loss
some of his property,
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but he visited
Petra, got back here,
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and in the meantime
Mitford had taken off,
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couldn't wait.
And, so Layard had to
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follow him to
Damascus, when he was there,
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Mitford did already
left and so he followed him
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onto a Lapo and
there he caught up with him
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and the two traveled on until
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I reached Mosul
on the Tigris River.
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When Layard and his
companion reached Mosul
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in Northern Iraq.
Layard saw for the
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first time, there was
a man is over the other
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side of the Tigris
River that would have play
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such an important
part in his later life.
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He couldn't help speculating,
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what are they? What is buried
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underneath there?
He also met Texier.
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Remember Texier? He was the man
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who first noticed
the Hittite Capital
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and they had a lot of
talk together, you know,
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about the mounts
and these tales that
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have buried cities underneath,
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but he even went over
to the tale and scratched
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around on the
surface, picked up some pieces
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of pottery and other
things, but of course
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Layard had to go on his way,
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so he and his
companion got on a raft
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and flighted
down the River Tigris,
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quite an adventure
in those days because
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there was always the stray Arab,
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who would take a
potshot at them with a
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rifle, fortunately
they were very good maximal,
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at night times they
had to camp on the side of
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the river on the
bank of the river,
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had to light fires
around them to keep the lions
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away, there were lot of
lions there in those days
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and as they
floated down Layard noticed
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another mound. It was
the old city of Nimrud
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and there was an old
Ziggurat there and again
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Layard's mouth
watered to know, what's
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underneath those
mounds. He was delighted
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to found out. They
got down to Baghdad
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and there they spend
the next three months
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learning the
Persian language because the
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leg of their led to
would take them through Persia.
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When they are ready
and Layard was brilliant
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at languages, he
soon picked that up
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and the way they
went. They got to Hamadan
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and that's where the
potting of the ways came.
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Layard wanted to
take the Southern route,
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but that of course
was the dangerous route.
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His companion
preferred the safety of the
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Northern route,
they couldn't agree,
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so they parted company.
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I don't know
whether Layard's companion
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ever reached
Ceylon or not, I do know,
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that Layard
didn't. He traveled south
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and got involved
with Bakhtiari tribe,
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and they revolt
against the Persian government
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and he was there for two years,
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but he was on the
losing side eventually
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Bakhtiari
capitulated and Layard had to
00:08:04.05\00:08:06.66
hotfoot it back to
Baghdad but while he was there,
00:08:06.69\00:08:10.77
the British government
asked him to take some
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papers to
Constantinople. It was rather an
00:08:12.60\00:08:15.09
interesting
diplomatic situation and the
00:08:15.12\00:08:18.88
superpowers were
struggling for the supremacy.
00:08:18.91\00:08:21.19
Layard agreed and
so he took these papers
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back to
Constantinople. On the way,
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he passed through
Mosul and once again he look
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longingly at those
mounds and he met there,
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the French
Consul, Paul Emile Botta,
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now remember Layard could
speak French very fluently.
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They got on very
well and they talked about
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these mounds. Anyway,
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Layard went on
to Constantinople,
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there he was introduced
to the British ambassador,
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Sir Stratford Canning
and Canning took a liking
00:08:51.47\00:08:54.28
to the young
man, offered him a job
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on the Embassy
Staff and Layard stayed
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there for two years.
It was while he was there
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that he received
a letter from Botta,
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who would started
excavating at course
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about and in
this letter he said,
00:09:06.89\00:09:09.49
come let us have
some archeological fun
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at course about.
Oh! Layard would like to
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have joined him,
but he was not able to
00:09:15.20\00:09:17.20
leave his job, but he
did work on the ambassador
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and said look the
French is stealing a much
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on us here, we should
be getting some of these
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out of the ground
and at last Canning said,
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alright, alright I
will give you some money,
00:09:28.77\00:09:31.10
but be careful, we
don't want any diplomatic
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incidence, you
understand? So, away Layard
00:09:34.66\00:09:38.61
went to Mosul, he
didn't announced that he was
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gonna do any digging
that would arouse suspicion.
00:09:41.55\00:09:44.24
What he did was
purchased some shuffles and
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some picks and some
rifles and announced
00:09:46.94\00:09:49.82
that he was going
to go pig hunting.
00:09:49.85\00:09:51.49
Well, any Arab could
appreciate that idea.
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And, away went
down there to Nimrud.
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So, Layard commenced
his excavations at Nimrud
00:10:02.76\00:10:07.72
and he had some
very exciting experiences
00:10:07.75\00:10:10.94
and made some
wonderful discoveries too.
00:10:10.97\00:10:13.44
He honored some
spectacular Winged Bulls
00:10:13.47\00:10:17.52
and Cuneiform Inscriptions
00:10:17.55\00:10:19.97
from the palace of
what we now know to be
00:10:20.00\00:10:23.02
Ashurnasirpal
II. Probably the most
00:10:23.05\00:10:26.77
spectacular discovery
he made was a great big
00:10:26.80\00:10:29.81
large Black
Obelisk. Now, at the time,
00:10:29.84\00:10:33.35
it was not known how
to read the Cuneiform
00:10:33.38\00:10:36.98
Inscriptions, but
just at the right time,
00:10:37.01\00:10:39.05
Henry Rawlinson
started work on the
00:10:39.73\00:10:43.17
Behistun Rock, and at
Behistun he made copies
00:10:43.20\00:10:47.78
of the wonderful
inscription of derives
00:10:47.81\00:10:51.59
the great, it was a
trilingual, in three
00:10:51.62\00:10:54.40
different
languages. Well, by working on
00:10:54.43\00:10:57.48
the Persian with which
Rawlinson was very familiar
00:10:57.51\00:11:01.06
he was able to
work back to the others
00:11:01.72\00:11:03.44
and so he was able to decipher,
00:11:03.47\00:11:06.56
and he wanted to
put it to the taste.
00:11:06.59\00:11:09.63
So, he got together with Layard
00:11:10.03\00:11:12.45
and they looked at this monument
00:11:13.44\00:11:17.03
and would you believe
it, this monument turned out
00:11:17.06\00:11:22.66
to be Shalmaneser of
the third and bowing down
00:11:22.69\00:11:27.66
in front of him was
Jehu, a king of Israel.
00:11:27.69\00:11:31.77
Now, this was the
first time an Israel king's
00:11:31.80\00:11:35.38
name had ever
being found outside of
00:11:35.41\00:11:38.18
the Bible in the
monument. And, so he was king
00:11:38.21\00:11:41.00
Jehu kneeling down
across straight in front of
00:11:41.03\00:11:44.25
Shalmaneser of the
third. Well, this created big
00:11:44.28\00:11:47.93
news back in London of
course because the world
00:11:47.96\00:11:51.94
was more is more Bible
orient type in those days.
00:11:51.97\00:11:55.46
So, this made the
headlines and Layard
00:11:55.49\00:11:58.71
worked on there
with good success.
00:11:58.74\00:12:00.67
After two years, he
went to back to England
00:12:01.23\00:12:04.42
and he was a
very popular speaker.
00:12:04.45\00:12:06.03
He lecturer over
the place and after year
00:12:06.06\00:12:10.16
he returned to Mosul. This time,
00:12:10.77\00:12:12.70
he was able to
excavated Nineveh and he worked
00:12:12.73\00:12:16.17
there for another two years.
00:12:16.20\00:12:17.48
So, the lot of
Winged Bulls and a lot of
00:12:18.01\00:12:20.01
Inscriptions and
Monuments back to
00:12:20.04\00:12:22.04
the British Museum and
the public were very excited.
00:12:22.07\00:12:24.74
He had already
written a book called Nineveh
00:12:24.77\00:12:27.55
And Its Remains,
but he made mistake
00:12:27.58\00:12:30.30
you see, Nineveh was
so effectively buried
00:12:30.33\00:12:33.01
and lost that nobody knew it was
00:12:33.04\00:12:35.91
and so he thought,
he had found Nineveh,
00:12:36.79\00:12:39.94
when actually he had
found the Biblical Kayla,
00:12:39.97\00:12:42.19
but also a course
about thought he had
00:12:42.66\00:12:45.44
found Nineveh, but he hadn't.
00:12:45.47\00:12:47.49
And, so at the end
of these two years,
00:12:48.08\00:12:51.32
Layard returned to England and
00:12:51.35\00:12:54.47
that was the end of
his archeological career.
00:12:54.50\00:12:57.57
He then went into politics,
00:12:57.60\00:12:59.61
and he became very successful.
00:12:59.64\00:13:01.76
Well, the history of
Assyria is one of tierney
00:13:04.49\00:13:08.20
and cruelty,
that's the way they ruled.
00:13:08.23\00:13:10.94
And, from the time
of Ashurnasirpal II
00:13:11.29\00:13:14.87
down to the time
of Ashurnasirpal,
00:13:14.90\00:13:18.37
there was just a whole
series of cruel campaigns.
00:13:18.40\00:13:22.19
It was in the year 1722 BC that
00:13:23.05\00:13:27.57
the Assyrians came
here to the city of Samaria.
00:13:27.60\00:13:32.68
Actually they started
the sage two years earlier
00:13:33.19\00:13:36.26
and by surrounding
the city and beseized it
00:13:36.29\00:13:40.33
two years and at
the end of that time
00:13:40.36\00:13:43.73
the Israelites were conquered.
00:13:43.76\00:13:46.53
This city wall was broken into
00:13:46.56\00:13:48.56
and the Assyrians
poured in and the Israelites
00:13:48.59\00:13:52.89
suffer the
cruelty of the Concra.
00:13:52.92\00:13:56.39
The Assyrians
matched them off into exile
00:13:56.95\00:13:59.18
and sent most of them
to the Land of Assyria
00:14:00.05\00:14:03.62
and then they brought
a whole lot of Assyrians
00:14:03.65\00:14:05.67
here to occupy the country.
00:14:05.70\00:14:08.05
And, so we have
what is known is the
00:14:08.08\00:14:10.55
Samaritans, who are mixture of
00:14:10.58\00:14:12.89
Israelites and Assyrians.
00:14:12.92\00:14:15.95
In the year 1701
BC, the Assyrian King
00:14:17.02\00:14:21.34
Sennacherib invited
Judah and Layard seized
00:14:21.40\00:14:25.25
to Lachish. Now you
see that mound over there,
00:14:25.28\00:14:29.49
where the city of
Lachish was built on top of
00:14:29.52\00:14:32.54
that mound, as
we called it a tale.
00:14:32.57\00:14:35.31
It was here then that
one of the great dramas
00:14:38.99\00:14:41.67
of history took
place. Now, we have three
00:14:41.70\00:14:44.32
sources of
information to tell us about the
00:14:44.35\00:14:46.52
drama that took place here.
00:14:46.55\00:14:48.21
The first is in the
Biblical account in the
00:14:48.53\00:14:50.88
Second Book of Chronicles
00:14:50.91\00:14:52.43
and in Chapter 32,
where we read here.
00:14:52.46\00:14:56.55
After this, Sennacherib
King of Assyria sent his
00:14:56.58\00:14:59.67
servants to
Jerusalem, but he himself
00:14:59.70\00:15:02.52
and all the forces with
him Layard seize against
00:15:02.55\00:15:06.21
Lachish. Now,
personally I can't stand here
00:15:06.24\00:15:09.27
and just look here and
see stones on the hill,
00:15:09.30\00:15:11.85
I see the people, I
see the Assyrian army
00:15:11.88\00:15:14.25
surrounding here,
the offices conferring
00:15:14.28\00:15:16.45
with one another,
how we gonna attack
00:15:16.48\00:15:18.37
the city, where is
it's weakest point,
00:15:18.40\00:15:20.16
and so I can see
the drama taking place.
00:15:20.71\00:15:23.52
Now, the second
source of information is
00:15:24.60\00:15:26.36
from the
archeological excavations
00:15:26.39\00:15:28.87
and they are able to
tell us that this city had a
00:15:29.30\00:15:32.56
very powerful wall
built right around the
00:15:32.59\00:15:35.24
parameter and over there was a
00:15:35.27\00:15:37.85
very strongly fortified gateway.
00:15:37.88\00:15:40.44
And, so we can know
that this must have been
00:15:41.71\00:15:44.58
a very well fortified city.
00:15:44.61\00:15:46.53
The third source is
from a relief known as
00:15:46.56\00:15:49.74
the Lachish
relief, which is today
00:15:49.77\00:15:51.79
in the British
Museum, it comes from Nineveh
00:15:51.82\00:15:53.98
and it shows the
action and we can reconstruct
00:15:54.01\00:15:58.30
the whole thing from that.
00:15:58.33\00:16:00.01
We see the Assyrian
forces building a ramp up
00:16:00.04\00:16:03.98
there and then we
see them dragging their
00:16:04.01\00:16:06.65
battling ramps up
there to hammered down
00:16:06.68\00:16:08.75
the walls and then
we see them bringing up
00:16:08.78\00:16:11.16
the scaling
ladders, main climbing up
00:16:11.19\00:16:13.24
the ladders and at
last the dropping side of
00:16:13.27\00:16:15.62
the city and stone
the inside of a gate,
00:16:15.65\00:16:18.43
open the gate and
allow all the other soldiers
00:16:18.46\00:16:20.86
to swarm in there and
very soon this whole city
00:16:20.89\00:16:24.30
is conquered the
terrified inhabitance
00:16:24.33\00:16:26.18
have to yield to
these invading forces
00:16:26.21\00:16:29.15
and then comes
the terrible cruelty,
00:16:29.18\00:16:32.84
the Assyrians are
very cruel people,
00:16:32.87\00:16:34.74
they ruled, and
dominated by their
00:16:34.77\00:16:37.19
savage cruelties. For
instance we see relieves
00:16:37.22\00:16:40.40
of them by heading the captives,
00:16:40.43\00:16:42.28
we see them right in this city,
00:16:42.31\00:16:44.96
throwing the
bodies over the wall,
00:16:44.99\00:16:46.55
you see them falling
down and they impelled
00:16:46.58\00:16:50.24
their victims, put a
pull up it in the ground
00:16:50.27\00:16:53.69
with the sharp end and
then sat a fellow on top,
00:16:53.72\00:16:56.29
just dragged him down onto it,
00:16:56.32\00:16:58.40
it's terrible or
they trash the pole up
00:16:58.43\00:17:01.70
through under the
ribs and push it up
00:17:01.73\00:17:03.99
onto the heart or
lungs and then just
00:17:04.02\00:17:06.66
for variety, the
fellow would hold a captive by
00:17:06.69\00:17:10.13
the hair and cut his skin and
00:17:10.16\00:17:12.79
scrips and peel it off
00:17:12.82\00:17:14.10
and then of course
we have the final scene
00:17:14.79\00:17:17.12
of the captives
being led away into Axa.
00:17:17.15\00:17:20.67
Up there in
Jerusalem, King Hezekiah heard
00:17:27.39\00:17:30.55
of the seize of
Lachish. He also received the
00:17:30.58\00:17:33.44
delegation, which boat
him a defined ultimatum,
00:17:33.47\00:17:37.17
demanding his
surrender and knowing of
00:17:37.20\00:17:39.84
the cruelty of the Assyrians,
00:17:39.87\00:17:41.09
he didn't want
to be victim himself
00:17:41.12\00:17:42.73
and so he said, yes,
yes, I will surrender.
00:17:43.12\00:17:44.85
I will read it to
you from the Second Book
00:17:44.88\00:17:46.77
of Kings, Chapter, in Chapter 18
00:17:46.80\00:17:50.24
and in Verse 13, where it says,
00:17:50.27\00:17:52.85
"In the fourteenth
year of King Hezekiah,
00:17:52.88\00:17:55.21
Sennacherib king
of Assyria came up
00:17:55.24\00:17:57.22
against all the
fortified cities of Judah,
00:17:57.25\00:17:59.31
and took them then
Hezekiah king of Judah
00:17:59.34\00:18:02.66
sent to the king of
Assyria were Lachish saying
00:18:02.69\00:18:04.81
I have done wrong
turn away from me.
00:18:04.84\00:18:07.09
Whatever you
impose on the, I will pay.
00:18:07.12\00:18:09.59
And the king of
Assyria resist Hezekiah king of
00:18:09.92\00:18:12.39
Judah three
hundred talents of silver
00:18:12.42\00:18:14.98
and thirty talents of gold.
00:18:15.01\00:18:17.28
At that time, Hezekiah stripped
00:18:17.93\00:18:19.27
the gold from the doors
of the temple of the Lord
00:18:19.30\00:18:21.37
and from the
pillars, which Hezekiah
00:18:21.40\00:18:23.15
king of Judah had
overlaid and gave it
00:18:23.18\00:18:25.59
to the king of
Assyria". Well, here is the
00:18:25.62\00:18:28.02
Biblical record.
Now, a very interesting
00:18:28.05\00:18:30.75
confirmation of this
comes from Assyria itself.
00:18:30.78\00:18:34.76
I have in my hand
here an exact replica
00:18:35.80\00:18:38.82
of the Cuneiform
record that Sennacherib left
00:18:38.85\00:18:42.37
of his invasion of Judah
00:18:42.40\00:18:44.05
and his seized of Jerusalem.
00:18:44.08\00:18:46.88
The scribe who wrote
this was a real master,
00:18:47.27\00:18:49.79
the Cuneiform
writing is so clear
00:18:50.15\00:18:53.25
and it's beautiful
done and just show that
00:18:53.28\00:18:56.65
everyone would know about this.
00:18:56.68\00:18:58.90
Sennacherib had
three copies made,
00:18:59.20\00:19:01.06
one is in the
Hebrew museum, one is the
00:19:01.09\00:19:03.84
British museum and one
is in the Chicago Museum.
00:19:03.87\00:19:07.90
Now, this record
that Sennacherib left,
00:19:11.09\00:19:14.13
wonderfully
confirms the Biblical record.
00:19:14.16\00:19:17.14
Let me read a
translation of it to you.
00:19:17.83\00:19:20.19
Part of it anyway, it says,
00:19:21.32\00:19:23.14
as to Hezekiah the Jew,
00:19:23.74\00:19:25.57
he did not submit to my yoke.
00:19:26.13\00:19:28.35
I laid seize to 46
of his strong cities,
00:19:28.38\00:19:32.36
now that of course
would include Lachish
00:19:32.39\00:19:34.71
and conquered them,
himself I made a prisoner
00:19:35.46\00:19:38.55
in Jerusalem his
royal residence like a bird
00:19:38.58\00:19:41.48
in the cage, now
that's significant,
00:19:41.51\00:19:43.56
he doesn't claim that
he conquered Jerusalem,
00:19:43.59\00:19:45.51
he simply says,
he shut up Hezekiah
00:19:45.54\00:19:47.36
like a bird in the cage
admitting in other words
00:19:47.39\00:19:50.12
that his seize
did not result in the
00:19:50.15\00:19:52.84
conquest of the
city. Hezekiah himself
00:19:52.87\00:19:56.13
whom the terror inspiring
splendor of my lordship
00:19:56.16\00:19:58.89
had overwhelmed did
send me later to Nineveh
00:19:58.92\00:20:02.65
my Lordly city together
with thirty talents of gold
00:20:02.68\00:20:06.00
eight hundred talents of silver,
00:20:06.03\00:20:08.25
precious stones,
all kinds of valuable
00:20:08.28\00:20:11.49
treasures his own
daughters concubines
00:20:11.52\00:20:13.97
male and female
musicians and so on,
00:20:14.00\00:20:16.37
he mentions all that was sent.
00:20:16.40\00:20:17.96
Well, that just
confirms what the Biblical
00:20:18.23\00:20:20.53
record says, remind
you there is a slight
00:20:20.56\00:20:23.11
difference you will
notice in Seconds Kings
00:20:23.14\00:20:25.94
Chapter 18 and in Verse 14,
00:20:25.97\00:20:30.84
that says, and the King
of Assyria assist Hezekiah
00:20:30.87\00:20:34.43
King of Judah, three
hundred talents of silver
00:20:34.46\00:20:37.02
and thirty talents of gold.
00:20:37.05\00:20:39.76
Now, there is a
slight discrepancy,
00:20:39.79\00:20:41.39
but I would simply
say that Sennacherib was
00:20:41.42\00:20:44.81
inflating his figures a little
00:20:44.84\00:20:46.53
to make them look better.
00:20:46.56\00:20:48.01
Soon after this
humiliating surrender
00:20:48.85\00:20:50.89
by Hezekiah tragedy struck,
00:20:50.92\00:20:53.26
he became very sick.
00:20:53.87\00:20:55.55
And, the prophet
Isaiah came to him with the
00:20:55.58\00:20:58.53
comforting message
such you has in order
00:20:58.56\00:21:02.07
you're going to die.
Well, Hezekiah didn't
00:21:02.10\00:21:04.68
particularly
like the idea of dying
00:21:04.71\00:21:06.78
and so he did some
hard praying and would you
00:21:06.81\00:21:09.41
believe it before
Isaiah got to the other side
00:21:09.44\00:21:11.84
of the temple
court, he was given another
00:21:11.87\00:21:14.07
message, came back
and said, God says,
00:21:14.10\00:21:16.86
I have added 15
years to your life
00:21:16.89\00:21:19.69
and Hezekiah got
better, it was a real miracle.
00:21:19.72\00:21:22.60
Well, his faith was
strengthened by this
00:21:22.63\00:21:25.60
miracle, he knew
Sennacherib would
00:21:25.63\00:21:27.62
come back and so he decided to
00:21:27.65\00:21:29.88
make some preparations.
00:21:29.91\00:21:31.19
We read about it
in the Second Book of
00:21:31.22\00:21:33.36
Chronicles
Chapter 32 and in Verse 5
00:21:33.39\00:21:36.52
"And he strengthened himself,
00:21:37.01\00:21:38.75
built up all the
wall that was broken,
00:21:38.78\00:21:41.02
raised it up to the towers,
00:21:41.05\00:21:42.41
built another
wall outside and made
00:21:42.44\00:21:44.62
weapons and
shields in abundance."
00:21:44.65\00:21:46.63
You see, he just
didn't sit back and say Oh!
00:21:46.66\00:21:48.83
Well, God works
miracles he look after us,
00:21:48.86\00:21:51.15
yeah he believed God
would look after him,
00:21:51.18\00:21:53.17
but he did what he
could to cooperate.
00:21:53.20\00:21:55.48
He also says,
this same Hezekiah also
00:21:55.83\00:21:59.02
stopped the water
outlet of Upper Gihon
00:21:59.05\00:22:01.49
and brought the water
by tunnel to the west side
00:22:01.52\00:22:04.83
of the City of David.
Now, this is the spring
00:22:04.86\00:22:07.83
Gihon here. And, so
what he did was to dig
00:22:07.86\00:22:11.25
a tunnel from here
through to the other
00:22:11.28\00:22:13.74
side of the city,
so that the Assyrians
00:22:13.77\00:22:15.55
would not be able to find water
00:22:15.58\00:22:17.26
and so that he
would have an abundant
00:22:17.29\00:22:19.23
supply of water in the city.
00:22:19.26\00:22:21.20
And, so this is a
remarkable tunnel.
00:22:21.23\00:22:23.46
We are gonna go through it.
00:22:23.49\00:22:24.90
So far, we have
been coming through the
00:22:39.16\00:22:40.72
tunnel that has been
made by the Jebusites.
00:22:40.75\00:22:43.46
Now, that was
before King David conquered
00:22:43.49\00:22:45.55
this place and they
have this tunnel going
00:22:45.58\00:22:47.89
through here and
at the end there,
00:22:47.92\00:22:50.03
there was a shaft going upwards,
00:22:50.06\00:22:51.57
so that the woman
could let their water
00:22:51.60\00:22:53.59
pots down and collect the water,
00:22:53.62\00:22:55.05
but from here on
is Hezekiah's tunnel
00:22:55.08\00:22:58.00
and this goes for 500 meters
00:22:58.03\00:23:00.15
through the solid rock.
00:23:00.18\00:23:01.80
The workman who dug this tunnel
00:23:09.72\00:23:11.53
began from both ends.
Now, the one who started
00:23:12.14\00:23:14.74
from this end will
using their picks this way,
00:23:14.77\00:23:17.34
can you see the
pick marks and the ones
00:23:17.37\00:23:19.82
from the other end of course,
00:23:19.85\00:23:20.83
we are going that way, I
will point that out later
00:23:20.86\00:23:22.81
but here are the
ones where the workman
00:23:23.35\00:23:25.05
were working
along this way, you see?
00:23:25.08\00:23:27.16
The inscription was
left up at the end of
00:23:36.32\00:23:38.51
the tunnel tells how
they started from both ends
00:23:38.54\00:23:41.62
and in the middle
they heard themselves
00:23:41.65\00:23:44.96
calling to each
other. And, so they changed
00:23:44.99\00:23:47.43
directions that
were close to each other
00:23:47.46\00:23:49.15
and they joined
out. Now, here is where
00:23:49.18\00:23:50.69
the people coming
from and we have come
00:23:50.72\00:23:52.79
turn the corner to
meet up with the others.
00:23:52.82\00:23:56.03
Now, this is way
the workman were coming
00:24:18.13\00:24:20.21
from the other end and
they reached this point,
00:24:20.24\00:24:22.93
they went a little
further, this tunnel goes
00:24:22.96\00:24:25.26
a little further here you see,
00:24:25.29\00:24:26.68
and it was then that
they heard the hammering
00:24:26.71\00:24:29.00
in that direction and
that's when they change
00:24:29.03\00:24:31.33
direction and went
over there and joined up
00:24:31.36\00:24:33.76
with the workman from
the first time we came from.
00:24:33.79\00:24:37.29
Now, you can see the
pick marks where the men
00:24:53.17\00:24:55.13
coming from this end
were using their picks
00:24:55.16\00:24:57.65
down this way you see
the pick mark slopping
00:24:57.68\00:24:59.78
that way. And, so
here where the workman
00:24:59.81\00:25:01.98
coming from this end
moving in that direction.
00:25:02.01\00:25:04.44
Now, we are near
the exit of this tunnel
00:25:10.36\00:25:13.25
at the Perusalem
and just here there was
00:25:13.28\00:25:16.54
an inscription in the Hebrew,
00:25:16.57\00:25:17.73
Ancient Hebrew writing.
00:25:17.76\00:25:19.14
Well, nobody knew
of this until some boys
00:25:19.73\00:25:22.18
were playing in the tunnel
00:25:22.21\00:25:23.42
and they noticed
the inscription and
00:25:23.45\00:25:25.08
reported that and so a
Greek merchant thinking
00:25:25.11\00:25:27.81
he might make a
little bit of fast money
00:25:27.84\00:25:29.46
came down here
and chiseled it out,
00:25:29.49\00:25:31.48
he had no clues
just to how to do it
00:25:31.51\00:25:34.03
and he broke it in
the many different pieces,
00:25:34.06\00:25:35.74
but anyway got it
out that the authority
00:25:35.77\00:25:37.46
code up with him and
they sent the inscription
00:25:37.49\00:25:40.20
of to the Istanbul Museum
00:25:40.23\00:25:41.67
or
Constantinople of the same code.
00:25:41.70\00:25:43.67
I would like to read you a
00:25:44.03\00:25:45.07
translation of this inscription.
00:25:45.10\00:25:46.93
This was the manner
of the piecing through,
00:25:47.96\00:25:50.43
while yet the
biggest where lifting up
00:25:51.17\00:25:52.95
the pick each towards his fellow
00:25:52.98\00:25:55.26
and while yet there
were three cubits to be
00:25:55.29\00:25:58.01
cut through, each heard
the voice of one calling
00:25:58.04\00:26:01.11
to his fellow for
there was a crack in
00:26:01.14\00:26:03.53
the rock on the
south. And, on the day of
00:26:03.56\00:26:06.41
the piecing
through, the biggest struck
00:26:06.44\00:26:08.76
pick against pick,
one over against the other
00:26:08.79\00:26:11.60
and they flood the
water from the source
00:26:11.75\00:26:13.77
of the pool, 1200 cubits.
00:26:13.80\00:26:16.89
So, Hezekiah had
made his preparations
00:26:20.74\00:26:23.18
and when the
Assyrian army turned up
00:26:23.90\00:26:25.59
and surrounded the
city with all their
00:26:25.62\00:26:27.56
cruel intensions,
his faith didn't way that
00:26:28.09\00:26:30.83
and God honored his faith.
00:26:30.86\00:26:33.81
It says here in
Second Kings Chapter 19
00:26:33.84\00:26:36.71
and Verse 35, it
came to pass on a
00:26:36.74\00:26:39.37
certain night that the
angel of the Lord went out,
00:26:39.40\00:26:41.76
and killed in the
camp of the Assyrians
00:26:41.79\00:26:43.50
185,000. So, Sennacherib
King of Assyria departed.
00:26:43.53\00:26:48.70
Right here, I am in
part of the old city
00:26:49.35\00:26:51.78
of Jerusalem. The
Jerusalem of David,
00:26:51.81\00:26:55.15
Solomon and Hezekiah.
00:26:55.18\00:26:57.12
And, in fact you
can see behind these
00:26:57.61\00:27:00.23
some gaping holes,
which could very easily
00:27:00.26\00:27:02.61
be the Tombs of
David and Solomon.
00:27:02.64\00:27:04.97
Well what reminds
them, actually there has been
00:27:05.00\00:27:07.12
some coring going
on here and so lot of
00:27:07.15\00:27:09.76
the stone has been taken away,
00:27:09.79\00:27:11.45
but here in this old
city of David, Solomon
00:27:11.76\00:27:15.44
and Hezekiah, the
prophets of Israel lived
00:27:15.47\00:27:18.08
and subsequent
to Hezekiah's time
00:27:18.48\00:27:20.84
they began to
predict the down fallen
00:27:20.87\00:27:22.86
and doom of Assyria and Nineveh.
00:27:22.89\00:27:24.82
We are aware that
there are two entire books
00:27:25.05\00:27:27.98
in the Bible devoted to Nineveh.
00:27:28.01\00:27:30.26
Well, just in case should done,
00:27:30.94\00:27:31.93
I will tell you
what they are, where?
00:27:31.96\00:27:33.44
There was the book
for instance of Nahem,
00:27:34.02\00:27:37.06
it starts of this
way, the burden against
00:27:37.09\00:27:39.84
Nineveh, the book
of the vision of Nahem,
00:27:39.87\00:27:42.13
you see this whole
book is about Nineveh
00:27:42.16\00:27:44.08
and it says in verse
14 "The Lord has given
00:27:44.43\00:27:47.70
a command concerning
you, your name shall be
00:27:47.73\00:27:50.81
perpetuated no
longer, I will dig your grave,
00:27:50.84\00:27:54.62
for you a vile."
So, this verse said that
00:27:54.65\00:27:57.65
God was going into bury Nineveh
00:27:57.68\00:27:59.84
and that's
exactly what happened.
00:28:00.14\00:28:01.60
In the year of 1612,
Nebuchadnezzar's father
00:28:02.02\00:28:05.85
Nabopolassar
cooperating with Cyaxares,
00:28:05.88\00:28:09.30
the king of the
Medes made a frontal
00:28:09.33\00:28:11.29
attack on
Nineveh and conquered it,
00:28:11.32\00:28:13.38
by put it to the
flames and destroyed it.
00:28:13.41\00:28:15.93
Now, usually when a
city in ancient times
00:28:16.39\00:28:18.29
was destroyed, they
simply built on top of it,
00:28:18.32\00:28:21.28
not Nineveh, it
was never rebuilt.
00:28:21.31\00:28:24.45
Do you know that 200 years later
00:28:24.99\00:28:26.60
nobody knew where Nineveh was.
00:28:26.63\00:28:28.66
And, when Layard
started looking for it
00:28:29.54\00:28:32.09
and he started
digging up Kayla or Nimrud,
00:28:32.31\00:28:35.15
he thought he
found Nineveh that's
00:28:35.18\00:28:36.88
how completely Nineveh was lost.
00:28:36.91\00:28:39.09
And, so exactly
as the prophecy said,
00:28:39.78\00:28:42.28
Nineveh was
destroyed and buried.
00:28:42.43\00:28:45.11
Now, there is another
very significant prophecy
00:28:45.60\00:28:48.30
and this one is in
the Book of Zephaniah,
00:28:48.33\00:28:50.94
in Chapter 2 and
in Verse 13, it says,
00:28:52.50\00:28:55.46
"God will stretch out
his hand against the North,
00:28:55.57\00:28:58.52
destroy Assyria, and
make Nineveh a desolation
00:28:58.81\00:29:02.79
and the herds or
flock shall lie down
00:29:03.39\00:29:05.68
in her midst. Now,
concerning Babylon,
00:29:05.71\00:29:08.65
it was to be said
that no shepherd would make
00:29:09.03\00:29:11.75
their sheep lie down
in the ruins of Babylon,
00:29:11.78\00:29:13.84
but here it specifically
said Nineveh's ruins
00:29:13.87\00:29:17.25
would be a place
where the shepherds
00:29:17.28\00:29:18.66
would leave their sheep.
00:29:18.69\00:29:19.97
And, when I
first went to Nineveh,
00:29:20.77\00:29:22.49
I felt to myself
now I would like to be
00:29:22.52\00:29:25.56
able to find a
flock of sheep there,
00:29:25.59\00:29:28.28
you know,
relative to this prophecy.
00:29:28.31\00:29:30.04
I'm making that worried.
00:29:30.07\00:29:31.76
Do you know, all
over the mounds of Nineveh
00:29:31.79\00:29:34.03
shepherds leave their sheep,
00:29:34.06\00:29:35.80
you can see them
today, lots of flocks of sheep
00:29:35.83\00:29:39.39
and the shepherds just exactly
00:29:39.42\00:29:41.51
as the Biblical prophet said.
00:29:41.54\00:29:43.27
Now, the message I
get from these fulfill
00:29:43.93\00:29:46.48
prophecies is this,
that if these particular
00:29:46.51\00:29:50.12
prophecies are so specifically
00:29:50.15\00:29:52.29
and accurately
fulfilled, we can trust the
00:29:52.32\00:29:54.85
rest of the
Biblical prophecies too.
00:29:54.88\00:29:56.94
In fact Zephaniah has
a message for us today.
00:29:56.97\00:30:00.31
He draws a lesson from this
00:30:00.57\00:30:02.63
very experience of Nineveh.
00:30:02.66\00:30:04.35
Want me to read to
you? Listen it says here
00:30:04.42\00:30:07.11
in Verse Chapter two
or Verse 14 of Chapter 1
00:30:07.14\00:30:11.27
first, "The great
day of the Lord is near,
00:30:11.30\00:30:14.14
it is near, and hastens quickly,
00:30:14.17\00:30:16.42
just as surely as
Nineveh made it to do.
00:30:16.45\00:30:19.63
So, Zephaniah
said, this whole world is
00:30:19.83\00:30:22.43
one day gonna meet it's doom
00:30:22.46\00:30:24.00
and what is his message for us,
00:30:24.16\00:30:25.86
"Seek the Lord all
you meek of the earth,
00:30:26.70\00:30:29.10
who have upheld his justice,
00:30:29.13\00:30:30.98
seek
righteousness, seek humility,
00:30:31.44\00:30:33.69
it may be that
you will be hidden
00:30:34.14\00:30:36.02
in the day of the lord's anger.
00:30:36.05\00:30:38.10
It's a good
peaceful feeling to know that
00:30:38.28\00:30:40.38
no matter what the future holds,
00:30:40.41\00:30:41.98
God will take care of
it for us, if we let him.
00:30:42.35\00:30:45.19
Now, I want you
know about Babylon,
00:30:45.70\00:30:47.54
the golden city,
that's what we discuss
00:30:47.57\00:30:50.06
in our next program.
00:30:50.09\00:30:51.47
The dream that
King Nebuchadnezzar had,
00:30:51.81\00:30:53.74
which reveals traumatic events
00:30:54.13\00:30:55.77
soon to happen in our world.
00:30:55.80\00:30:58.01