Shinar

“ From Sangar also horses were exported into Egypt, and in one of the Tel el-Amarna letters, the king of Alasiya in Northern Syria writes to the Pharaoh,—"Do not set me with the king of the Hittites and the king of Sankhar; whatever gifts they have {68} sent to me I will restore to thee twofold." In hieroglyphic and cuneiform spelling, Sangar and Sankhar are the exact equivalents of the Hebrew Shinar.
How the name of Shinar came to be transferred from Mesopotamia to Babylonia is a puzzle. The Mesopotamian Shinar is nowhere near the Babylonian frontier. ”

“ According to Gen. -xi. 1-9, mankind, after the deluge, travelled from the mountain of the East (or Elwand) , where the ark had rested, and settled in Shinar (Sumir, or the north-west of Chaldea) . Here they attempted to build a city and a tower whose top might reach unto heaven, but were miraculously prevented by their language being confounded. In this way the diversity of human speech was accounted for ”

“ That the Chaldeans came from some other locality into this land is not doubted, but from whence they came is not known.
The southern part of Chaldea was called Shumir—the Hebrews writing it Shinar; the land immediately north they called Accad. The dwellers in both districts came from the same stock and spoke practically the same language. The name Accad means mountains, or highlands, and it has been surmised that it may have attached to the inhabitants from some earlier home. ”

“ The change from k to š (sh) being provable, it is possible that Kingi-Ura, pronounced Shingi-Ura, may have originated the Hebrew form Shinar (better Shin'ar) , through the intermediate forms Shingura and Shingar.
The statement that Elam was the firstborn of Shem (Gen. x. 22) receives illustration from the fact, that many inscriptions have been found showing that Semitic Babylonian was not only well known, but also used in that country. From the order in which the names occur in Genesis, it ought to be the earliest of the Semitic settlements, coming before Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. ”

“ Such affinities and resemblances are only to be explained by a common origin, though the point of junction may have been distant.
It has also been asserted that an Aryan element helped to compose the population of primitive Chaldæa, that sister tribes to those of India and Persia, Armenia and Asia Minor furnished their contingents to the mixed population of Shinar. Some have even declared that a time came when those tribes obtained the chief power. It may have been so, but the evidence upon which the [Pg 19] hypothesis rests is very slight. ”

“ Shinar, is a Province about Babylon, as in Gen. 10.10. where Babel is said to be in Shinar; and Dan. 1.2. it is said, that Nebuchadnezzar carryed the holy Vessels to the Land of Shinar.
Hamath, there are many Hamaths mentioned in the Scripture, many understand it of Antioch; but because Geographers reckon up 12 41places named Antioch, therefore we can affirme nothing for certain; but I thinke, that that is meant, which is placed in Sythia. ”

“ Shinar, the plain to the south of the junction of the Euphrates and Tigris. Then follow the Syrian Hamath at the northern foot of the Lebanon; and lastly, “the islands of the sea,” i.e., the islands and coast-land of the Mediterranean, together with the whole of the insular continent of Europe. There was no such diaspora of Israel at the time when the prophet uttered this prediction, nor indeed even after the dissolution of the northern kingdom; so that the specification is not historical, but prophetic. The redemption which the prophet here foretells is a second, to be followed by no third ”

“ I replied, for I knew my Arabian Nights by heart.
"Very well, then," said Shin Shira. "All you've got to do is to get the Slave of the Lamp to bring us the Roc, which I happen to know is still alive; we can then fasten ourselves to his claws, and he will fly back to his home with us, and there, as you know, the ground is strewn with precious stones." ”

“ Hi!" I heard voices shouting, and looking up to the cliffs I saw some people waving frantically. "Come up quickly, or you'll be cut off," they shouted.
And I hurried along the sands, only just in time, for I had been so interested in Shin Shira's story that I had not noticed how the tide had been creeping up. I shall have a good look at that jewel in Shin Shira's turban next time I see him—and as for "the Bellows," I hardly know which explanation to accept, Shin Shira's or that of the guide. ”

“ The Shinwaris, whom I mentioned in the early part of my narrative as being considered dangerous even by the Amîr’s troops, are by some supposed to be of Albanian descent, and to have been placed by Nadir Shah in their present position as a guard to the Khyber. They, however, do not show a trace of such an origin, for their manners and customs are Pathan and their language Pukhtu. Bellew considers [205] them as probably the Sanobari or Sinawàri Indians of Rajput descent. ”

“ I said to Shin Shira, who had been listening attentively. "I'll dismiss the man now, shall I, and we'll talk over what's best to be done?"
Shin Shira nodded, so I told the Slave I had no further use for him at the moment, and he vanished.
I stood looking at my little friend in great bewilderment.
[Pg 105] "It is a great power to possess," I said, regarding the lamp with awe and amazement. "I hope I shan't do anything foolish with it."
"Don't be silly," said Shin Shira crossly. "I only wish I had your chance. Why, you can do anything with a power like that. ”

“ I then swallowed my stone, and immediately became almost as tiny as my small cousin, having, for my part, wished to be reduced to the height of an inch and a half, thinking that some sort of distinction ought to be preserved in our relative sizes.
"There!" exclaimed Lionel in a vexed voice, when I had joined him. "It's no use after all! How on earth are we going to get on board?"
"Ah!" cried Shin Shira, laughing good-humouredly and now looking, to us, like a good-natured giant, towering as he did high above our heads. ”

“ That is different."
"Neither are the Shinros alive, they only seem so. They do not know what they have lost—it is much as if they had died.
"But come, I must show you where we can get a ship to take us away from this and into your world. I have a life to live, I want to live it! You—have a message to deliver to your people, or they will become the Shinros of the whole race of Schrees. I do not like to think what can happen to your world!" ”

“ Now the King and Shirin were looking on, and the Queen said, "O King, didst thou note the meanness of the man, in that he must needs stoop down to pick up the one dirham, and could not bring himself to leave it for any of the King's servants?" When the King heard these words, he was exceeding wroth with the fisherman and said, "Thou art right, O Shirin!" So he called the man back and said to him, "Thou low-minded carle! Thou art no man! How couldst thou put the bag with all this money off thy back and bend thee groundwards to pick up the one dirham and grudge to leave it where it fell?" ”

“ Before the ice locked the ponds Siena killed a hundred moose and reindeer. Meat and fat and oil and robes changed the world for the Crow tribe.
Fires burned brightly all the long winter; the braves awoke from their stupor and chanted no more; the women sang of the Siena who had come, and prayed for summer wind and moonlight to bring his bride.
Spring went by, summer grew into blazing autumn, and Siena’s fame and the wonder of the shooting stick spread through the length and breadth of the land. ”

“ I rubbed the lamp and summoned the Slave, who appeared promptly as before.
"I'm sorry to ask such a difficult thing, but can you catch the Roc for me and bring it here?" said I, somewhat apologetically.
[Pg 108] "It shall be here, Master, in twenty minutes," replied the Slave imperturbably, vanishing again at a wave from my hand.
"I don't know, I'm sure, what I want diamonds for, when I have such a willing servant," I grumbled, still rather unwilling to venture upon what I regarded as an uncanny undertaking.
"He can't provide you with money," said Shin Shira. ”

“ It is this, Shireen. Those beautiful English books tell me that in England a man has someone to love and care for him, someone whose lot in life is the same as his; that someone is his life. But here in Persia—oh! Shireen, Shireen—if one is as I am, the daughter of a noble, and if she is beautiful and clever, her lot is indeed a hard one. She is sold—yes, sold is the right name, to the Shah.
“My father is cold-hearted and cruel. I seldom see him. He is ever, ever at Court, and when in the hunting season he brings a party to this lovely castle I am hidden away. And why, think you, Shireen? ”

“ I hurriedly turned to the letter C, intending to look for "collar-stud"—but, [Pg 52] to my great disappointment, there was no such word to be found.
"Of course not," I suddenly thought; "the people who live in the land from which Shin Shira comes don't wear such things," and I let my mind wander back to my little friend with his yellow silk costume and turban. ”

“ A snapping of twigs alarmed Siena and he whirled upon the defensive, but too late to save himself. A band of Indians pounced upon him and bore him to the ground. One wrestling heave Siena made, then he was overpowered and bound. Looking upward, he knew his captors, though he had never seen them before; they were the lifelong foes of his people, the fighting Crees.
A sturdy chief, bronze of face and sinister of eye, looked grimly down upon his captive. “Baroma makes Siena a slave.”
Siena and his tribe were dragged far southward to the land of the Crees. ”

“ His teachings to-day are spread far and wide in the land of his birth, and are an inspiration to millions within and without its shores. In him was the harmonised spirit of Buddhism at its highest. Those who can enter into the heart of Shinran Shōnin will have gained understanding of the heart of a mighty people which is said to be impossible of Western reading, and yet in its essentials is simple as the heart of a child. ”

“ I inquired carefully, for I remembered from previous experience that Shin Shira's magical powers had an unfortunate habit of going wrong at times.
"Without the least doubt," replied he; "in fact, from the time that you are reduced to the size which you desire to be, you very gradually increase, till your original size is reached."
"Then there's no danger?" I hazarded.
"None whatever," was the reassuring reply.
"Then do, do please let us be 'reduced,'" pleaded Lionel eagerly.
"Very well, then," said I. "And do you propose that we should go for a trip in the model yacht?" ”

“ The true Sinjar mountain ends about nine miles from Jedaila, the high ridge suddenly subsiding into low broken hills. From all parts of the plain it is a very beautiful object. Its limestone rocks, wooded here and there with dwarf oak, are of a rich golden color; and the numberless ravines, which furrow its sides, form ribs of deep purple shadow. The western part of the Sinjar is inhabited by the Yezidi tribe of Kherraniyah. We [Pg 220] rode over the plain in a parallel line to the mountain, and about seven or eight miles from it. ”

“ There would not be a batch of men working in a field, nor a few people walking on the road, nor a little gathering going to a neighbour's house in the evening, nor a company going to have a drink, but that the first question that would start up among them would be, "Man, did you hear what Grey Dermot did? Oh, upon my word and credit, he walked straight up to Shiana' s house, and he wanted, right or wrong, to bring Shiana down with him by the poll of his head and marry him there and then, to Sive, in spite of his back teeth! ”

“ Shin Shira sprang to the opening.
"I'll attract him in another direction, and while he is after me you all escape over the [Pg 125] fence," he cried hurriedly, and snatching a red silk handkerchief from Lionel's pocket, he rushed out into the open.
The bull paused, and though I frantically shouted to Shin Shira to come back, the brave little fellow flourished the red handkerchief to attract the creature's attention. With a bellow of anger the infuriated animal, holding his head down, tore after the Dwarf, who ran with surprising swiftness in the opposite direction to the marquee. ”

“ There were big horses there, and little horses, old horses and young horses, black horses and white horses, grey horses and speckled horses, horses neighing and horses leaping, horses that had fine skins and were well-built and powerful, and ugly little shaggy colts. Among them all he utterly failed to fix his mind upon the one that he would like.
At last he laid his eye upon a fine jet-black horse, well-knit and full of braced-up energy, that was cantering about the field with a light lissom rider on his back. Shiana moved up and beckoned to the rider. ”

“ I laughed; "but we shall be delighted with your company if you care to stay."
"That's all right then," said Shin Shira, settling down comfortably; "there's nothing I should like better this warm day," and he took off his turban and rubbed his little bald head with a yellow silk handkerchief.
The sight of the jewel in it reminded him to ask me what became of the two bags of diamonds he left in the basket of the balloon when he disappeared on our way back to Baghdad. ”

“ Fortunately Lionel's boast was not a vain one, and he reached the shore before I did, laughing and wringing the water out of his clothes.
"Well, it's good to be on dry land once more at any rate," he said, as I waded ashore, "isn't it?"
"Yes," I agreed, looking about to see if I [Pg 78] could discover any traces of Shin Shira in the dusk.
"There he is!" at last cried Lionel, "but his head has vanished, and there are only his legs and arms waving about. They won't be much use to us, and—by Jove! yes! Look, here comes that wretched old duck after us. ”