His attack did not at once succeed; but it was almost immediately followed by the irruption into South-western Asia of Scythic hordes from beyond the Caucasus, which overran country after country, destroying and ravaging at their pleasure.[14182] The reality of this invasion is now generally admitted.

"It was the earliest recorded," says a modern historian, "of those movements of the northern populations, hid behind the long mountain barrier, which, under the name of Himalaya, Caucasus, Taurus, Haemus, and the Alps, has been reared by nature between the civilised and uncivilised races of the old world.
Suddenly, above this boundary, appeared those strange, uncouth, fur-clad forms, hardly to be distinguished from their horses and their waggons, fierce as their own wolves or bears, sweeping towards the southern regions, which seemed to them their natural prey.

The successive invasions of Parthians, Turks, Mongols in Asia, of Gauls, Goths, Vandals, Huns in Europe, have, it is well said, 'illustrated the law, and made us familiar with its operations.

But there was a time in history before it had come into force, and when its very existence must have been unsuspected.

Even since it began to operate, it has so often undergone prolonged suspension that the wisest may be excused if they cease to bear it in mind, and are as much startled when a fresh illustration of it occurs, as if the like had never happened before.'[14183] No wonder that now, when the veil was for the first time rent asunder, all the ancient monarchies of the South--Assyria, Babylon, Media, Egypt, even Greece and Asia Minor--stood aghast at the spectacle of these savage hordes rushing down on the seats of luxury and power."[14184] Assyria seems to have suffered from the attack almost as much as any other country.