BABYLON AND PERSIA

172 MEDIA, BABYLON, AND PERSIA.for the dead, neither bemoan him ; but weep sore forhim that goeth away, for he shall return no more,nor see his native country" (Jeremiah, XXII., lo).5. Having appointed another of Josiah's sons,Jehoiakim, to reign in Judah, and taken muchgold and silver out of the land, Necho followed inDhutmes' .steps, and pursued his way to theEuphrates, probably conquering the countries as hewent. In 605 he reached the great river ; but herehe was confronted by a foe for whom he was littleprepared.Things had gone faster than he had ex¬pected, and differently: Nineveh had fallen theyear before under the united efforts of the Medesunder Kyaxares and the Babylonians under Nabopolassar.*It was therefore not the worn-out old lionof Asshur whom the Pharaoh encountered, but the.strong and victorious lion of Babel, with threateningfangs and ominous growl.The Babylonian army,commanded not by Nabopolassar, who was old andinfirm, but by his young son,Nebuchadrezzar, al¬ready a renowned warrior and accomplished general,met the Egyptian force near Karkhemish,Karkhemish ; and Completely routed it. How NechoNlclTJbyreturned to the Nile after this disaster,Nebuchadrez- j i i '._ i_ t ^ * ,zar.-6o5 B.C. and liow loug it took him, we have nohint,he is heard of no more.6. The victory of Karkhemish would have beenfollowed up more vigorously and immediately, hadnot Nebuchadrezzar, soon after he started in pursuitof the routed Pharaoh, been hastily summoned toBabylon.His father, Nabopolassar, had died after* See " Story of Assyria," pp. 427, 428.