along with them; and the soldiers, finding themselves within the city without any control, and many of them belonging to cities over which the Thebans had domineered with the utmost pride and insolence, began an indiscriminate massacre, and ultimately levelled the city to the ground-murdering, or making slaves of all the inhabitants. This execution struck terror into the rest of Greece; and enabled Alexander to carry forward his scheme of the invasion of Persia, without interruption.

Alexander then crossed the Hellespont, B.C. 334, into Asia Minor. There he was met by the Persian troops, whom he defeated at the passage of the Granicus; and thus cleared his way to the possession of the whole of Asia Minor. After arranging the affairs of Asia Minor, he proceeded towards Syria, and crossing Mount Taurus, encountered the Persian Army, under Darius Codomannus, at Issus, and totally defeated it. He then proceeded along the sea-coast of Syria, possessing himself of the various towns on his route. He was resisted by Tyre, but after a siege of two years, took it by storm, and destroyed it. He then proceeded to Egypt, which fell easily into his hands; and there he founded the city of Alexandria. Having settled the affairs of Syria and Egypt, he proceeded eastward towards Persia, where the Persian king had been preparing an army to resist him. The two armies met at Gaugamela, near Arbela, on the east of the Tigris; where the Persian army was again defeated, and thus the fate of Asia was decided. Darius fled to Ecbatana, and afterwards to Bactria, where he was assassinated.

Alexander then took possession of Babylon. He afterwards occupied himself in subduing some of the neighbouring tribes. He crossed the Indus, and gained some victories over the people that inhabited these regions. But here his soldiers mutinied, refusing to accompany him further, so that he was under the necessity of returning westward. He came to Babylon, where he died of fever, supposed by some to have been occasioned by poison, B.C. 323.

ROME. From the time that Rome became a republic, its history, for several centuries, is occupied chiefly by dissensions, similar to those in Greece, between the patricians or nobles, and the plebeians or people, and by wars for supremacy, with the neighbouring states. The general tendency of the movements that were taking place in the city, was towards a democracy. The patricians had assumed to themselves the exclusive government of the people; but the people, as they came to understand their importance and weight, gradually vindicated their own rights. In one of these contests, an army in the field deserted the consuls, and encamped in the vicinity of Rome; and the patricians were reduced to the humiliating necessity of proposing terms to the plebeians.

The chief incident of importance, in this part of Roman history, is the invasion of the Gauls. Brennus had attacked one of the northern states, that were in treaty with the Romans. The Romans interposed for the assistance of their allies. The Gauls and Romans came to a battle, near the city of Rome. The Roman army was entirely defeated, the city taken and burned, and the Capitol, or citadel, closely besieged. The Romans were constrained to purchase the retreat of the Gauls, (B.C. 385,) by giving them 1000 pounds of gold. This was during the reign of Artaxerxes Mnemon, king of Persia. It was not till the year 266, B.C. that the Romans were masters of all Italy.

CARTHAGE. This city was still growing in opulence and power. It was busily engaged in attempting to make conquests-the chief object of its military operations being Sicily. The object of the Carthagenians was to obtain possession of that Island; but in that they never succeeded. The sea coasts of Sicily were colonized by Greeks; and they, partly by their superior military tactics, and partly by obtaining aid from Greece, frustrated every attempt of Carthage, powerful as she was, to enslave them.

FROM THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER, B.C. 323, TO THE BIRTH OF CHRIST.

Alexander, having died a young man, left no children capable of assuming the government of his empire.. This circumstance immediately led to cabals and intrigues among his principal officers-the object of which was, to secure, each for himself, as great a share of the empire as possible. At first, an attempt was made to erect a government in the name of one of Alexander's children, with one of the Macedonian generals for his protector; the provinces being distributed among other generals, as governors. The central government, however, wanted strength to keep the governors in subordination. Every one soon sought not only to make himself an independent prince, but to seize on his neighbour's territory. Then followed a scene of confusion, of treachery, and of bloodshed, such as the world has scarcely ever witnessed. One of the first results was, that the whole family of Alexander were successively murdered. Olympias, his mother, the wife of Philip, perished by the hand of the executioner. At length, after nearly all of the generals of Alexander had fallen in battle, or had been murdered, the result of the struggle was the partition of the empire into four kingdoms, as predicted by Daniel the prophet. To Ptolemy Lagus were allotted Egypt, Lybia, Arabia, Coelo-Syria, and Palestine. To Cassander, the son of Antipater, (whom Alexander had left in Greece, to watch over his interests there,) were allotted Macedonia and Greece. To Lysimachus, Thrace, Bithynia, and some other Asiatic provinces; and to Seleucus, all the other parts of Asia, as far as India. But, although these four kingdoms were thus formed out of Alexander's empire, there was no cessation of hostilities. On the contrary, there were almost perpetual wars among them, till they were all swallowed up by the Roman empire.

SYRIA. The arrival of Seleucus, at Babylon, B. C. 312, to take possession of the eastern provinces of Alexander's empire, after having been obliged by Antigonus, to fly to Egypt, is called the era of the Seleucidæ, which word means the descendants of Seleucus; and was the era which was long in use in the east for computing time.

Seleucus was a prince of great talent, and much beloved by his subjects, for his great clemency. He was at war with Antigonus, as soon as he came to the throne; and at length succeeded in defeating and slaying him in battle, at Ipsus. He and Lysimachus were now the only surviving generals of Alexander. When both were about seventy years of age, they went to war with one another, and Lysimachus was alain. Soon afterwards, Seleucus himself was treacherously murdered. Seleucus built many cities, 16 of which he named Antioch, after the name of his son, the most celebrated of which was Antioch in Syria on the Orontes; several he named Seleucia, from his own name, and several Apamia, from the name of his wife. Seleucus was succeeded by

Antiochus Soter, who reigned 19 years, and was succeeded, B. C. 261, by his son,

Antiochus II. or Theos.-Having divorced his wife, Laodice, for Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy, king of Egypt; and on the death of Ptolemy, having put away Berenice, and taken back by Laodice; the latter, to secure herself from further disgrace, poisoned him, and raised her son, Seleucus to the throne, B. C. 246.

Seleucus II. or Calinicus, with his wicked mother, then put Berenice and her son to death; which so enraged her brother, Ptolemy, that he invaded the dominions of Seleucus, and getting Laodice into his hands, put her to death. Seleucus embarked in an expedition into Parthia, where he was defeated, taken prisoner, and after four years' captivity, died. He was succeeded by

Seleucus III. or Ceraunus, who after reigning one year, was poisoned by two of his officers.

Antiochus, surnamed the Great, succeeded him.

His reign was a continued series of wars with the neighbouring princes, particularly Ptolemy Philopator, king of Egypt, and Arsaces, king of Parthia, which led to no important or permanent result. His reign is remarkable for having first given occasion to the Romans to interfere in the affairs of the east. Ptolemy, king of Egypt, dying and leaving a son only five years old, to succeed him, Antiochus formed a conspiracy with Philip, king of Macedon, to seize on his dominions. Upon this, the Alexandrians sent to Rome for protection, which was readily granted; and Antiochus was required, on the authority of the Roman republic, to desist from his attempt on Egypt. Antiochus, afterwards, on the advice of Hannibal, the celebrated Carthaginian general, made war with the Romans but was ultimately defeated, and was obliged to purchase peace on the most ignominious terms. Antiochus, was afterwards slain, when he was attempting to rob the temple of Jupiter at Elymais.

Seleucus IV, surnamed Philopator, succeeded him, B. C. 187. After a reign of twelve years, he died, leaving his throne to

Antiochus IV, surnamed Epiphanes, one of the most blood-thirsty and barbarous tyrants, that ever disgraced any throne. The Romans, now in effect, gave laws to Syria, so that when Antiochus hesitated about obeying some of the commands of the Senate, the Roman ambassador drew a circle round him, and insisted on receiving an answer before he should leave that spot. It was this prince, who, by his outrageous persecution of the Jews, drove them to exasperation ; and stirred up that successful resistance of his authority, which is recorded in the two books of Maccabees. In the midst of this Jewish war, he went on an expedition to the east. In his absence, his generals were defeated by the Jews; on which, he hastened back to revenge himself upon them but died miserably on his journey.

After his death, the Syrian throne fell a prey to a succession of usurpers and impostors, who rapidly followed one another, and whose names it is not