Alec Cowie and the Sword of Persia

By Charles Munro

It is the year 524BC, and the Assyrian king, Shalmaneser V, is enraged when he finds out that Hoshea, King of Israel, one of his vassal states, is seeking the help of Egypt in rebelling against him. Swiftly gathering his army, he swoops down from the north and crushes the rebellious state, taking Hoshea captive and deporting the surviving Israelites throughout the eastern areas of the Assyrian Empire. The story then moves forward to Calcutta, in India, in the year 1755, where young Alec Cowie, now a Captain in the militia of the Honourable East India Company, arrives back from a recent assignment to the Mughal Emperor in Delhi. (see Alec Cowie and the Delhi Assignment). He finds himself seconded to the British Intelligence Service and directed to lead a new mission to Abdul Shah Durrani, the new king of Afghanistan, seeking passage of the Companys goods through the Khyber Pass to the Silk Road. Accompanied by his old friend Harry Arburthnot, he travels up the Indus valley and through the Bolan Pass to Kandahar, where he encounters a beautiful Jewish girl with a mission of her own; to return the powerful Sword of Persia to Shah Durrani with the prophesy that goes with it. Continually harassed by the Russians, Jesuits and rebellious Afghans themselves, Alec and Harry finally complete their mission to Cabool, and stage a thrilling escape through the Khyber Pass back into India.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris NZ
• Release date: Jun 28, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483645490

Charles Munro

George Munro, writing under the pseudonym of Charles Munro, is a Christian Mining Engineer who grew up in a small village on the west coast of Ayrshire, in Scotland. Working and travelling extensively in Zambia, West and South Africa, Western Australia, India and New Zealand, ‘Alec Cowie and the Delhi Assignment’ is the first of three adventure stories set in the mid-1700s around his main character, Alec Cowie, and Alec’s employer, The Honourable East India Company. George is happily married to a South African girl, and has four children. He has written a number of short stories, and is currently working on the third book in the ‘Alec Cowie’ series ‘Alec Cowie and the Chinese Enigma’

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The Third Diaspora

725BC – The King’s Palace at Asshur

In the third year of the reign of Shalmaneser V , King of Assyria, King of Babylon, word came to the king in his palace at Asshur that Hoshea, the vassal King of Israel, had rebelled against him. Hoshea had refused to send tribute to him, as was required of Israel from year to year. Moreover, Hoshea had acted deceitfully against him, and sent ambassadors to So (Osorkon IV) , King of Egypt , seeking help in the rebellion against the Assyrians.

With a flourish of trumpets, the great bronze studded doors of the palace audience chambers were drawn open. Two Israeli prisoners were dragged in and flung down in front of Shalmaneser V, King of Assyria. They had been brutally tortured and whipped; their faces reflected the resigned despair they felt regarding their ultimate fate. On all sides, carved reliefs on the walls showed the power of the Assyrians in battle, and the fate of previous vanquished peoples, sapping them of any vestige of hope they still held. Their hands had been tied in front of them in an attitude of supplication.

The king sat well back from where the prisoners lay, seated on a throne raised almost six feet above the floor level. He was dressed in a long short-sleeved cotton gown, dyed a deep purple, over which he wore a beautifully embroidered open tunic, tied round with a twisted silken scarf with a jewelled dagger thrust into it. The embroidery on the tunic was a wonder to behold, with wild animals, winged genies, flowers, and a popular motif of the dragon-peacock, a fabulous monster with the forequarters of a dragon and the splayed tail of a peacock. On his head he wore a short fez, with his hair parted in the middle and falling down in curls on either side. His square-cut beard was dressed in horizontal curls, and on his feet he wore open sandals. On either side of the throne a vast sculpture of a man-headed winged bull gazed blindly ahead, deepening the atmosphere in the chamber of pitiless retribution.

The Captain of the Palace Guard stepped forward and, kneeling before the King, offered up a scroll for his inspection. ‘O Great and Mighty Shalmaneser, King of Kings, live for ever. This is the treacherous word that these Israeli dogs were found carrying back from the hand of So, King of Egypt, to the traitor Hoshea, your vassal in Samaria. The content of the word sent to So, King of Egypt, has been revealed to us by these messengers.’

Shalmaneser glanced briefly at the document in his hand, then motioned with his golden sceptre for one of his advisors to approach the throne. Wordlessly he handed the scroll over, and the advisor began to translate the Hebrew script.

‘Hail, Hoshea……….’

Hardly had he begun when the sharp tap of the king’s sceptre on the arm of his throne brought the translation to an abrupt stop.

‘I do not wish to hear the felicitations offered to this rebellious Israelite. Give me the full meaning of what is written, and then tell me if what he writes is true or false.’

The advisor, who had previously taken steps to scan and translate the captured scroll, began again shakily. ‘The King of Egypt extends the hand of friendship to Israel and will give deep and sympathetic consideration to all that you have requested should Israel attempt to re-establish it’s independence from the protection offered to you by Shalmaneser, King of Assyria.’ (The message actually read ‘from the cruel and crushing yoke placed on your neck by the tyrant King of Assyria’, but the interpreter deemed it more expedient to adjust the wording to suite both the king’s ear and his own neck.)

The advisor continued. ‘The remainder of the message, O King, continues with hollow sounding promises of friendship. You have asked me whether the message is true or false. I am of the opinion that it is false and that no help will be sent by the King of Egypt to the rebels in Samaria.’

‘And what do you base this opinion on?’ asked Shalmaneser, always wary of ill-informed advice from those around him.

‘In accordance with your wise commands, O King, we have informers within the palace of the King of Egypt at Tanis. From these we know that the High Priests of Amun continue to cause internal unrest and the threat of invasion by the Nubians in the south demands that the Egyptian forces, such as they are, be ready to stand against them when they move, as they surely will. Tributes have been received from all other of your vassal provinces, and no other kingdom or province has given any indication of joining with the King of Israel.’

Shalmaneser V sat in silence for some time, then stood.

‘We will go to the temple and seek guidance of our great god Marduk.’

The Temple at Asshur

As King Shalmaneser V entered the temple, he was met by the Chief Priest, six baru (diviners), and a group of kalu (singers/worshipers) chanting songs of praise.

The entrance to the temple led into a small entrance hall, which itself led into a long rectangular courtyard holding a well for cleansing water near the door. A golden statue of the god Marduk stood in the centre at the far end. Recesses in the walls of the courtyard held other jewelled ornaments and statues, with openings in these walls leading into long narrow rooms for the temple priests.

The temple itself was not an elaborate building, being only some two hundred feet square, with mud-brick walls and a flat wooden-beamed thatch-plastered roof. The temple tower, the ziggurat, with its steps leading up to an alter for offerings and sacrifice, lay some distance away outside the temple walls.

A chair was brought in for the King to sit down in front of the water well and the priests and baru sat in a semicircle facing him, while the kalu chanted quietly in the background.

‘I have come’ said the King, ‘to hear what the omens say concerning rebellion in Israel and to learn at what time and on what day I should move against them, should it be propitious for me to do so.’

The Chief Priest stood and bowed low. ‘This morning, O King, as I walked outside of the temple, a chariot passed me at speed and crushed a small animal under its wheels. This omen occurred on my right side. The word to you, O King, is that you must act with speed and you will likewise crush this rebellious nation under the wheels of your chariots. A second omen was revealed to me. As I walked a flight of birds passed overhead and no sooner had they done so than they descended to the ground and laid down flowering twigs they were carrying in their beaks. This omen also took place on my right side. The word to you, O King, is that many other nations will fall before you and become vassal provinces under you and will pay you tribute.’

Shalmaneser smiled grimly. For some time he had been eyeing the rich ports of Tyre, Sidon and Acco in Phoenicia. With a little adjustment to his forthcoming campaign against Israel he could now bring these cities into the Assyrian fold. The time was right and the omens strongly in favour. He stood up.

‘When the favourable day is revealed to you bring the information immediately to me. ‘Act with speed’ the Gods have declared. Any delay on your part will be at your peril.’

The March to Carchemish.

Shadak-Armanya, the turtan (Commander-in-Chief) of the Assyrian army, gazed at the clay tablets laid out on the long table before him and studied them carefully. They showed him the numbers, types and locations of all the troops that he had at his disposal, and listed their equipment in detail. To those whom he considered the most important at the beginning of the campaign, the engineers, he gave special attention. Five thousand he considered adequate for the first leg of the march to Carchemish, where the army would rest, re-group, and build such siege machines as were necessary for the first assault. One thousand seasoned warriors (the quradu) with heavy chariots would surround the King and contribute to any ‘shock troop’ which was needed. Twenty thousand conscripts and thirty thousand auxiliaries had been drawn from the southern provinces and another twenty thousand archers, cavalry and auxiliaries would join them as they marched north to Nineveh then swing west, through Nisibis, Gozan and Haran on their route into Carchemish. The route had been carefully chosen for three main reasons. Firstly it provided a route along which they would find ample fodder for the horses and pack animals. Secondly it would allow the King to ensure that each city made their maximum contribution to the army’s needs. Thirdly, the direction of the march, which would undoubtedly be reported throughout the Mediterranean states, would leave their enemies unsure of Shalmaneser’s intentions. Would he turn north to strike into Urartu? Or swing south to Palmyra and Damascus? Uncertainty would cause confusion, and Shalmaneser planned to make his final 300 mile swoop on Samaria so fast that the Israelites would have no time to consolidate their defences. This strategy paralleled the successful campaign of his father ten years earlier and therefore, according to Assyrian logic, would have the same successful outcome.

Quickly the commander had the tablets showing the army records removed and stored away before calling in his divisional commanders. He had decided to discuss at this meeting only the land and rivers they would have to pass through to reach Carchemish. Even to them, he was not prepared to divulge anything further at this stage. The deception as to their final target had to be maintained as long as possible.

It only took a few hours to ascertain that the army was ready to move on the king’s command. The diviners would have the last word, of course, but that was expected any day now. The men were impatient to get started and the commander was pleased to hear that moral was high.

Marduk had clearly spoken, and the annihilation of the rebellious Kingdom of Israel was imminent.

‘When the sun’s rays strike the alter of sacrifice in five days time’ announced the Great Priest of the Temple of Asshur, standing boldly upright before the throne of Shalmaneser, ‘my Lord the King shall lead his army out from the city. You shall travel to the western limits of the Kingdom and there carry out the work that that has been placed in your hands by our Great God Marduk and confirmed by the lords of divination, Shamassh and Adad, through the omens which have been revealed to your priests. On the day before you leave the city you shall sacrifice in the Temple of Asshur in accordance with the ritual set down for preparation for the task which the Gods have set before you.’

In his position as High Priest as well as King, Shalmaneser knew that he could vary the ritual for the sacrifice in any way that he saw fit, but he was also mindful that such variations should only be minor in order not to offend the priesthood. It would be necessary to ensure proper sacrifice was made to a number of Gods whose favour would have to be sought in relation to the various parts of the campaign over which they had some influence. It was now five days time before the army marched out of the city, so the sacrifice could be made on the fourth day, preferably in the morning, he thought. It wasn’t much time to tie up affairs of state, but then there was little left to do. His brother, whom he had appointed to the position of Grand Vizier, was responsible for ensuring the collection of taxes and could be relied on to push these to their limits to cover the cost of the campaign. Others were already in position to see that things continued to run smoothly while he was away. He dismissed the priests and retired to his chambers to have the scribes write out his litany of virtues to submit to the Gods, make a list of the order of sacrifices, and what favours were to be sought from each one. That in itself was going to take some time.

Three hundred and fifty miles away to the southwest, in Samaria, a group of the priests of the tribe of Ephraim were gathered secretly in the house of Becher, the chief priest. They had been called together to discuss their growing concerns over the conduct of Hoshea, the King of Israel. After seven years on the throne, he appeared to be moving more and more away from God and now, by refusing to pay tribute to the Assyrian king, he was inviting a terrible retribution that Israel, on its own, would be unable to withstand.

‘It’s a disaster’ moaned Aron ben-Joab. ‘It’s going to cost us a fortune to appease the Assyrians now. It will mean we’ll have to raise the price of sin offerings and our people are already suffering under the weight of all the taxes the King has imposed.’

A soft knock at the door made them all start in fear.

‘Do not be afraid’ called Becher, moving to open the door. ‘I have asked Hosea the prophet to….’

‘What! That religious fanatic! I’m not having that man come in and harangue us again simply because we’re trying to get along with our neighbours! He’d have us all live like paupers if he had his way’

‘Hang on, hang on!’ Becher said soothingly. ‘Let’s hear what he has to say. After all, remember that the tribe of Ephraim is directly descended from Jacob’s chosen son Joseph. Surely God is not going to let us get into too much strife. Hosea might have a word that would see us out of this predicament.’

The man who came through the door was in his late forties, but looked a lot older. His short stature was accentuated by a pronounced stoop, his hair was grey and his eyes dark and sombre. He was dressed in a long, slightly shabby sheepskin coat. On his feet he wore open leather sandals.

‘Welcome Hosea’ said Becher. ‘Please sit. We have asked you here tonight….’

‘I know why you have asked me’ said Hosea. His voice was quiet, yet powerful, and his keen eyes moved slowly over the group gathered in the large room. ‘You are afraid that your wealthy and comfortable lifestyles are under threat so you want me to ask the Lord God to deliver you out of the hands of the Assyrians. Am I right?’

There was an uncomfortable silence as Hosea’s words struck home.

‘Hear then the word which the Lord our God has given to me. ‘I know how the priests steal from the sin offerings and I see how you sacrifice at the alters of Baal. Your iniquity, O Israel, is an abomination to My name and your wickedness, O Ephraim, is like bread that has rotted through. You are silly, and without sense, calling to Egypt, seeking favour from Assyria. You have sown in the wind, and you will reap a whirlwind. The tumult of war will come upon you, and your cities will be utterly destroyed. Ephraim will be cast out and scattered to the furthest reaches of the east.’ Hosea paused, and then continued in a softer tone. ‘"But return, O Israel; call a fast, and bring the people into the temple. Humble yourselves and seek my face, and I will have mercy upon you." Amen. Praise be to God’

Without waiting to respond to the babble of protest that arose as he finished speaking, Hosea stood up, gathered his coat around him and left the house.

‘Well, what did we expect’ said one of the priests, getting up and putting on a richly coloured lambs-wool overcoat. ‘That’s all we have ever heard from him. He’s never caught onto the fact that times have changed and we’ve got to be a bit more tolerant of others if we want to see Israel prospering. Anyway, I’m off. It may cost us a bit more, but I’m sure with the right incentives Egypt will stand with us if the Assyrians do threaten.’

There was a general murmur of agreement, some handshakes, and within fifteen minutes they were all gone. Becher sat quietly by himself for some time before his wife came in with some hot milk and a call to come to bed. ‘I see you have had that prophet here again. I can’t stand that man.’ She shuddered. ‘He gives me the creeps.’

Becher nodded. ‘Yes, he is a frightening man, I will admit. But tomorrow, I want you to start planning to take the children back to your family in Moab, just till we see how things are going to settle down here.

That may not be for some months.’

The Thrust to the Coast

By the time the Assyrian army had reached Carchemish it had swelled in numbers, such that all who saw them were overcome with terror and gave up without question all that was asked of them. Each city they had passed through made a great show of honouring Shalmaneser. This was not surprising, as the Governors of these cities were all the king’s sons or cousins and were proud to show how well they had responded to the appointments he had made.

The fields surrounding Carchemish were blotted out by the thousands of tents which had sprung up. All along the northern banks of the river Euphrates the noise of a thousand axes filled the air as forests of timber were felled and floated down to the city for the construction of siege engines, assault towers, battering rams, archers shields, and all the other timber needs of such an enormous army. Within four weeks, the commander of the army was satisfied that they were ready to strike south through Phoenicia and reported accordingly to the King.

‘Call together your divisional commanders’ ordered Shalmaneser. ‘Send the engineers on ahead to prepare a crossing of the Orontes. Detach a supply unit to collect provisions from Aleppo, but ensure that no one there is harmed, for that city is loyal to me. We march at daybreak tomorrow.’

Within six days the Orontes River had been crossed using the boat-bridge that the engineers had constructed, although most of the foot soldiers swam across on inflated pig-skins, or crowded onto the long rafts provided. Within another six days the army was outside the Phoenician port of Sidon, which opened its gates in immediate submission, as did the land based city of Tyre as the Assyrians drew near. Not so the island part of the city. Standing half-a-mile off-shore and heavily fortified with defensive walls almost 150 feet high, it was virtually unassailable by a land-based army. The Assyrian King, however, had no intention of wasting his time in a pointless siege. He left a portion of his force to exact as much booty as possible from the cities and surrounding countryside, then pressed on through northern Israel towards Samaria.

For the Israelites, it was if the earth had opened up and disgorged every demon from Hades to reap death and destruction. Villages were burnt to the ground; cities were crushed to dust; able men, women and children were herded into captivity, while the old and the very young were callously slaughtered. As they approached Samaria, King Hoshea rode out from the city with a delegation bearing fifty talents of silver and ten talents of gold, more than twice the annual tribute which had