The Assyrians and ISIS

Listened to a podcast on history the other day and the host talked about ancient history this particular time.  As I listened I realized that history just repeats itself.  ISIS has to work a little harder to match the inhumanity and savagery of the Assyrians.  And ISIS would do well to look at what happened to the Assyrians when their state was finally defeated.  As the bible says as you sow so shall you reap.

The Assyrians were in power something like 1500 years BC.  They were viscous as they built and maintained their empire. Some examples include one Assyrian king who pickled the head of a defeated king and put it in a jar.  Then he took the wife of the defeated king as his own.  Another killed all the children of a defeated king in front of him and then gouged out his eyes so that this was the last thing that he ever saw.  Another time a Kings corpse was left out to picked clean by vultures, then his sons made to grind his bones into dust. Another time rebelling nobles were skinned and their skins left on the walls.Enemy Soldiers impaled on stakes.  And well this is just a sample - certainly a bloodthirsty folk. And very much like ISIS in their desire to instill fear in their subjects and enemies.

But today one does not hear much about the Assyrians.  An ancient Greek army retreating through the area of this former civilization reported vast abandoned cities that had been laid waste some time in the past. And the capital was razed to the ground - no trace was left. An alliance was formed and attacked the weakened Assyrians.  And as they gained ground they massacred the Assyrians as they had done to them over the years.  Finally the last Assyrian fortress fell and the empire was no more - ground to dust as they had done to that long dead king from long before. And as you can see they sowed hate and cruelty and in the end that is what they reaped.

So a day will come for ISIS when their enemies rally and bring down them down as well and as history repeats itself and it will - they will reap what they have sowed...