Kassites

“ According to Breasted it signifies "rulers of countries", which compares with the Biblical "Tidal king of nations", whom Sayce, as has been indicated, regards as a Hittite monarch. When the Hittite hieroglyphics have been read and Mesopotamia thoroughly explored, light may be thrown on the relations of the Mitannians, the Hittites, the Hyksos, and the Kassites between 1800 B.C. and 1500 B.C. It is evident that a fascinating volume of ancient history has yet to be written.
The Kassites formed the military aristocracy of Babylonia, which was called Karduniash, for nearly six centuries. ”

“ It is possible that the invading Kassites had overrun Elam and composed part of Rim-Sin's army. After settled conditions were secured many of them remained in Babylonia, where they engaged like their pioneers in agricultural pursuits. No doubt they were welcomed in that capacity, for owing to the continuous spread of culture and the development of commerce, rural labour had become scarce and dear. Farmers had a long-standing complaint, "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few". ”

“ Babylonia suffered less than Assyria by defeat in battle; its natural resources gave it great recuperative powers, and the native population was ever so intensely patriotic that centuries of alien sway could not obliterate their national aspirations. A conqueror of Babylon had to become a Babylonian. The Amorites and Kassites had in turn to adopt the modes of life and modes of thought of the native population. Like the Egyptians, the Babylonians ever achieved the intellectual conquest of their conquerors. ”

“ A third solution of the problem is that the Aryan rulers of the Mitannian Hittites were the overlords of northern Babylonia, which they included in their Mesopotamian empire for a century before the Kassites achieved political supremacy in the Tigro-Euphrates valley, and that they were also the leaders of the Hyksos invasion of Egypt, which they accomplished with the assistance of their Hittite and Amoritic allies. ”

“ The Kassites were a warlike people whose home lay on the east of the Tigris, and to the north of Elam, and they apparently commenced raiding Babylonian territory in the reign of Samsu-iluna, though they do not seem to have materially affected the Babylonian power. About a century later however, the dynasty of Babylon was brought to an end by an invasion of the Hittites of Cappadocia who sacked the city, destroyed the temple of the great city-god, Marduk, and carried off his statue as a trophy. ”

“ There are references to Agni of the Bharatas, and a goddess Bharati is mentioned in connection with the Saraswati river.
It appears highly probable that the Bharatas and the Kuru-Panchalas represent late invasions of peoples who displaced the earlier Aryan settlers in Hindustan. Among the enemies of the invaders were the Kasis, a tribe which became associated with Benares. It is not possible to prove the theory that this people had any connection with the Kassites who established a Dynasty at Babylon. ”

“ CHAPTER IV—RECENT EXCAVATIONS IN WESTERN ASIA AND THE DAWN OF CHALDÆAN HISTORY
CHAPTER V—ELAM AND BABYLON, THE COUNTRY OF THE SEA AND THE KASSITES
CHAPTER VI—EARLY BABYLONIAN LIFE AND CUSTOMS
CHAPTER VII—TEMPLES AND TOMBS OF THEBES
CHAPTER VIII—THE ASSYRIAN AND NEO-BABYLONIAN EMPIRES IN THE LIGHT OF
CHAPTER IX—THE LAST DAYS OF ANCIENT EGYPT
List of Illustrations
Book Spines
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007.jpg the Bed of an Ancient Watercourse in The Wadiyên, Thebes. ”

“ The Kassite dynasty was founded by Kandis, Gandis or Gaddas (about 1780 B.C.) , and lasted for 5763/4 years. Under this foreign dominion, which offers a striking analogy to the contemporary rule of the Hyksos in Egypt, Babylonia lost its empire over western Asia, Syria and Palestine became independent, and the high-priests of Assur made themselves kings of Assyria. The divine attributes with which the Semitic kings of Babylonia had been invested disappeared at the same time; the title of “god” is never given to a Kassite sovereign. ”

“ The Kasai women, perhaps owing to their meat diet, are noticeably strong and well nourished, and there is a saying to the effect that, ‘The butcher’s daughter will bear children when she is ten years old.’ The deities of the Kasais are a number of Muhammadan saints, who are known as Aulia or Favourites of God. The caste bury the dead, and on the third day they read the Kalma over some parched grain and distribute this to the caste-fellows, who eat it in the name of the deceased man, invoking a blessing upon him. ”

“ During the last decade the numbers of the caste have very greatly increased owing to the rise of the cattle-slaughtering industry. Two kinds of Kasais may be distinguished, the Gai Kasai or cow-killers and the Bakar Kasai or mutton butchers. The latter, however, are usually Hindus and have been formed into a separate caste, being known as Khatīk. Like other Muhammadans who have adopted professions of a not too reputable nature, the Kasais have become a caste, partly because the ordinary Muhammadan declines to intermarry with them, and partly no doubt in imitation of the Hindu social system. ”

“ The name of the last Kassite ruler, who reigned for only three years, is broken in the Kings' List, but it is possible that we may restore it as Bêlnadin-akhi, [61] whom Nebuchadnezzar I. mentions after referring to the invasion which cost Zamama-shum-iddin his life. Whether we accept the identification or not, we may certainly connect the fall of the Kassite Dynasty with aggression on the part of Elam, such as so often before had changed the course of Babylonian politics. ”

“ Though the better-class Kasbis appear to have a sort of caste union, this is naturally quite indefinite, inasmuch as marriage, at present the essential bond of caste-organisation, is absent. The sons of Kasbis take up any profession that they choose; and many of them marry and live respectably with their wives. Others become musicians and assist at the performances of the dancing-girls, as the Bhadua who beats the cymbals and sings in chorus and also acts as a pimp, and the Sārangia, one who performs on the sārangi or fiddle. ”

“ It stood on the high-road to the west, and it is not surprising, therefore, that the Kassite kings, after making themselves masters of the future kingdom of Assyria, should have continued their victorious career as far as the shores of the Mediterranean. We may conjecture that Nimrod was the first of them who planted his power so firmly in Palestine as to be remembered in the proverbial lore of the country, and to have introduced that Babylonian culture of which the Tel el-Amarna tablets have given us such abundant evidence. ”

“ The man said then, ‘Kisesa has been in a hurry to die to come so soon to Kwikuru, the capital of the King of Urori. Does Kisesa usually fight in such a hurry? It has been our custom to talk first before we fight. What does Kisesa mean?’ asked the King, for it was he, though we could not see him, as he took care not to let himself be seen.
“‘Thou art a dog, and a son of a dog!’ answered Kisesa. ‘Hast thou not been making war upon our merchants, killing them in the forest for the sake of their ivory? Hast thou not been mutilating their young sons by cutting off their right hands? ”

“ The theory of this Cushite–Elamite migration, outlined by Glaser (Skizze, vol. II) is thus recounted by Hommel (Ancient Hebrew Tradition, p. 39) :
"Egyptian records furnish us with an important piece of ethnological evidence. From the XIIth dynasty (2200 B. C.?) onwands a new race makes its appearance on the Egyptian horizon: the Kashi in Nubia. This name was originally applied to Elam (Babyl. kashu: cf. the Kissioi of Herodotus, the modern Khuzistan; cf. also Cutch and Kachh in India) , and according to Hebrew translation, was afterwards given to various parts of central and southern Arabia ”

“ Samson grinned weakly. "Is it likely? Harlow—get this. The Kassids aren't invaders in the usual meaning of the term. They haven't got any mind-rays or insidious hypnotic powers, and they aren't interested in taking over anybody's property. That's the first thing. Second, they're not a race and they're not an empire. I saw at least twenty different life-forms aboard their ship, and I learned enough to know that they were all Kassids. That would seem to account for that business in the legends about their being able to change forms. ”

“ It must not be concluded, however, that the migrations were historical disasters, or that they retarded the general advancement of the human race. In time the barbarians became civilized and fused with the peoples whom they conquered. They introduced, too, into communities which had grown stagnant and weakly, a fresh and invigorating atmosphere that acted as a stimulant in every sphere of human activity. The Kassite, for instance, was a unifying and therefore a strengthening influence in Babylonia. ”

“ The upper Kasai basin and its peoples were further investigated by a Hungarian traveller, E. Torday, in 1908-1909. (See Torday’s paper in Geog. Jour., 1910; also Congo and the authorities there cited.)
KASBEK (Georgian, Mkin-vari; Ossetian, Urs-khokh) , one of the chief summits of the Caucasus, situated in 42° 42′ N. and 44° 30′ E., 7 m. as the crow flies from a station of the same name on the high road to Tiflis. Its altitude is 16,545 ft. It rises on the range which runs north of the main range (main water-parting) , and which is pierced by the gorges of the Ardon and the Terek. ”

“ We find caste existing in Egypt from the earliest times. This becomes intelligible on the supposition of an Aryan origin. It is a parallelism to what took place on the ground occupied in India by another, but later, offset of this race. Caste could not develop itself spontaneously in the bosom of an indigenous, and homogeneous people. It is impossible to conceive such a phenomenon under such circumstances. ”

“ The lodges passed into wide dormered [Pg 199] homesteads, and bowers of foliage promised the fruits of Europe among old forest trees. Jean heard the drum, and saw white uniforms moving back and forth, and gun barrels glistening, and the lilies of France floating over expeditions which put out to the south. This was Kaskaskia. The traffic of the West gathered to it. Men and women crossed the wilderness to find the charm of life there; the waterways and a north trail as firm as a Roman road bringing them easily in. ”

“ Then when silence fell upon them young Kasyan spoke:
"Greatly have ye sinned against the Most High, ye mighty heroes of Holy Russia; for though ye are bold and fearless, ye have made a plaything of death and shed much blood without cause. Will you agree, one and all, to follow out my plan? It would be better that each of us should now go on a pilgrimage to the holy city of Jerusalem, to pray in the Holy of Holies, to visit the grave of the Risen Lord, and to bathe in Jordan river, for in this way only shall we win pardon for our sins. ”

“ The Kasais are one of the lowest of the Muhammadan castes, and will admit into their community even low-caste Hindu converts. They celebrate their weddings by the nikāh form, but until recently many Hindu rites were added [347] to it. The Kāzi is employed to conduct the marriage, but if his services are not available a member of the caste may officiate instead. Polygamy is permitted to the number of four wives. A man may divorce his wife simply for disobedience, but if a woman wishes to divorce her husband she must forego the Meher or dowry promised at the time of the wedding. ”

“ Khattusil replies that the king of Egypt and he had formed a friendship and had concluded an alliance: "We are brothers, and against a foe will we fight together, and with a friend will we together maintain friendship." [39] And his next remark enables us to identify his Kassite correspondent; for he adds, "and when the king of Egypt [formerly] attacked [Khatti] , then did I write to inform thy father Kadashman-turgu." Khattusil was thus the contemporary of two Kassite kings, Kadashman-turgu and Kadashman-Enlil II., the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth rulers of the dynasty. ”

“ The hill tribes surrounding the valley of Cachar were the Kassias, Nagas, Kookies, Munipoories and Looshais, all of very similar type, except that the Munipoories were of somewhat lighter skin, were more civilized and handsomer. The Kassias were noted for their wonderful muscular development, no doubt accounted for by their being mountaineers, their poonjes (villages) being situated on the sides of high and steep mountains. All their market products, supplies, etc., were packed up and down these hills in thoppas, a sort of baskets or chairs slung on the back by a band over the forehead. ”

“ It was given by the Mohammedans to the natives for the purpose of distinguishing themselves. It does not occur in any Sanskrit work prior to the Mohammedan invasion. They did not feel the necessity of a common name because they had no conception of their having constituted a community. Hindu society as such does not exist. It is only a collection of castes. Each caste is conscious of its existence. Its survival is the be all and end all of its existence. Castes do not even form a federation. A caste has no feeling that it is affiliated to other castes except when there is a Hindu-Muslim riot. ”

“ The Kschatrya or military caste, and the Vaisya or mercantile caste, have become almost extinct, leaving the Brahmins and Sudras as the two great divisions. These two have again been subdivided into many tribes and castes, so that it is commonly said that there are eighteen chief, and one hundred and eight minor castes. There is a large body of outcasts belonging to neither of the four original castes, and called Pariahs; though despised by the others, they have among themselves distinctions of dignity which they hold as tenaciously as do the higher orders theirs. ”