If their enemies fled to islands which could not be reached by moles, or to lands across the sea, in almost every instance they escaped.

Such escapes are represented upon the sculptures, where we see the Assyrians taking a maritime town at one end, while at the other the natives are embarking their women and children, and putting to sea, without any pursuit being made after them.

In none of the bas-reliefs do we observe any sea-going vessels with Assyrians on board and history tells us of but two or three expeditions by sea in which they took part.

One of these was an expedition by Sennacharib against the coast of the Persian Gulf, to which his Chaldaean enemies had fled.

On this occasion he brought shipwrights from Phoenicia to Assyria, and made them build him ships there, which were then launched upon the Tigris, and conveyed down to the sea.