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MlPBit V hltOTHKItS

M E S O 1' O T A M I A

AND

ASSYRIA,

The Birs Nimrod.

NEW-YORK;

PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS,
No. S2 CLirr-STREET.

M E S O r O T A M I A

AND

ASSYRIA,

FROM THE

EARLIEST AGES TO THE PRESENT TIME ;

WITH

ILLUSTRATIONS OF THEIR NATURAL HISTORY.

BY J. BAILLIE ERASER, ESQ.,
Author of " An Historical and Descriptive Account of Persia," <fec.

WITH A MAP AND ENGRAVINGS.

N E W - Y O R K :

HARPER AND BROTHERS, 82 CLIFF-ST.

THE LIBRARY

RRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

PROVO, UTAH

PREFACE

In the work now presented to the public, the au-
thor has endeavoured to bring under one view all
that is known of the history and aspect, moral, phys-
ical, and political, of the provinces of Mesopotamia
and Assyria ; and to give, at the same lime, a sketch
of the causes that have produced the revolutions of
which they have been the theatre. The subject is
extensive and complicated, and the difficulty of com-
pressing the matter which it embraces into one vol-
ume was proportionally great. That all which
might have been done towards the attainment of
this object has really been effected, is more than the
author ventures to assert ; but he can safely affirm
that no pains have been spared in collecting the most
suitable materials to be found in the writings of
others, as well as in applying such as have been fur-
nished by his own acquaintance with those interest-
ing countries.

In point of fact, little original matter can be ex-
pected, unless we were to recover some of the lost
works of the ancients, or to succeed in deciphering
those inscriptions in the cuneiform character which
have hitherto baffled the researches of the learned.
Late discoveries, indeed, seemed to afford some rea-
sonable hope of success ; but it must now be admit-
ted that, though several ingenious conjectures have
been made, and some plausible speculations have
been hazarded, no accession has been obtained to
our knowledge of facts. The subject in general,
therefore, remains as dark and uncertain as before.

Nearly all that can be said or known respecting
*.he history, chronology, religion, and manners of
these primeval empires, will be found collected in
the ** Universal Ancient History," a work of very

VI PREFACE.

great learning and research ; but those who desire to
apply to the original sources of information may, in
addition to the sacred Scriptures of the Old Testa-
ment, consult the works of Herodotus, Diodorus Sic-
ulus, Arrian, Xenophon, Plutarch, and such others
as are usually cited by writers on this subject. Co-
ry's " Ancient Fragments" will supply the English
reader with what remains of the works of Berosus,
Abydenus, Apollodorus, and Alexander Polyhistor.
Hyde, Bryant, Jackson, Hales, Usher, and Newton,
may be referred to for chronology. Sir William
Drummond, Faber, Bochart, and Beke, will afford
food enough for those who delight in ingenious spec-
ulations ; while Prideaux and Russell will show
what can be done to connect profane with sacred
histor}^

For hght to guide him in geographical description,
the inquirer must have recourse to the works of
Ptolemy, of Strabo, and of Cellarius, together with
the minor geographies of Hudson and Isidore of
Charax; to Abulfeda and Ibn Haukul among the
Mohammedans ; while, for comparative geography,
his main help will be found in D'Anville, Rennell,
and Vincent. Williams, in his Geographical Me-
moir, has presented some learned disquisitions ; and
the researches of Rich, himself a man of classical
learning as well as a judicious observer, are of the
highest value. The works of Heeren treat of every
branch of the ancient history of these regions ; and,
though we may not agree in all his conclusions, they
are entitled to respect as the opinions of a laborious
and acute inquirer into Oriental antiquities.

Our information regarding what may be termed
the middle ages of those countries — that is, from the
destruction of Babylon by Darius down to the Mo-
hammedan era — is greatly more extensive and com-
plete than that which we possess respecting their
remoter history. Those who are anxious for a more
intimate acquaintance with the events of this period,

PREFACE. Vll

will find ample materials in the pages of the Univer-
sal History, and in the more eloquent chapters of
Gibbon.

In all that relates to the history and condition of
the Christian population in those provinces, and of
the various sects that have successively sprung up
or still continue to exist, the best authority is Asse-
mani, whose Oriental Dictionary is a mine of inval-
uable information on such subjects. Mosheim and
other Church historians may likewise be consulted,
as also Bingham, the author of " Origines Ecclesias-
tical," though these ail draw chiefly from Assemani.

Of the condition of modern Mesopotamia — that is,
from the Mohammedan conquest to the present
time — notices are to be found in the works of va-
rious travellers, from Ravvolf and Benjamin of Tu-
dela downward. But less is known of Assyria,
which now constitutes a portion of the Turkish em-
j.ire ; and there is no general account of the present
state of the two provinces, although much valuable
information may be gathered from the works of Nie-
buhr, Olivier, Rich, Buckingham, Porter, and Rous-
seau. These materials, together with what the au-
thor has been enabled to glean from other sources,
as well as from his own observations, form the basis
of this portion of the present work ; and he must
here take occasion to express his obligations to Co-
lonel Taylor, Political Resident at Bagdad, to whom
he |ias been indebted, not only for the valuable man-
uscript journal of the late Mr. EUiot, but for much
important information on matters connected with the
statistics of the country, as well as with the manners
of the people.

Much still remains to be done in both provinces,
for there are many districts of which, as yet, little or
nothing is known. The labours of modern travel-
lers are, however, daily throwing light on their an-
tiquities, natural history, and geography : and when
the works of Colonel Chesney, Major Rawlinson,

Vm PREFACE.

and others, shall have been given to the public, and
Mr. Ainsworth and his colleagues shall have com-
pleted the expedition they have undertaken under
the auspices of the Royal Geographical Society, the
secrets of some of the most interesting districts in
Upper Mesopotamia and Kurdistan, especially those
of Sinjar, Hatteras, and Mount Jewar, will, it is ex-
pected, be laid fully open to the European world.
In the mean time, as every source of information,
both private and public, has been made use of in
combination with the author's personal knowledge
of the country, it is hoped that the geographical ac-
count which has been given will be found at once
entirely accurate, and as particular, too, as the limits
of such a work will permit. In this description may
be included the characteristic details of manners and
customs of the Arab and Kurdish tribes, which, de-
rived chiefly from actual observation, have been con-
firmed by various persons, whose opinions, from
their opportunities of judging, are entitled to the
highest credit.

The sketch of the natural history of these provin-
ces has likewise been drawn up with an anxious de-
sire to afford a summary of whatever valuable in-
formation has been collected upon the subject.

Of the decorations of this volume, the author has
only to observe, that they are all engraved from
drawings made by himself upon the spot, and that
he can vouch at least for their accuracy, nothing
having been added to the original sketch except the
particular effect which was deemed appropriate to
the subject.

The utmost care has been bestowed on the con-
struction of the map, which will be found to contain
all the additions made by recent travellers to our
geographical knowledge of the interesting country
which occupies the basin of the Tigris and Eu-
phrates.

Mayy 1841.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Ge7ieral Description of Mesopotamia and Assyria.

High Claims of these Countries on our Regard. — Interest attached to
their early History. — Inquiry checked by Scantiness of authentic Rec-
ords.— Little known of the Orig-in of either the Assyrian or Babylo-
nian Empire, and their intimate Connexion with each other. — Defini-
tion of "Assyria" according- to the Greek Historians. — The Jewish
Writers. — Boundaries. — Mesopotamia. — Limits defined. — Divisions of
Assyria according- to Ptolemy — Strabo — D'Anville. — Mesopotamia ac-
cording to Strabo. — Modern Divisions of both Provinces. — Inhabitants.
— Tribes. — Arabs, and their Locations. — Kurds. — Habits. — Face of the
Country. — Mountains. — Rivers. — Euphrates. — Its Course. — Scenery
and Places along its Banks. — Periods of Rise and Fall. — The Tigris
and Tributaries. — Its Course. — Shut el Arab. — Khabour and Hermas.
— Greater and Lesser Zab. — Diala. — System of artificial Irrigation. —
Nature of the ancient Canals. — Names of those on Record. — The Pal-
lacopas. — The Nahrawan and Dijeil. — Modem Canals. — Marshes of
Babylonia. — Waasut. — The Shut el Hye. — Chaldean Marshes, and
Marshes of Susiana .... ... Page 17

CHAPTER II.

History of the Assyrian Monarchy.

Uncertainty of the Chronology of these Periods.— Necessity of adopting-
some consistent System of Notation. — EiTors of Usher, Lloyd, and
others. — Discrepancy of Opinion between various Authors. — Mode of
Notation adopted. — Sources of Information. — Sacred Writ. — Greek
Historians. — Herodotus — Ctesias. — Commencement of the Assyrian
Empire according to each. — Syncellus and Polyhistor. — Beke's " Ori-
gines Biblicae." — Scriptural Account. — Lists of Kings of both Monar-
chies to the Fall of Babylon. — Claims of Ctesias to Credit discussed. — •
Opinions divided. — His Account of the Assyrian Monarchy. — Ninus.
— Semiramis. — Ninyas, &c. — Thonos Concolerus. — His Identity with
Sardanapalus. — Errors of Ctesias.— History of the Monarchy according
to Scripture and Ptolemy's Canon. — Asshur Founder of it. — Pul.—
Tiglath-Pileser. — Shalmaneser. — Sennacherib. — Esarhaddon, suppo-
sed to be the warlike Sardanapalus. — Saosducheus, &c. — Various Con>
jectures. — Nabuchodonosor. — Fall of Nineveh — And of the Assyrian
Empire 37

CHAPTER III.

Rise and Fall of the Babylonian Em^nre.

Tlie only authentic Record contained in Holy Writ,— Ptolemy's Canoa
affords the onlv true Chronology.— Nabonassar.—Merodach Baladari.

ii

X CONTExMTS.

— Esarhaddon, the warlike King- of Assyria. — Nabopolassar. — His
Power. — Nabocolassar or Nebuchadnezzar. — Aids in the Destruction
of Nineveh. — Overruns Syria, and can'ies the Jews into Captivity. —
Humbles Pharaoh. — His Dreams. — Divine Predictions. — His Humilia-
tion— Repentance — And Death. — Evil Merodach. — The Belshazzar of
Daniel. — Murdered by Neriglissar, who probably is identical with Da-
rius the Mede. — He seizes the Throne — And is slain in Battle. — Labo-
rosoarchod. — Nabonadius. — Nitocris. — Her Acts and Improvements. —
Babylon attacked by Cyrus. — Taken by turning- the Euphrates. — Ful-
filment of the Prophecies. — Gradual Decay of Babylon. — Its Destruc-
tion by Darius — By Xerxes. — Seleucia. — Accounts of its Desolation by
various Authors . . Page 60

CHAPTER lY.

Origin^ Government^ Religion^ Lava's and CiistomSy d^^c, of
the ATwient Assyrians and Babylonians.

Sources of Information. — Origin of the Assyrians. — Government. — Re-
ligion.— Gods of the Assyrians. — Customs and Laws same as those of
the Babylonians. — Government of the Babylonians.— Names of their
Monarchs, and Derivation. — Their Habits. — Officers and Functiona-
ries.— Establishment and Titles. — Laws. — Little known regarding-
them. — Sale of Virgins. — Punishments. — Religion. — Chaldeans. —
Opinions regarding their Origin. — Regarded as a nomad Race by
Heeren and Gesenius. — Faber's Theory of the Progress of their Reli-
gion— And of the Dispersion of Mankind after the Flood. — Of the Cu-
thim or Cushim. — Remarks on Faber's Theory. — Mr. Beke's Theory. —
Supported by Coincidence of ancient and modern Names. — Bochart. —
Difficulties of the Subject. — The Chaldeans the dominant People in
ancient Babylon. — Origin and Progress of their Religion. — Chaldean
Cosmogony and Doctrines according to Berosus. — Its Similarity with
the Scriptural Account of the Noachian Delug-e. — Mytholog-y. — Pul or
Belus. — Nebo, Rach, Nego, Merodach, &c. — Crossness and Depravity
of their Ceremonies. — Manners and Customs of the Babylonians. —
Learning-. — Science. — Astronomy and Astrology. — Mathematics. — Mu-
sic.— Poetry. — Skill in working- Metals and Gems. — Manufactures. —
Commerce 74

CHAPTER V.

Antiquities. — Babylon.

Greatest Interest of these Countries attaches to the early Periods of their
Existence. — Vestiges of former Greatness everywhere abundant. —
Ruins of Babylon. — Discussions regarding the Identity of Site of an-
cient Babel and Babylon. — Denied by Beke, who places the Land of
Shinar in Upper Mesopotamia. — Ainsworth's geological Observations.
— Tower of Babel. — No Scriptural Authority for supposing that it was
destroyed at the time of the Dispersion of Mankind. — Location of the
other Cities of Nimrod. — Accad. — Erech. — Calneh. — All Traces of the
most ancient Postdiluvian Fabrics probably effaced by subsequent
Structures. — Ancient Babylon described. — By what Authors. — Extent.
— Heig-ht of its Walls according to various Authorities. — Structure. —
Streets. — Intersected by the Euphrates. — Bridge. — New Palace and
hanging Gardens. —Temple of Belus,— Described by Herodotus.—

CONTENTS. XI

Golden Statue. — Other gigantic Works. — Canals. — Artificial Lake. —
Its Construction attributed to Semiramis, to Nebuchadnezzar, and to
Queen Nitocris. — Population. — Space occupied by Buildings. — Scrip-
tural Denunciations against Babylon Page 94

CHAPTER VI.

Ruins of Babylon described.

Allusions to them by ancient Authors. — From A.D. 917 to 1616. — De-
scribed by Niebuhr and Beauchamp. — By Olivier. — By Rich. — Gen-
eral Aspect. — Face of the Country. — Principal Mounds described. —
Hill of Amran. — El-kasr. — Remarkable Tree. — Embankment. — Muje-
libe. — Coffins discovered there. — Birs Nimrod. — Vitrified Masses. — Al
Heimar. — Other Ruins. — Buckingham's Account and Opinions of the
Mujelibe, El-kasr, &c. — Al Heimar. — The Birs. — Sir Robert Ker Por-
ter.—His Description of the same Ruins. — His Search for farther Ruins
on the west Side of the Euphrates. — Difficulty of reconciling the Posi-
tion of these Ruins with the Accounts of ancient Historians. — Specu-
lations regarding the ancient Walls of Babylon. — Probable Mistakes of
Buckingham. — Changes in the Course of the Euphrates. — Conjectures
concerning the Birs Nimrod — And the ancient Borsippa. — Discrepan-
cy between ancient Accounts. — Arrian and Berosus. — Cities built from
the Ruins of Babylon. — Ainsworth's Suggestion of a Change of Names
for the several Ruins. — His Mistakes in regard to Measurements. —
The vitrified Masses. — Much Room yet for Investigation respecting
these Ruins and the circumjacent Country. — Prospects of this being
effiscted 107

CHAPTER VII.

Otke?' Ruins of Babylonia and Chaldea.

Akkerkoof. — The Site of Accad. — TJmgeyer — According to some Opinions ,
the ancient Orchoe. — Jibel Sanam. — Teredon. — Workha. — Sunkhera.
— Yokha.— Til Eide.— Guttubeh.— Iskhuriah.— Zibliyeh.— Tel Siphr,
&c. — Waasut or Cascara. — Seleucia and Ctesiphon. — Tauk e Kesra.
— Cupidity of a Pacha.^ — Kalla mal Kesra. — Opis, Situation of. — Me-
dian Wall. — Traditions regarding its Use. — Sittace. — Sheriat el Bei-
tha. — Samarra, — The Malwiyah. — Large Mosque. — Kaf or Chaf. —
Giaoureah. — Kadesia. — Statue of black Basalt. — Tecreet. — Al Hadhr
or Hatra. — Felugia. — New Fields of Enterprise for Explorers . 128

CHAPTER VIII.

Nineveh and its Environs.

Ancient Nineveh nowhere particularly described in Sacred Writ. — Ac-
count of by Diodorus. — Its Walls. — Incidentally mentioned by Herodo-
tus.— By the Prophets Jonah and Nahum as an exceedingly great and
profligate City. — Mr. Rich's Account of its Ruins. — Visible Remains. —
Tel itoyunjiik. — Sepulchral Chamber and Inscription, &c. — Nebbi Yu-
nus. — Inscribed Gypsum — And Antiques. — Mosque in Memory of the
Prophet Jonah. — Conjectures. — Strabo's Account of the City's Extent.
— Mounds of Yaremjee, Zembil Tepessi, &c. — Vestiges not numerous.
—■Mounds of Nimrod or Al Athur,— Larissa of Xenophon?— Resin ?

Xll CONTENTS.

— Remains. — Pyramid. — Mr. RicTi's Voyages down the Tigris to Bag-
dad.— Ancient Sites on the Banks. — His Visit to Mar Mattei. — ^Villa-
ges of Yezidees and Jacobite Christians. — Ain u Sofra. — Yezidees. —
Their Pope. — Some Particulars of their Faith and Worship. — Posi-
tion, Appearance, and Description of the Convent. — History. — Estab-
lishment.— View from its Terrace. — Ras ul Ain. — Excursion to Rabban
Hoi-muzd — And Al Kosh. — Character of the Yezidees. — Al Kosh. —
Birth and Burial place of the Prophet Nahum. — Ascent to, and Ap-
pearance of the Convent of Rabban Hormuzd. — Establishment. —
Aspect of the Priests and Monks. — Discipline. — Period of Founding.
— Grottoes. — Manuscripts. — Destroyed. — Chaldean Villages populous.
— Convent of Mar Elias. — Churches of Mars Toma and Mar She-
maoon Page 142

CHAPTER IX.

Subsequent History of Mesopotamia and Assyria.

Rennell's Opinion of Xenophon's Retreat. — Advance of Cyrus. — Battle
of Cunaxa, and Death of Cyrus. — Truce between the Greek Generals
and the King. — The former advance to the Tigris, and cross it at Sit-
tace.— Their March to Opis — And to the Banks of the Zab. — Treach-
ery of Tissaphernes. — Clearchus and other Officers put to Death. —
Farther Attempts at Treachery. — Defeated by the Prudence of the
Grecian Officers. — Xeiiophon appointed to the Command. — The Greeks
(;ross the Zab. — Are assailed by Mithradates. — Arrangements for re-
pulsing the Enemy's light Troops. — March to Larissa — To Mespila. —
Struggles during their Progress to the Carduchian Mountains. — Re-
solve to ascend them in Preference to crossing the River. — Are reso-
lutely opposed by the Carduchians. — Abandon their useless Slaves and
Baggage. — Difficulties of the Ascent. — Severe Contests with the Ene-
my— ^And Losses. — Cross the Centrites, and pass into Armenia. —
Change of Dynasty. — Battle of Arbela. — The Seleucidae. — Arsacidse.
— Appearance of the Romans in Mesopotamia. — Reduced to a Roman
Province. — First Expedition of Crassus. — Embassy from Orodes. — The
Romans driven out by the Parthians. — Second Expedition of Crassus.
— Advice of the King of Armenia. — Treachery of Abgaras — Who con-
ducts them into the Deserts of Charrae. — Infatuation of Crassus. — His
Army attacked by Surenas. — His Son slain. — The Romans forced to re-
treat with great Loss to Charrae. — Again betrayed and surrounded. —
Crassus forced by the Legionaries to negotiate. — Is slain during an In-
terview with Surenas. — The Army destroyed. — Reflections on the
Conduct of Xenophon and Crassus 155

CHAPTER X.

Continued Contests between the Romans and Persians.

The Parthians overrun the Countr}^ to Antioch, which is twice saved
with Difficulty. — Antony, having obtained the Eastern Provinces of
the Roman Empire, overtaxes Svria. — That Province, &c., overrun by
Labienus. — Pacoras defeated by Ventidius and slain. — ^Antony resolves
to invade the Parthian Empire. — His Success at first. — Takes the
Route of Armenia. — Invests Praaspa, the Capital of Media. — Is forced
to raise the Siege and retreat. — Hardships during his Retreat. — Suc-
ceeds in reaching and crossing the Araxes. — ^His impatient Obstinacy.

CONTENTS. Xlll

— Farther Losses in Armenia. — Augustus C;£sar forces Phraates to
make Peace. — Successes of Trajan. — War continued with various Suc-
cess.— Exploits of Shapoor. — Constantius succeeded by Julian. — Juli-
an's Defiance of Shapoor. — His Expedition. — Successful Career. —
Cliange of Fortune at Ctesiphon. — He is betrayed — Attacked, and kdl-
ed by a Javelin. — Disastrous Retreat of the Roman Army under Jovian.
— xMesopotamia continues the Theatre of War till the invasion of the
Huns. — Tiie Roman Provinces invaded by Noosiiirwan. — He is check-
ed by Belisarius. — Victorious Career of Khoosroo Purveez. — Arrested
by Hetaclius, who outmanosuvrcs and defeats the Persians. — Triumph-
ant Expeditions of Heraclius. — Farther Etforts of Khoosroo. — He is de-
feated at all Points. — Destagerd taken. — Khoosroo put to Death by his
Son Siroes, who concludes a Treaty with Heraclius. — Capture of Cte-
siphon by the Moslems, and Incorporation of the two Provinces with
the Dominions of the Caliphs Page 177

CHAPTER XL

Present Stale of Mesopotomia.

Buckingham's Account of Bir. — Orfa. — Mosque and Pool of " Abraham
the Beloved." — Mosques. — Gardens. — Population. — Manufactures. —
Castle. — ^History. — Haran. — Division of Opinions in regard to its Iden-
tity with the Haran of Genesis. — March to Mardin. — Plundering Arabs.
— Mardin described. — Ceremonial of the Syrian Church. — March to
Diarbekir. — Wadi Zenaar. — ^Approach to Diarbekir. — The City descri-
bed.— Walls. — Mosques and Churches. — History. — Population. — Sin*
jar Mountains. — Dara. — Nisibin. — Sheik Farsee. — Extortion. — Ac-
count of Nisibin. — More Extortion. — Journey to Mosul. — Appearance of
Mosul. — Description. — Houses. — Bazars. — Colfee-houses. — Church-
es.— Population. — Government. — Trade. — Climate. — Extent according
to Mr. Southgate. — Sinjar District visited by Mr. Forbes. — Yezidee
Robbers subdued by Haliz Pacha. — Til Afar. — Bukrah. — Mirka. — Kir-
si. — Kolgha. — Samukhah. — Sakiniyah. — Description of the Country.
— Geographical Observations 189

CHAPTER XII.

Present Condition of Assyria.

P<Mliion of Kurdistan included in Assyria. — Nestorian Christians of Jewar.
— Sert. — Colonel Shell's Journey to Jezirah ibn Omar. — Plain of Me-
diyad. — Jezirah ibn Omar described. — Its Chief. — Swimming the Ti-
gris.— Skirt the Mountains to Accra and the Zab. — Change of Scenery.
— Cross the Zab. — Erbile (Arbela). — Altun Kupri. — Kirkook. — Kufri.
— ^Antiquities. — Tooz Khoormattee. — Kara Teppe. — Aspect of Lower
Assyria. — Sugramah Pass, and View from it. — Pachalic and Pacha of
Solymaneah.— Present State of the Town. — The Bebeh Tribe of
Kurds. — Climate. — Shahrasour. — State and Chief of Rewandooz. — His
Rise and Character — Pachalic and Pacha of Amadieh. — Dr. Ross's
Description of the Meer, his Camp, Government, Army. — Scheme of
executive Justice. — Fate. — Town of Rewandooz. — Nestorians of
Jewar. — Their Origin — Numbers — Government. — Face of their Coun-
try.— ^Antiquities at Shahraban. — The Zendan. — Kasr Shireen. — Ha-
oosh Kerek. — General Meanness of Sassanian Ruins. — Kelwatha.—

XIV CONTENTS.

Pachalic of Zohab. — Sir e Pool e Zohab. — The ancient Calah ov Hnl-
wan. — Antiquities there. — Royal Sepulchre . , . Page 207

CHAPTER XIII.

Modern Babylonia.

Bagdad, — Its Origin, Position, and History. — Walls — Gates — Mosques
and Shrines. — Impressions on entering the City from Persia. — Banks
of the Tigris. — Boats. — Bazars. — Market-places. — Sketch by Bucking-
ham.— Private Houses. — Domestic Habits. — Women. — Georgians and
Arabs. — Population. — Establishment of Daood Pacha. — Plague in Bag-
dad.— Its rapid Progress. — Exposure of Infants. — Inundation. — Condi-
tion of the Pacha. — ^Instances of sweeping Mortality. — Fate of Caravans
and Fugitives. — Subsequent Calamities. — Present Population. — Cos-
tume.— White Asses and black Slaves. — A Battle within the Walls. —
fnsubordination at Kerbelah and Nejeff Ali. — Sketch of a March in
Babylonia. — Camp of the Zobeid Sheik. — His Tent — And Entertain-
ment.— Expenditure of an Arab Chief. — March towards Sook el Shi-
ook. — Arab Bravado. — Hospitality. — Madan Arabs. — Their Houses — •
And Flocks of Buffaloes. — The Montefic Arabs. — Their Reed Huts. —
Sook el Shiook.— Interview with the Sheik of the Montefic . . 230

CHAPTER XIV

Religion^ Character, Manners, and Customs of the Inhabi-
tants of Modern Mesopotamia and Assyria.

Variety of Races. — Arabs. — Countries inhabited by. — Religion. — Char-
acter.— Blood-feuds — Sketches of the Arabs on the Euphrates by El-
liot.— Beni Saeed. — Hamet ul Khaleel — Their Women. — Costume. —
Camp of the Al Fadhlee. — Food. — Jungle Arabs. — Mode of decamp-
ing and encamping. — Contrast between the Jungle, or Fellah and Be-
douin Arabs. — Kurds. — Religion. — Points of Similarity with the Scot-
tish Highlanders. — Manners in Society and in Domestic Life. — Selim
Aga. — Roostum Aga. — National Character. — Personal Appearance. —
Women. — Turkomans. — Christian Population. — Nestorians, Chalde-
ans, or Syrians. — Divisions of Sects. — Early Progress of Christianity in
the East. — Christian Bishops and Sees. — The Nestorian Heresy. — Con-
demnation of its Author. — Rise of the Jacobite Schism. — Its wide Dis-
semination.— Number of Sees. — Armenians and Roman Catholics. —
Character of the Christian Population. — Chaldeans of Mount Jewar —
Sabaeans. — Origin. — Tenets. — Persecution. — Places of Abode, and sup-
posed Numbers. — Manicheans. — Doctrines of Manes. — History of the
Sect. — ^Yezidees. — Supposed Origin. — Various Appellations. — Secrecy
observed by them concerning their Religion. — Account of their Tenets
so far as is known. — Tribes of the Sinjarli Yezidees. — Their Sacred
Fountains and Repositories of Treasure. — Character by Rich. — Shai-
tan Parust and CMrag Koosh. — Theii Origin. — Ali Ullahis . . 2C0

CHAPTER XV.

Natural History,

Introduction. GEOLOGY.— First District— Primary Rock. — Keb-
ban Silver and Lead Mines. — Copper Mines. — Carbonaceous Marls and

COMTENTrf. XV

Sandstones. — Coal. — Second District — Supercretaceous Deposite.
-Limestone Deposite. — Compact Chalk. — Plutonic Rocks. — Forma-
tions near Orfa and Mosul. — Marble. — Sulphur Springs. — Mines. —
Hills of Kurdistan. — Calcareous Gypsum. — Hill of Flames. — Kufri
Hills. — Hamrine. — Formation of Euphrates. — Gypseous. — Plutonic
Rocks. — Marls. — Hills of Denudation. — Sand Hills. — Naphtha Spring-s.
— Third District — Limits. — Moving Sand Hills. — Salt Efflorescen-
ces.— Marshes. — Water Country. BOTANY. — First or Mountain
District — Forest Trees. — Cultivated Plants. — Galinuts. — Gum Ar-
abic.— Manna. — Second District— Plains of Assyria. — Spring- Flow-
ers.— Summer. — Common Plants. — Potherbs. — Fruits. — Cultivated
Plants. — Vegetables. — Third District — Alluvial. — Succulent
Plants. — Grasses. — Sedges. — Babylonian Willow. — Limit between the
Land and the Water. — Mariscus Elongatus. ZOOLOGY. — Mammalia.
of First District — Plantigrade Carnivora. — Felines. — Rodents. — Rumi-
nants,— Angora. — Taurus. — Goat. — Other Districts — Bats. — Insecti-
vora. — Carnivora. — Lions. — Tigers. — Chaus. — Lynx. — Hyenas. —
Wolves, &c. — Domestic Cats. — Dogs. — Turkoman Dog. — Rodents. —
Pachydermata. — Boar. — Horse. — Ass. — Ruminants. — Dromedary. —
Camels. — Gazelle. — Sheep. — Bovidse. — Ornithology — Raptores.—
Vultures. — Eagles. — Owls. — Incessores. — Cranes. — Nightingale. —
Larks. — Sparrows. — Bee-eaters, &c. — Game-birds. — Grouse. — Par-
tridges.— Cursores. — Ostrich. — Grallatores. — Palmipedes. — Reptiles
—Tortoises.— Lizards.— Frogs, &c.— Fishes.— Insects . Page 290

ENGRAVINGS.

Map of Mesopotamia and Assyria . . . To face the Vignette,
Vignette — The Birs Nimrod.

Tauk e Kesra to face page 135

View of Bagdad 230

Mesopotamian Arabs and their Tents 2£2

MESOPOTAMIA AND ASSYRIA,

ANCIENT AND MODERN.

CHAPTER I.

GeTiercd Description of Mesopotamia and Assyria.

High Claims of these Countries on our Reg-ard. — Interest attached to
their early History. — Inquiry checked by Scantiness of authentic Rec-
ords.— Little known of the Origin of either the Assyrian or Babylo-
nian Empire, and their intimate Connexion with each other. — Defini-
tion of "Assyria" according to the Greek Historians. — The Jewish
Writers. — Boundaries. — Mesopotamia. — Limits defined, — Divisions of
Assyria according to Ptolemy — Strabo — D'Anville. — Mesopotamia ac-
cording- to Strabo. — Modern Divisions of both Provinces. — Inhabitants.
— Tribes. — Arabs, and their Locations. — Kurds. — Habits. — Face of the
Country. — Mountains. — Rivers. — Euphrates. — Its Course. — Scenery
and Places along- its Banks. — Periods of Rise and Fall. — The Tig-ris
and Tributaries. — Its Course. — Shut el Arab. — Khabour and Hermas.
— Greater and Lesser Zab. — Diala. — System of artificial Irrigation. —
Nature of the ancient Canals. — Names of those on Record. — The Pal-
lacopas. — The Nahrawan and Dijeil. — Modem Canals. — Marshes of
Babylonia. — Waasut. — The Shut el Hye. — Chaldean Marshes, and
Marshes of Susiana.

It may be safely asserted that there are no regions in
the world which possess more powerful claims on our re-
gard than those which form the subject of the following
pages.

Mesopotamia and Assyria, if not actually the cradle of
mankind, were, at all events, the theatre on which the de-
scendants of Noah performed their first conspicuous part.
The plains of Shinar witnessed not only the defeat of that
presumptuous enterprise, which scattered them abroad upon
the face of the earth, but also the exploits of the " Mighty
Hunter," and the triumph of his ambition in the establish-
ment of the first monarchy recorded either by sacred or
profane writers.

18 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF

On the banks of the Euphrates and the Tigris did the
two greatest cities of the ancient world rise into magnifi-
cence : Nineveh, which repented in sackcloth and ashes
at the preaching of Jonah, and Babylon, the '' glory of
kingdoms," which, elevated by the proud Nebuchadnezzar
to the height of splendour, listened to his impious boast-
ings, and saw his deep humiliation. There did Daniel
prophesy, and expound the mysterious warnings of the Most
High ; and there did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
experience the signal protection of that Almighty Power
whom they feared and obeyed.

By the capture, too, of that superb metropolis was the
word of prophecy fulfilled, and the rule of the great Cyrus
— an instrument in the Divine hand — consolidated over
Asia ; and on the field of Arbela was that splendid empire
in its turn overthrown by the rising power of the Macedo-
nian conqueror, who, after his brilliant career, returned to
the capital of Assyria to end his days.

In like manner have the plains of Mesopotamia borne
witness to the catastrophe of Cunaxa, and the gallant bear-
ing of the indomitable ten thousand ; seen the defeat and
death of Crassus ; the retreat of Marc Antony ; the fall of
the apostate Julian ; the disgraceful peace of his success-
or; and the changing fortunes of the bold Heraclius.

Events so various and important must invest the coun-
tries where they occurred with a deep interest ; and that
portion of them, in particular, which has reference to the
early postdiluvian ages, cannot fail to excite the curiosity
of those who delight in marking the moral progress of the
human race. But all hope of tracing clearly the events
of their early history is checked by the scantiness of means ;
for, while the annals of more recent times are illustrated
by numerous records, the glimpses of light shed from au-
thentic sources upon the remote period to which our views
are now directed, serve only to show that, at a very uncer-
tain era after the universal deluge, a monarchy was found-
ed on the Euphrates by Nimrod, the son of Cush, which
rose into considerable importance ; and that, at some sub-
sequent period, it was overthrown by a neighbouring pow-
er, the seat of wliich was on the banks of the Tigris.

Mesopotamia and Assyria have, from the most ancient
times, been so intimately connected, both geographically
and politically, that they will be most clearly described

MESOrOTAMiA AND ASSYRIA. 19

in conjunction with each other. Herodotus, Strabo, and
others use the latter appellation, as including both, in con-
junction with certain other provinces ; and Heeren ad-
verts to this fact when he observes that the Greek histori-
ans apply the term generally to several monarchies which
flourished in the regions about the Tigris and Euphrates
previous to the reign of Cyrus. The Jewish writers, on
the other hand, use it to express a distinct nation of con-
querors, and the founders of an empire, having the seat of
government at Nineveh, and which flourished between the
years 800 and 700 B.C.* Hence, to define the limits of
Assyria, according to the ideas of ancient historians, would
be impossible, because, like those of all Eastern sovereign-
ties, they varied with the fortune of every chief who held
the sceptre. But, viewing both countries merely in the
light of geographical divisions of Asia, it will noi be diffi-
cult to indicate their boundaries.

Loosely speaking, Assyria may be considered as termi-
nated on the west by the course of the Tigris, on the north
by Armenia, on the northeast and east by Mount Zagros
and the Gordyaean range, and on the southeast by the prov-
ince of Susiana or Kuzistan.

Mesopotamia may be more strictly defined, as embraced
by the Tigris and Euphrates, except on the north, where it
meets the mountains of Armenia. But it will be proper to
specify more exactly the various regions which are to pass
under our review.

If a line were drawn from Arghana Madan by Erzen to
Sert, alon^ the crest of the intervening heights, and from
thence carried behind Amadieh along the tops of Aiagha
Dag or Zagros, including Solymaneah and Zohab, till it
should reach the Pass of Kerrend, and extended again by
a course comprehending Mendali, to a point upon the Ti-
gris somewhat below Ctesiphon, such a line, taken in con-
junction with that river from its source to the point where
they meet, will circumscribe pretty accurately the ancient
Assyria.

Again, if the same line were continued westward to Ma-
latia on the Euphrates, the boundary of Mesopotamia would
from thence be indicated, as already observed, b)^ the course

* Manual of Ancient Geography, by A. H. L.IIeeren. Oxford, 1829,
8vo, p. 25, 26.

20 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF

of that river ; but as both banks are comprehended in the
basin, and may physically, as well as politically, be regard-
ed as connected with each other, we shall include in our
description all places of importance on the one as well as
on the other.

By Ptolemy, Assyria is divided, from northwest to south-
east, into the provinces of Arrapachitis, Adiabene (which
is sometimes used to designate the whole country), Arbe-
litis, Calachene, Apolloniatis, and Sittacene. Aturia or
Atyria, Artacene, Chalonitis, and Corduene, are also men-
tioned by others ; but there are no means of distinctly as-
certaining their respective boundaries.

Strabo describes it as conterminous with Persia and Su-
siana, and as comprehending Babylonia and a considera-
ble portion of the surrounding district, the countries of the
Elymseans, Parsetacenians, and Chalonitis, towards Mount
Zagros ; the plains in the environs of Nineveh, namely,
Dolomenia, Calachenia, Chazenia, and Adiabene ; the val-
leys of the Gordyaeans, and the Mygdonians of Nisibis even
to Zeugma* of the Euphrates ; and the vast region beyond
the river inhabited by the Arabs, to the Cilicians, Phoeni-
cians, and Libyans, and the portion of the coast compre-
hending the Sea of Egypt and the Gulf of Issus.t

Herodotus remarks that Babylon and the other parts of
Assyria formed the ninth satrapy of Darius ; and as by
that historian Syria is considered as included in Assyria,
this government, in his estimation, must have extended
from the Mediterranean to the head of the Persian Gulf,
and from Mount Taurus to the Arabian Desert.l

D'Anville assigns to both countries nearly the same lim-
its which we have given them, and describes Mesopota-
mia as a region between rivers, the Aram Naharaim of
the Pentateuch,§ and called " ul Jezeerah," or the Island,
by the Arabs.ll

* Or the Bridg-e, or place for passing the river, the site of the preserii
Rci mkala.

t Strabo, curA Casauboni. Amst., 1763, folio, lib. xvi., p. 3070.

t Herodotus, cur^ Wesseling-ii. Amst., 1763, folio, lib. iii., p. 245.

i) Beke, in his Origines Biblicse, disputes this opinion, and conceives,
upon grounds which he sets forth, that " Aram Naharaim" of the Pen-
tateuch is to be sought in the land of Damascus, watered by the Rivera
Pharphar and Abana.

II Geographie Ancienne, par M. D'Anville, 3 tomes, 12mo. Paris, 1768,
tome ii., p. 190.

MESOPOTAMIA AND ASSYRIA. 21

By Strabo, Mesopotamia is declared to be bounded on
the north by Taurus, which separates it from Armenia ;
that it is largest near the mountains, where, between Thap-
sacus, at the passage of the Euphrates, and the point where
Alexander crossed the Tigris, it is 2400 stadia broad ;
while between Babylon and Seleucia, the space separating
the rivers does not exceed 200 stadia. He states that the
Mygdonians inhabit the part near the Euphrates and the
two Zeugmas ; that they possess the city of Nisibis, called
also Antiocha Mygdonia, at the foot of Mount Masius,
that of Tigranoce'^rta, the districts of Carrhes and Nice-
phorium, Chordiraza and Sinnaca ; that near the Tigris,
among the mountains, is the country of the Gordyseans, call-
ed by the ancients Carduchi, where also are found the Cos-
S9eans, the Paraetacenians, and the Etymaeans ; and that
the southern portions of Mesopotamia are inhabited by
the Scenite Arabs, a nomade people, who live by plunder,
and change their abodes when pasture and booty fail.*

It would be very difficult to assign to these several di-
visions a place in modern maps. The northern part of
Mesopotamia, to the foot of Mount Masius, is certainly the
Mygdonia of the Greeks, including Nisibin and Aljezira.
To the west, and stretching southward, lies the district of
Osroene, including the ancient Edessa, Charrae, and Nice-
phorium; Circesium (now Karkisia), at the junction of
the Khabour with the Euphrates, is rather the name ap-
plied to a city than a country; and, excepting the towns
upon the river's bank, there appears to have been no place
of consequence between Khabour and Babylonia proper:
indeed, the tract must have always been in great measure
a desert. These limits extended from the Median wall
which joined the two rivers, and included all the space
between them, which, no doubt, was subdivided into many
districts, the names of which have not reached our time.
The lower part of this province obtained the designation
of Chaldea, because, after the capture of Babylon, many
of the inhabitants retired thither, carrying with them their
arts and sciences ; but this colony must be carefully dis-
tinguished from the true and ancient Chaldea, the birth-
place of Terah and Abraham, the mother-country of the
wise men, and, doubtless, of the race that ruled both there
and in Nineveh.

* Strabo, lib. x^l., p. 10S2.

22

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF

Returning to the northern limits of Assyria, we find the
districts of Carduchia and Corduene in the mountains be-
tween Sert and Julamerik ; Arbelitis, of which the capital
was Arbela, in the low lands ; the plains of Dolomenia
and Calachene spread around Mosul ; the Gordyaeans,
Elymceans, and Faroe tacenians occupied the valleys of
the Gordysean Mountains, at whose foot, towards Kirkook,
stretch the plains of Adiabene, Apolloniatis, the present
Shahraban, and Chalonitis, which last appears to have
been the southeastern district, bordering on Louristan and
Susiana. Such, perhaps, according to our present knowl-
edge of the ancient divisions of these provinces, is the
nearest adaptation of them to modern maps.

We have now to consider the modern divisions of the
countries we have undertaken to describe. The pachalic
of Bagdad is at present a dependancy of the Turkish em-
pire, and governed by a pacha sent from Constantinople.
It is arranged into the following districts :

Mardin, governed by a wai"wodeh.

Nisibiu, .

Mosul, by a pacha, nominated by
the Porte, but subject to the Pa-
cha of Bagdad.

Arbel, a beg.

Kirkook, a raussellim.

Khoee, till lately subject to the men
of Rewandooz.

Kewy Sanjiak, a pacha.

Solymaneah, a pacha.

Dour, a zabit.

Tecreet, a beg.

Samieh, a zabit.

Zohab, a pacha.

Khanekin, a pacha.

To this enumeration must be added the towns on the
right bank of the Euphrates, above Rahaba,most of which
are included in the pachalic of Aleppo, and have been al-
ready adverted to. These, with the districts of Diarbekir,
Orfa, Jezirah ul Omar, Sert, Amadieh, Accra, and some
others among the Kurdish Mountains, will complete the
detail of our limits in so far as territory is concerned. But
besides the fixed inhabitants who form the agricultural
population, and the dwellers in the towns, there are a vast
number of wandering tribes, both Arabs and Kurds, who
roam over its surface; paying little regard to any govern-

Mendali, a zabit.

Janan, .

Bagdad, residence of the pacha.

Bussora, a mussellim.

Sook el Shiook, a sheik.

Semava, a sheik.

Khezail, a sheik.

Lemlum, a sheik.

Nejeff, a mootwullee.

Kerbeli

Hillah, a beg.

Jubbeh, a beg.

Hit, a beg.

Anah, a beg.

Rahaba, a beg.

MESOPOTAMIA AND ASSYRIA. 23

ment whatever. The whole country from Mardin to Kar-
kisia, following the line of the Khabour and Hermas Riv-
ers, has of late been overrun by the Jerbah tribe, who, at-
tracted some years ago from Arabia by the hopes of better
pasture, took possession of that part of the Jezirah. The
vicinity of Bagdad is in the same manner infested by the
tribe of Delaim, aided by the Jubboor.

From Semava to Hillah the country is swampy, in con-
sequence of the Euphrates having long since broken its
embankments. This tract, including what are known as
the Lemlum Marshes, is held by the Khezail Arabs, who
cultivate the ground, and feed large flocks of buffaloes, on
which they subsist. Above Hit, the whole western bank
of the river, and the country beyond it, is in the possession
of numerous petty clans, who in their turn are domineered
over by the Aneiza, a very powerfal tribe, who range the
Desert from the vicinity of Aleppo to an unknown extent
inward, suffering no one to pass without their permission.

On the eastern side of the Tigris, the Chaab Arabs hold
possession of the low country of Susiana from the R,iver
Kerkha to the sea ; while northwest of that river, the Beni
Lam exercise sovereignty until they are met by the Feilee
tribes of Louristan, who feed their flocks and pillage trav-
ellers to the very neighbourhood of Mendali. From thence
northward to the boundary of Assyria, between the Gordy-
sean Mountains and the Tigris, the country swarms Avith
various classes of robbers, who, by their ravages, check ev-
ery attempt at improvement which the inhabitants might
otherwise be induced to make. Owing to these causes, as
well as from the influence of a bad government, Mesopo-
tamia and Assyria, which comprise in their extent some
of the richest land in the world, are reduced almost to an
unproductive desert.

The face of this extensive country, stretching nearly 800
miles from northwest to southeast, by a medium breadth
of 200, exhibits great variety of soil, climate, and appear-
ance. Thus the whole of Irak or Babylonia may be de-
scribed as a rich alluvial flat, varied by marshy tracts and
a few sandy stripes. Again, the lower part of Mesopota-
mia degenerates from a loamy deposite into a hard gravel ;
while the higher districts of Diarbekir, Sert, Jezirah ul
Omar, Amadieh, and Solymaneah, consist of little else than
a mass of mountains intersected by fertile valleys. These

24 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF

ridges rise tc a still greater height in the neighbourhoc d of
Julamerik, and Mount Jewar is said to ascend at Jeast
15,000 feet ; on the other hand, the plains of Arbela and
Nineveh, of Kirkook, Tooz Khoormattee, and Kufri,
though in some places scorched, are yet occasionally very
productive.

In like manner, while the low country is parched with
the intense heat of summer, the eye may be regaled by the
sight of a snow)' ridge hanging like a cloud in the air ; and
when the inhabitants of Bagdad are panting in their sirdabs^
or cellars under ground, whither they retire to avoid the
rays of the sun, the traveller who is crossing the mountains
of Kurdistan is glad to draw his cloak tightly about him,
to protect his person from the cold blasts that descend from
the ice-covered peaks. Thus, too, the date-tree yields its
luscious fruit in perfection in the plains of Babylonia, while
only the hardier fruits of northern climes can be matured
in the orchards of the Kurdish highlands.

The mountain , ranges of Sin jar, of Masius, and the
Hamrines, are anibng the principal ones of Upper Meso-
potamia. The exact extent and direction of the first is not
well known; but it is connected, as we gather from Mr.
Ainsworth, on the northeast with a series of low rounded
eminences called the Babel Hills, which appear to cross
the Tigris below Jezirah ibn Omar to the south of Zaco.

Mount Masius runs in a westerly direction from the Ti-
gris to the parallel of Nisibin, when, turning towards the
north at Dara, it again assumes its former line, overlook-
ing throughout its course a very level plain. Northward
from this boundary the country consists of high table
lands, intersected by ridges of rocky mountains, which ar
branches of Taurus, under the names of Karahjah Dag,
Ali Dag, Madan, Mahrab, and Kalaat Dag. The last two
are peaks of that range which divides the eastern Euphra-
tes and the Tigris, the sources of the latter river being sit-
uated in its southern face, near the Arghana mines.

Both provinces have been by nature blessed with the
means of almost unlimited fertility in the abundant streams
which water them, though this benefit has been differently
distributed in each. In Assyria and Upper Mesopotamia
the rivers and mountain streams are numerous ; and there
is no want either of rain or snow to assist in bringing the
crops to maturity. On the other hand, in Lower Mesopo-

MESOPOTAMIA AND ASSYRIA. 25

tamia and Babylonia, productiveness must depend on the
industry and judgment with which the inhabitants dispense
the ample supplies afforded by the Tigris and Euphrates,
and take advantage of their periodical inundations.

From Erzingan (eight caravan days' journey from Er-
zeroum), Colonel Chesney remarks* that the Euphrates
may be described as a river of the first order, struggling in
an exceedingly tortuous course through numerous obsta-
cles ; and, though forming frequent rapids, is still so shal-
low that, during the autumn, loaded camels can in some
places pass it. Its velocity is from two to four miles an
hour, according to season and localities. It is navigable
for large boats, or, rather, rafts of 120 tons, from Erzingan
probably, and certainly from Malatia, downward.t This
was the case in the days of Herodotus ; and the produce
of Armenia might still be carried as far as Hillah, as it
then was to Babylon.

The upper part of the river brought to the recollection
of the colonel and his party the scenery of the Rhine below
Schaffhausen, being enclosed between two parallel ranges
of hills, and having its banks covered, for the most part
thickly, with brushwood and timber of moderate size, with
a succession of long narrow islands in its bed, on some of
which are considerable towns. There are also numerous
villages on either side, chiefly inhabited by Arabs, among
whom the Weljee or Welda, and the Bohabour tribes appear
to be the principal. From Bir downward to Hit, the stream
is much interrupted with shallows and fords, where camels
pass with ease ; and between Racca and Anah, a distance
of about 170 miles, the bed is particularly rocky. On the
whole, the scenery is described as possessing a very pic-
turesque character, not a little heightened by the frequent
occurrence of ancient aqueducts formed of mason-work,
coming boldly up to the water's edge, and which, owing to
the frequent windings of the river, appear in every possible

* In his Report contained in the Parliamentary papers on the Euphra-
tes Expedition.

t This seems donbtful, as Mr. Brant, British consul at Erzeroum, who
crossed the river (there still called the Morad) on his way from Kharput
to Malatia, at a place called Ezz Ogloo, considerably below the latter,
aflEirms that from that place, for forty-five miles downward, it bursts
through the great chain of Taurus, and forms such a succession of rap-
ids, a ad runs in so rocky a channel, that no rafts or boats attempt to pass.
Bek)\v that space, he says, it becomes and continues to be navigable.

c

26 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF

variety of position. These celebrated structures will here-
after be more particularly delineated.

About ten miles below Hit, the hills almost entirely
cease ; there is little brushwood and few trees on the banks,
and the ancient aqueducts give place to the common wheel
or water-skins, raised by bullocks with ropes drawn over
pulleys. The riv^er winds less, and instead of rocks and
pebbles, the bed is now formed of sand or mud, while the
current is duller and deeper than before. As far as Hillah,
almost the only habitations to be seen are the black hair-
tents of the Bedouins, rising among patches of cultivation
and clusters of date-trees. Approaching the latter place,
canals for irrigation become more frequent ; and near the
remains of ancient Babylon, two streams called the ]Nil
proceed from the river, one above and the other below the
principal ruin, and form a lake which fertilizes much land.

For thirty miles below Hillah the banks are covered
with mud villages imbedded in date-trees, to which suc-
ceed huts built neatly of reeds, with earthen forts or castles
to protect the crops. Farther down, near Lemlum, the
land, being flat, is easily irrigated; and here the river di-
vides itself into several streams, the two lower of which
encircle a considerable island, and in the season of flood
overflow the countrv' on either side to the extent of sixty
miles. The moment that the waters recede, which hap-
pens in June, the whole of this tract is covered with crops
of rice and other grain, and dotted with reed cottages.
These last, when suffered to remain too long, are frequent-
ly surprised by the rising inundation ; and it is no uncom-
mon thing to see persons on foot or in their canoes follow-
ing their floating village in order to arrest the materials.
Not many years ago, the whole town was thus swept away ;
yet the inhabitants constantly rebuild their dwellings in
the same spot.

In passing through these marshes, the river, which from
Bir to Hillah preserves a breadth varying from 300 to 450
yards, is contracted occasionally to fifty, with a depth of
from six to nine feet, and a very winding course. But at
Saloa Castle, twenty miles below Lemlum, it again aug-
ments in size, and the lake on the right bank disappears.

But the eastern bank continues still low and marshy,
and the country requires to be protected by lunds or dams,
which, however, often break when the waters rise, and

MESOPOTAMIA AND ASSYRIA. 27

much damage is occasioned. The stream, nevertheless,
maintains a breadth varying from 200 to 400 yards as far
as Korna, where it forms a junction with the Tigris; and
from this point the united river is from 500 to 800 yards in.
breadth, and three to five fathoms deep.

A slight increase takes place in the Euphrates in Janu-
ar}'', but the grand flood does not commence till about the
27th of March ; and it attains its height about the 20th of
May, after which it falls pretty rapidly till June, when the
rice and grain crops are sown in the marshes. The de-
crease then proceeds graduallj^ until the middle of Novem-
ber, when the stream is at its lowest. The rise of the wa-
ter at Anrih in ordinary seasons is from ten to twelve feet ;
though it occasionally amounts to eighteen, entering the
town, and overflowing much of the bank. At its greatest
height it runs with a velocity exceeding Ave miles an hour,
but after a decrease of twenty days there is a correspond-
ing diminution of rapidity, insomuch that boats can track
against the current.

The course of the Euphrates from Bir to Bussora has
been estimated by Colonel Chesney at 1143 miles, and
from Bir upward JDy the eastern branch to its source near
Malasgird, is about 500 more, making an aggregate of
fully 1600 miles.

The Tigris takes its rise in that branch of Taurus where
the mines of ilrghana are situated, and whence the waters
flow ^to this river on the south, and to the Morad on the
north. Bursting through the eastern part of Mount Ma-
sius, from which it receives many small tributaries, it is
joined at Osmankeuy by a considerable stream, called by
Kinueir the Batman Su, by the Turks Bulespena or Bare-
ma. Another large supply is afforded by the Erzen, which
is said to take its rise in Susan, a district northwest of Bet-
lis, probably in the range of Mount Niphates. It was six-
ty yards broad where crossed by the author now named,
and reached his horse's knees. The next feeder is the
Betlischai, which falls into it somewhere above Jezirah ul
Omar, and was found by him to be eighty yards broad, and
not fordable. He erroneously takes it for the Khabour,
which, rising in the district of Amadieh, unites with the
Heizel, and falls into the Tigris below Zaco.

Passing the ruins of Ctesiphon and Seleucia, the Tigris
holds its course through a deep alluvial soil and marshy

28 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF

land. Its banks, like those of the Euphrates, are thickly
sprinkled with heaps and mounds, the vestiges of former
habitations, with Arab tents or huts, and some considera-
ble villages, among which the chief is Koote ul Amara,
giving its name to the river as far as Korna. At this lat-
ter place the two great streams unite, forming, as has been
seen, the Shut el Arab, though Abulfeda calls it still the
Digleh or Tigris all the way to the sea.

Among the rivers of importance which have their rise
in Mesopotamia are the Khabour (ancient Chaboras), and
the Hermas or Huali, which unite before they fall into the
Euphrates at Karkisia. Of these, the first has its source
partly in the springs of Ras ul Ain, and partly at a great-
er distance in the northwest ; the second originates in
Mount Masius, and flows by Nisibin and Sinjar to lose it-
self in the other.

The greater Zab is formed of many streams which flow
from the Kurdish Mountains. It is joined about twenty-
five miles from its confluence with the Tigris by the Go-
mel, the ancient Bumadus, which has its rise north of Ac-
cra. The lesser Zab, too, derives its waters from various
sources. One large branch from Lahijan in Kurdistan,
called the Ak-su, runs by Sardasht, and, joined by anoth-
er stream from the vicinity of Banna, unites with that
which passes through the Keuy Sanjiak valley, above Al-
tun Kupri. The rest, though considerable, are less known.

The Diala issues from the Koh Saugur, between Hama-
dan and Kermianshah, from whence, bursting through a
pass of the-Shahu Mountains, and receiving many tribu-
taries in its course, it forces its way through the remarka-
ble defile of Damah, where there are still the ruins of a
town and castle. From thence, receiving an accession at
Gundar, it enters the singular plain of Semiram by a tre-
mendous gorge, and assumes a southwesterly course until
it unites with the Hulwan River near Khanekin. Previ-
ous to this it is called the Shirwan, from an ancient city
of that name, past the ruins of which it flows ; but after
its junction it assumes the appellation of the Diala, which
it retains till it falls into the Tigris a little below Bagdad.

Having thus described the principal rivers of these coun-
tries, it will be proper also to give some idea of the sys-
tem of artificial irrigation which was so essential to the
prosperity of the alluvial districts.

MESOPOTAMIA AND ASSYRIA. 29

The fertility of Babylonia has been the theme of all an-
cient writers. Herodotus remarks that this province and
the rest of Assyria were by Darius constituied the ninth
satrapy of his empire, and that it contributed a full third
part of the revenues of the state. This great productive-
ness did not arise from the soil in its natural state, for at
this day it produces little besides a scanty sprinkling of
tamarisks, thorns, or salsugineous plants. It was effected
by the wisdom of a judicious monarch, who, aiding the
etforts of an industrious people, supplied the means of ir-
rigation from the periodical floods of the Euphrates and
1'igris. The same historian, Diodorus, and otliers, inform
us of great hydraulic operations being conducted by sev-
eral sovereigns of Babylon ; and of these the magniticent
system of canals by which the flat surface of the land was
divided into sections, all within reach of the water, was,
no doubt, the most important. The traveller, in passing
over the face of the country, now almost a desert, meets
everywhere with vestiges which prove how completely
traversed it once was by such arteries of fructification. It is
remarkable, too, that all these canals, instead of having
been sunk in the earth, like those of the present day, were
entirely constructed on the surface ; a fact which proves not
only the superior skill of the engineers of antiquity, but
the infinitely greater attention to agriculture paid in those
times by farmers or peasantry. By what means the water
was raised to fill these conduits, does not in every case
appear ; whether by dikes thrown across the river, or by
depressing its bed at the point of derivation. The for-
mer expedient was certainly adopted in many instances on
the Athem, on the Dial a, on the Tigris above Samarra, and
on the Euphrates near Hit. But it must be recollected that
the country contiguous to both rivers, and the Euphrates in
particular, was protected by embankments from the peri-
odical rise of their streams, a measure which, by confining
the water, raised it so as to fill these canals. In this man-
ner they served the double purpose of vents for drawing
off the dangerous superabundance of the fluid, and collect-
ing it for the beneficial purpose of irrigation.

The principal canals mentioned by ancient geographers
are the Nahr-raga, the Nahr Sares, the Fluvius Regius,
the Kutha, and the Pallacopas. The first of these, which,
according to Pliny, has its oridJi at Sippara or Hippara,

30 GEiNERAL DESCRIPTION OF

appears to occupy the place of the Nahr Isa, which, de-
rived from the Euphrates at Dehmah near Aiibar, joined
the Tigris in the western part of that city.

The Nahr Sares of Ptolemy is by D'Anville considered
as identical with the JNahr fciarsar of Abulfeda, who de-
scribes it as rising below the former, as passing through
the level country between Bagdad and Cufa, and joining
the Tigris between Bagdad and Madayn. Mr. Ainsworth
says " this corresponds to the present Zimberaniyah," and
remarks that Ammianus Marcellinus notices a canal be-
tween Macepracta and Perisabor on the Nahr Malikah,
which must be the Sarsar.*

The Fluvius Regius of Ptolemy is undoubtedly the Nahr
Malikah of the Arabian geographers, which, according to
Ammianus, was drawn Irom Perisaboras on the Euphra-
tes, and is said by Abulfeda to have joined the Tigris be-
low Madaj'n. It was one of the most ancient, as well as
most important of these works in Babylonia, being attrib-
uted by tradition to Cush, and to Nimrod king of Babel j
while Abydenus, with more probability, attributes it to
Nebuchadnezzar.

"We are told that, about seven miles below the Nahr
Malikah, a second canal was derived from the Euphrates,
which traversed the country nearly parallel with the oth-
ers, and, like them, emptied itself into the Tigris. In its
course it passed the old city of Kutha, supposed to have
derived its name from Cush, the father of Nimrod, whose
posterity possessed the land.t

These are the four canals supposed to have been passed
by the army of Cyrus the younger, after the battle of Cu-
naxa, on their way to Sittace ; and, from the position of
these works, a good idea may be obtained of the method
of irrigation in those days. The country was intersected
by them at intervals of six or eight miles, and could thus
be watered throughout its whole extent by smaller ones
derived from the principal conduits.

But, besides these larger channels, there were many of in-
ferior size, constructed to supply particular towns and dis-

* Researches in Assyria, Babylonia, and Chaldea, by William Ains-
'«yorth,F.G.S., &c.,8vo, London, 1838, p. 163-165.

t Mr. Ainsworth (Researches, p. 166) thinks that this town of Kutha
may be represented by the ruins and mounds of the Towebah, which by
tome are considered as the northern quarter of ancient Babylon.

MESOPOTAMIA AND ASSYRIA. 31

tricts, each quarter of Babylon itself being provided with
water in that manner. The numerous dry beds still to be
seen in all directions, prove the extent to which the system
was carried.

Nearly twenty-two miles below the point of derivation
of the Kutha canal, as we are told by the same geogra-
pher, the Frat divided itself into two streams, the more
southern of which passes beyond Cufa into the marshes
of Roomyah. The other and larger branch flows opposite
the Kasr ibn Hobeirah, and bears the name of the Nahr
Soora.*

The former branch of the Euphrates here spoken of is,
we believe, the same that now forms the lake called the
Sea of Nejeff, and which sweeps round till it joins the
marshes of Roomyah.

It is probable that hence was derived the great canal of
Pallacopas, which appears to have been executed in the
very early days of the Babylonian monarchy, and intend-
ed, perhaps, as much to promote agriculture by means of
irrigation, as to drain a mass of waters injurious to health
and improvement.

We learn from Arrian that much expense was incurred
by the governors of Babylon in restraining an over-abun-
dant flow through the Pallacopas into the fenny districts ;
and that, therefore, Alexander, willing to do the Assyrians
a benefit, resolved to dam up that entrance from the Eu-
phrates. He proposed that a cut should be made about
thirty furlongs from the mouth of the canal, where the soil
was rocky, being satisfied that much water would be there-
by saved, and its distribution better regulated.t

From the first part of this account we should be led to
think that the ancient canal had its commencement, at
least, in what Abulfeda terms the southern branch of the
Euphrates, as through this the water reached the marshes.
From the second it would appear as if Alexander had pur-
sued his intention of effectually damming up the overflow
of the river in the old bed of the canal, and made a fresh

* Mr. Ainswoifh (Researches, p. 171, 172) calls it Nahr Surah or Sa-
ras, and from thence deduces its identity with the Nahr Sares of Ptole-
my ; but we believe it was called Nahr Soora from the name of a town
in its vicinity.

t Arriani Histona, our4 Gronovii, Lugd. Bat., 1704, folio, lib. vii., p.
302.

32 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF

opening at the distance of thirty furlongs in firmer ground.
The circumstance of his sailing down the Euphrates to
the mouth of the Pallacopas, and through that canal to the
place where he built the town now called Meshed Ali,
would lead to the supposition that the new cut must have
been about the parallel of Cufa or Dewannieh. That the
Pallacopas was continued to the sea, into which it emp-
tied itself somewhere about Teredon, is certain, although
its channel is now nearly obliterated ; for both Colonel
Chesney and Lieutenant Ormsby, in journeying westward
from Bussora, found its bed between Zobeir and the Jibel
Sanam, which is the site of ancient Teredon. The last
named of these gentlemen found that it was sixty paces
broad ; and his guide told him that, in travelling along its
channel all the way from Khor Abdullah (the supposed an-
cient mouth of the Euphrates) to Hillah, mounds, with the
usual vestiges of old buildings, are frequently met with on
its banks. In the days of Ai3ulfeda, however, the Pallaco-
pas was no longer in operation, and the waters seem to
have escaped by their old vent into the marshes, the work
of Alexander having probably given way. Of late, the
higher portion of the Babylonian fens received a great
augmentation from the damage done to the embankments
of the river in the memorable inundation of 1830. For
many years previous to that time, the Montefic Arabs had
farmed the whole western side of the Euphrates from the
Pacha of Bagdad at a certain sum, and upon condition of
maintaining in good order the hitds which prevented it
from overflowing the country from Sook el Shiook to Hit.
In that year these embankments were swept away, and
have not since been replaced, so that the river, when in
flood, has a free passage into the Bahr e Nejeff.

These were the principal canals derived from the Eu-
phrates in this quarter. No doubt there were many others
in the level districts of Mesopotamia, but they are less
known ; and it is highly probable that the alluvial territory
between the Hye, the Tigris, and the Euphrates, was equal-
ly well supplied with such means of irrigation. In like
manner, the districts about Bussora bear marks of having
been anciently supplied with conduits, though most of the
names are now lost.

The waters of the Tigris have also been made subservi-
ent to the purposes of agriculture by means of various ca-

MESOPOTAMIA AND ASSYRIA. 33

nalsj and two of these merit especial mention. The first
was the Nahrawan, the most magnificent, indeed, of all
similar works achieved by the ancient kings of Babylon.
Its sources were threefold. The first, issuing from the
river at the point where it cuts the Hamrine hills, ran dis-
tant from the parent stream about six or seven miles to-
wards the ancient town of Samarra, where it was joined
by the second conduit. This last, leaving the Tigris at a
place called Guntree Rissassee, fell into the other, which
then received the name or Nahrawan, and the united cur-
rent ran nearly south-southeast towards the Athem, absorb-
ing first the superfluous waters of the Nahr But, then the
Athem itself, next the Nahr Raathan, and, finally, a third
cut from the river at Gaim. Hence it proceeded generally
at the distance of from six to twelve miles from the course
of the Tigris, as it flowed in those days, but approaching
it at Bagdad; a little after which it crossed the Diala, ex-
hausting its contents, which were raised to a proper level
by a bund.

In like manner, this gigantic aqueduct stretched onward
till, entering Kuzistan, it absorbed all the streams from the
Lour and Buckharee Mountains, and at length joined the
Kerkha, or, as some say, was lost in the marshes of that
part of Susiana.

In its long course of nearly 400 miles, this canal, which
equalled the Tigris in size, being from 250 to 400 feet broad,
fertilized a vast district of country, sending off numerous
branches on both sides, and one, in particular, to Jarjarya,
not far from Koote ul Amara.

On its margin are found ruins of various buildings, and
on either bank the sites of towns and cities, which once
derived wealth from the commerce or agriculture it en-
couraged, and which, with it, have sunk into ruin. Much
of the marsh now existing in the line of its course has been
formed by the waters it formerly directed to useful purpo-
ses ; and those of the Diala, in particular, have forced a
passage to the Tigris below Bagdad, convertmg much
land, once carefully cultivated, into a swampy waste.

Second to the Nahrawan, but also of great importance,
is the Dijeil Canal, which issued from the right bank of
the Tigris some miles below Samarra. It flows parallel
to that river to within twenty-five miles of Bagdad, and
even now fertilizes a large extent of territory, which, how«
ever, is at present in the hands of the Jerbah Arabs.

34 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF

The following canals are still in operation, and exhibit
a melancholy contrast with the magnificent catalogue of
antiquity :

1. The Boogharaib, deriving its waters from the Euphra-
tes below Felugia, joins the marshes of Bagdad.

2. The Massoodee, drawn from a swamp fed from the
Euphrates, and falls into the Tigris two hours below the
former.

3. The Daoodee (cut by Daood Pacha), which connects
the two just mentioned.

4. The Rithwannieh issues from the Euphrates south-
west from Bagdad, and joins the Tigris below the Massoo-
dee.

5. The Mahmoodee, which has its supplies from the Eu-
phrates, flows towards Seleucia, but is exhausted in the
process of irrigation.

There are a few smaller cuts between these last and the
town of Hillah, but they water comparatively little ground.

6. The Khalis (on the Assyrian side of the Tigris), sup-
plied by the Diala, runs nearly seventy miles with a wind-
ing course towards the southwest, that brings it to within
twenty miles of Bagdad.

7. The Khoraisan, which flows from the opposite side
of the same river, has nearly an equal course in a south-
easterly direction.

With the exception of the last two, these canals are
works of very inferior extent and importance to the an-
cient ones.

8. The Dijeil, already described, is ancient, but now al-
most entirely filled up.

Besides these, there are several near Bussora, such as
the Nahr Kerbela leading to that place, and the Nejeff* con-
structed by Nadir Shah, of the present state of which we
are ignorant. Mr. Ains worth* mentions a system of irri-
gating ducts near Gerah, as the Mejilah, the Jemilah, the
Antar, the Jamidah, and others; and there are similar
works opposite Semava, including the extensive line of the
Shatrah Canal, which gives numerous oflfsets to the Eu-
phrates, and unites with the Hye near its mouth. With
the exception of the irrigation accomplished by means of
the water-wheel on the banks of the rivers, it is from the

* Researches, p. 127.

MESOPOTAMIA AND ASSYRIA. 35

operation of these cuts that the whole agricultural produce
of the present Babylonia is still raised, the food of the in-
habitants provided, and the revenue furnished.

The Marshes of that district must here also claim a few-
words. The first to be noticed is the great tract already-
alluded to which lies near Hillah, and is seen stretching
out like a vast sea.

These swamps are fed by the Euphrates at the season of
its great rise, the embankments which restrained its wa-
ters having been destroyed. They communicate with the
Roomyah and Lemlum Marshes, through which the river
winds, but probably also send a considerable portion of
their fluid dov/n the ancient Pallacopas, and to an un-
known distance into the Arabian desert.

The Lemlum themselves are the next in succession
southward, though connected with the former, and consti-
tuting part of the Paludes Babylonice, in which many of
the galleys of Alexander lost their way when they accom-
panied him on his voyage. These marshes, according to
Colonel Chesney, occupy a space of sixty miles in breadth,
and rather more in length. A considerable portion of
them, however, is cultivated by Khezail Arabs.

Mr. Ainsworth says that there is but a narrow band of
soil between them and the Tigris ; but in this he is mista-
ken, as actual observation has proved that they extend
rather towards the Hye than to that river.

The next fenny tract is the one that surrounds the ruins
of Workha, considered by Mr. Ainsworth and Colonel
Taylor to be the district of Chaldea proper ; and which,
doubtless, is connected with the marshes of Lemlum. Of
its extent there exists no accurate information, as the na-
ture of the country renders travelling there extremely dif-
ficult.

Communicating with this watery land by creeks or
ditches, if not by a continuity of swampy ground, is the
valley of the Boo je Heirat and Shut el Hye. This val-
ley appears once to have been the bed of the Tigris itself,
for Abulfeda distinctly says that Waasut was intersected
by the Digleh, which was spanned by a bridge of boats.
This city, the ancient Cascara, and the seat of one of the
bishops of early Christianity, was once populous, rich,
well cultivated, and flourishing. The industry of the in-
habitants restrained within proper embankments the over-

36 GENERAL DESCRIPTION, ETC.

abundance of the waters with which it was surrounded;
but when wars and troubles arose, these were either neg-
lected or destroyed, and the populous province accordingly
returned to a state of nature, and became a country of
lakes and morasses.

Mr. Ainsworth considers this Waasut to be the seat of
the ancient Cybate, and adopts the opinion that the Nahra-
wan which appears in the valley is the same which origi-
nates at Samarra on the Tigris. Probably some of the
lakes described by Abulfeda represented in his day the
Chaldean one of Pliny, which, according to the English
traveller, lay beyond the former course of the Tigris and
Nahrawan, and was, no doubt, connected with it. The
whole country east of the Hye is indeed of a very low and
marshy character, '• while the dry land on the banks of the
Euphrates stretches beyond the Shut el Hye, protected by
the date-plantations, the rampart-enclosed reed huts, and
the more stable habitations of the Montefic Arabs from
Kut (Koote), by Sook el Shiook to Omu el Bak, the ' moth-
er of moschetoes ;' the inland country to the east and to the
west in the parallel of the ' Sheik's Market-town' becomes
already occupied by an almost perpetual inundation ; and
at Omu el Bak the waters spread from the banks of the
river in every direction like a great lake, extending to the
extreme verge of the horizon, and only here and there in-
terrupted by groves of date-trees, and occasional huts isl-
anded in the desert of waters. On the ascent of the steam-
er Euphrates in the latter end of October, and the descent
of the same vessel in the beginning of November, 1836, the
extent of this great inundation had undergone very little
diminution from what it had been in the month of June,
nearly at the period of the great floods."* But few par-
ticulars are known of the former extent of the several lakes
or morasses which are separated by slips of higher land,
where the Beni Ruflfeyah and other Arabs pitch their tents.
At the end of this Chaldean lake Pliny places Ampe, which
Mr. Ainsworth is disposed to think is now represented
by Korna, at the junction of the two rivers. D'Anville,
however, considers this town as identical with Ptolemy's
Apamea and the Digla of Pliny. On the other side of the
present bed of the Tigris are found the marshes of Susiana,

* Ainsworth's Researches, p. 128, 129.

HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MOMARCHY. 37

which, if the liver formerly ran through the valley of the
Hye, must have been continuous with the Chaldean Lake,
or only separated by the low territory of the Messina of
Pliny, Ptolemy, Strabo, and others. Indeed, the whole
country of Susiana, which lies on the left bank of the cur-
rent, appears to be little more than one succession of mo-
rasses.

CHAPTER II.

History of the Assijrian Monarchy,

Uncertainty of the Chronology of these Periods.— Necessity of adopting
some consistent System of Notation. — Errors of Usher, Lloyd, and
others. — Discrepancy of Opinion between various Authors. — Mode of
Notation adopted. — Sources of Information. — Sacred Writ. — Greeic
Historians. — Herodotus — Ctesias. — Commencement of the Assyrian
Empire according to each. — Syncellus and Polyhistor. — Beke's " Ori-
gines Biblicse." — Scriptural Account. — Lists of Kings of both Monar-
chies to the Fall of Babylon. — Claims of Ctesias to Credit discussed. —
Opinions divided. — His Account of the Assyrian Monarchy. — Ninus.
— Semiramis. — Ninyas, &c. — Thonos Concolerus. — His Identity with
Sardanapalus. — Errors of Ctesias.— History of the Monarchy according
to Scripture and Ptolemy's Canon. — Asshur Founder of it. — Pul. —
Tigiath-Pileser. — Shalmaneser. — Sennacherib. — Esarhaddon, suppo-
sed to be the warlike Sardanapalus. — Saosducheus, &c. — Various Con-
jectures.— Nabuchodonosor. — Fall of Nineveh — ^And of the Assyrian
Empire.

Having thus given a description of the boundaries, divis-
ions, and general aspect of the countries hereafter to be
more minutely delineated, we shall endeavour, as succinct-
ly as possible, to sketch the history of the monarchies of
which, from the earliest times, they were the seat. This
is a task of no ordinary difficulty ; for so obscure is the
chronology of those remote periods, and perplexing are
the names and actions attributed by various writers to in-
dividuals who are said to have flourished during them, that,
in spite of the numerous attempts to connect the detached
notices on the subject, it still remains not a little dark and
confused. As an instance of this, and of the discrepancy
which prevails among chronologists on some of the most
important epochs, it rnav be mentioned that Dr. Hales, iii

38 HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY.

his learned work, recites upward of 120 several opinions
in reference to the interval which elapsed between the cre-
ation of the world and the birth of our Saviour, and the
extremes are removed from each other by no less than
3268 years. A difference of 1142 years occurs, in like
manner, among authors in fixing the era of the Deluge j
they disagree, also, to the extent of 300 years regarding the
time of the fall of Nineveh ; and a like diversity prevails
upon the date of the Exode of the Jews from Egypt.

An attempt to reconcile the various systems that have
produced such discordant opinions would be but an idle
waste of time, and unsuited to a work of this nature, which
professes rather to give results than to enter into laboured
disquisitions. It is proposed only to state the issue of the
most successful investigations on the subject of the an-
cient Babylonish and Assyrian monarchies. But, in order
to succeed even in this, some system of chronology must
be adopted, and we shall shortly explain the nature of that
which has been preferred.

It is generally known that the scheme of Usher, Lloyd,
and others, which furnishes the marginal dates in the au-
thorized version of the Scriptures, and was adopted in the
eighth century in place of the more ancient notation of the
Septuagint, is now held to be altogether erroneous. The
era of creation, according to that account, is only 4004
years anterior to the birth of Christ.

The following are considered as among the highest au-
thorities on this subject:

r5555

Josephus, according" to various authors < k^qq

14698
The Septuagint j ^^^g

Syncellus 5500

Pezron 5872

Eusebius 5200

Jackson 5426

Hales 5411

Dr. Russell, who, in his " Connexion of Sacred and Pro-
fane History,"* has examined this subject with great as-
siduity and learning, and who has consulted not only the
writings of Jewish and pagan historians, and of the early

* Vol. i., Preliminary Dissertation ; and vol, ii., chap. i.

HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY. 39

fathers, but also the works of the most distinguished mod-
ern chronologists, inclines to fix this important point in
the year B.C. 5441, which, being nearly a mean of the best
authorities, we will venture to adopt as that by which to
determine such dates as admit of precise notation. On
the same ^rounds, he places the era of the Deluge in

. . B.C.3185

Or after the Creation 2256

Making, till the era of redemption . . . 5441
Assuming, therefore, this point as established, we shall
proceed to the history of those early ages so far as there
are grounds on which to base our narrative.

The principal sources of information are, first, the Scrip-
tures of the Old Testament ; and, secondly, the writings
of several Greek historians who have treated of those
times.

Of these last, the two most important are, Herodotus,
who lived about the year B.C. 430, contemporary with Ne-
hemiah and Malachi, and who himself visited Babylon and
saw its condition only a hundred years after it was taken
by Cyrus. The other is Ctesias, a physician of Cnidos,
who, accompanying Cyrus the younger in that quality on
his expedition against his brother Artaxerxes Mnemon,
was taken prisoner at the battle of Cunaxa, B.C. 399, and
resided at the court of that monarch seventeen years.

From the writings of these two historians, it will be found
that all subsequent annalists and geographers, including
Diodorus and Strabo, have chiefly drawn their materials ;
and it is these original elements, multiplied and often dis-
torted by the theories and conjectures of numerous com-
mentators, that supply all the information we really pos-
sess regarding those early and obscure periods in the his-
tory of man.

The authors of the ''Universal History," a ivork of deep
erudition and research, incline to reject almost entirely
the testimony of Ctesias, whose long list of kings, with its
mixture of Greek, Egyptian, Persian, and Median names,
seems to destroy the pretensions of its compiler to veraci-
ty ; while they attach much credit to the accounts of He-
rodotus, as agreeing far better than those of other histori-
ans with the chronology of Sacred Writ and the few insu-
lated facts that can be brought to bear upon the subject.

40 HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY.

According to their computation, after this historian, the
Assyrian monarchy commenced 1236 B.C., and continued
520 years.*

Dr. Russell, in his very elaborate examination of the
question, for which we must refer our readers to the work
itself (vol. ii., chap, i.), comes to the conclusion that the
account of Ctesias is by no means to be altogether reject-
ed ; and the result of his inquiry is to place the origin of
the Assyrian empire in the year . . . B.C. 2126
Or after the Flood ...... 1059

3185
which, v/ith the assumed period from the Creation to
the Flood of 2256

makes, up to the birth of Christ .... 5441
And he observes that this comes to within one year of the
date fixed by Ctesias for the commencement of his catalogue
of the Assyrian monarchs, the accession of Ninus being
placed in the year B.C. 2127.

Proceeding with his retrospect, and quoting from the
Chronographia of Syncellus of the Chaldean, kings who
succeeded Nimrod at Babylon, Dr. Russell carries back
the commencement of that monarch's reign, or the origin
of the first Babylonish monarchy, to the year 601, or 619
after the Deluge, that is, to B.C. 2566: the difference be-
tween the two former sums arising from an equivalent dif-
ference assigned to the duration of certain reigns, accord-
ing to Syncellus and Alexander Polyhistor. A third dy-
nasty has been added to these by Moses of Chorene, an
Armenian historian, who quotes from Abydenus, a compi-
ler of Chaldean records ; but he inclines to reject this as
being quite unknown to the two former authors.

It is to be observed that these three later and Christian
writers are the only ones who have touched upon this por-
tion of Babylonian history ; all others commencing their
labours only where Sacred Writ terminates its short but
invaluable notices upon this dark era.

This fact has been prominently set forward by Mr. Beke
in his laborious and interesting work of " Origin es Bibli-
cae," in which he examines with great ingenuity every-

* Ancient Universal History, 8vo, Lond., 1747-1754, vol iv,, p. 264-
270.

history: of the Assyrian monarchy. 41

thing which has been presented to us on these important
points in tlie Sacred Volume, and rejects almost entirely
all other evidence upon the subject as fabulous and unsat-
isfactory.

It must, in fact, be confessed that, with regard to the ear-
liest period of the Babylonian annals, we have no other
source of information worthy of any credit besides the Bi-
ble ; and all which we learn there is the bare fact that, at
a certain time, a son or descendant of Cush attained to
great power, and founded a kingdom, " the beginning of
which was Babel, and Erech, and Ace ad, and Calneh in
the land of Shinar."*

In the same manner, the whole which we are told re-
garding the foundation of an Assyrian kingdom is, that at
some period, equally undetermined, " out of that land [of
Shinar] went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and the
city Rehoboth, and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh
and Calah."t It is true that the proper reading of this
passage has l)een much disputed ; for many authorities,
both English and German, contend that its true meaning
is, that Nimrod went forth as a conqueror into the land of
Asshur, and builded Nineveh and the other towns. In ei-
ther case, Asshur must have preceded Nimrod, as we find
the country already called by his name ; and farther down
we are informed that he was a son or descendant of Shem.

Of the kingdom of Babylon we hear no more from Scrip-
ture history till the days of Merodach Baladan, B.C. 721,
who revolted from the Assyrians and wrote to King Hez-
ekiah; while the first mention of an Assyrian monarch is
in the year B.C. 821, when Jonah was sent to one in Nin-
eveh, who by some is supposed to be identical with the
Arbaces of Ctesias.

Considering as we do the Sacred Volume as containing
the only undoubted source of information on this subject,
down to the era of Nabonassar, B.C. 747, when the Canon
of Ptolemy, founded on astronomical observation, com-
mences (Nabonassar having himself destroyed all records
of antecedent kings and dynasties), it would still be im-
proper, in a work of this sort, to pass over entirely the tes-
timony of historians who have written from such sources
as were open to them, and which, among a great mass of

* Gen., X., 10. t Gen., x., 11, 12.

D2

42 HISTORY OP THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY.

error and fable, unquestionably contains some facts which
may be reconciled with those that proceed from less
doubtful sources. We shall therefore give a succinct ac-
count of the origin of the two monarchies, as it appears in
the most accredited histories; and, in order to assist the
reader in comprehending tlie chronology of the period, we
have framed the accompanying table, upon the data alrea-
dy referred to, showing the dynasties, names of kings, pe-
riods of their respective reigns, and the year of their ac-
cession before the Christian era, from the rise of the Baby-
lonian power under Nimrod, and that of Assyria under
Asshur, down to the extinction of both by the arms of the
renowned Cyrus in the year B.C. 536.

BABYLON.

Chaldean Kings.

Years. B.C.

1. Nimrod, 619 years after the Deluge, founds a kingdom

in the land of Shinar, and reigned 6 . . . . 2566

2. Chomasbolus 7*. ..2560

3. Porus 35... 2552

4. Nechubes 43. ...2517

5. Abius 48.... 2474

6. Oniballus 40. ...2426

7. Zinzirus 45. ...2386

2244

Arab Kings.

1. Mardocentes deposes Zinzirus in 2341

And reigned 45

2. Name and period lost, say 40 2296

3. Sisimardacus 28... .2256

4. Nabius 37. ...2228

5. Parannus 40. ...2191

6. Nabonnebus 25. ...2151

215
Deposed and slain by Ninus in 2126

ASSYRIA.

Asshur, period unknown, went out from Shinar and built Nineveh
and other cities.
No account of his successors till the time of Ninus.

HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY. 43

ASSYRIAN EMPIRE.
Assyrian Kings according to Ctesias.

Years. B.C

1. Ninus, conquered Babylon in 2126

Reigned 52

2. Semiramis 42-.. 2074

3. Ninyas 38. ...2032

4. Arius 30. ...1994

5. Aralius 40. ...1964

6. Xerxes or Balaeus 30.... 1924

7. Armanithres 38 1894

8. Belochus 35.... 1857

9. Baljeus 52.... 1821

10. Sethos, Altadas 35.. ..1769

11. Mamythus 30.. .-1734

12. Ascalius or Mascaleus 30 ... . 1704

13. Sphserus 28.. ..1674

14. Mamylus 30... .1646

15. Sparthaeus... 40.... 1616 ^

16. Ascatades , 42.. ..1576

17. Amyntes 50.. ..1534

18. Belochus II 25.. ..1484

19. Baletores or Baletaras 34. ...1459

20. Lamprides 37.. ..1425

21. Sosares 20-. ..1388

22. Lampares 30.. ..1368

23. Panyas 45.. ..1338

24. Sosarmus 42 ... . 1293

25. Mithrieus .37... . 1251

26. Teutamus or Tautanus 32 1214

27. Teutaeus 44. ...1182

28. Thineus 30.. ..1138

29. Dercylus 40.. ..1108

30. Empacmes 38. ...1068

31. Laosthenes 45.. ..1030

32. Pertiades .~. 30.... 985

33. Ophraeteus 21.... 955

34. Ephecheres 52.... 934

35. Acraganes 42.... 882

36. Thonos Colcolerus or Sardanapalus 20 ... . 841

Under this monarch occurred the revolt of the Medes and
Babylonians, which terminated in a separation of the
monarchy once more into the Babylonian and Assyrio-
Median States 821

Babylonian Sovereigns according to Scripture

and Ptolemy.
Earlier Sovereigns unknown, probably Belesis and his family.

Years. BC
1. Nabonassar ; the era of this monarch's accession as-
certained by astronomical calculation, reigned .... 14 ... * 747

44 HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY.

Tears. B C.

2. Nadius 2... 733

3. Chinzirus 5 731

4. Jugaeus 5 726

5. Merodach Baladan 12 721

Revolts from the Assyrians, and writes to King Hez-

^kiah 710

6. Arcianns 5 709

1st Interregnum 2 704

7. Belibus 3 702

8. Apronadius 6... .699

9. Regibelus 1....693

10. Mesessemordak 4 692

2d Interregnum 8 688

11. Esarhaddon subdues Babylon, and reduces it to a tribu-

tary state 13 680

12. Saosducheus or Nebuchadnezzar 1 20 667

13. Chyniladan 22 .... 647

14. Nabopolassar or Labynetus ■ 21 625

In alliance with Cyaxares, who takes Nineveh 606

Ass-^'RiAN Sovereigns according to Scripture and
Ptolemy.

B.C.

1 . King of Assyria, mentioned in Jonah, unnamed, probably iden-

tical with Arbaces of Ctesias 821

Jonah's prophecy about 800

2. Pul or Belus, Mandauces of Ctesias 790

1st Invasion of Israel , 770

3. Tiglath-pileser 747

2d Invasion of Israel 740

4. Shalmaneser 726

3d Invasion of Israel 722

5. Sennacherib 714

1st Invasion of Judea 711

6. Esarhaddon, Assarhaddon, or Sardanapalus 1 710

In this reign the Medes and Babylonians again revolt ; the
former elect Dejoces for their king ; the latter, under
Merodach Baladan, assert their independence.

Babylon reconquered 680

2d Invasion of Judea, and captivity of Manasseh 674

7. NinusIII 667

8. Nabuchodonosor 1 658

Defeat of Arphaxad or Phraortes the Mede 641

3d Invasion of Judea by Holofernes 640

9. Sarac, or Sardanapalus II 636

Nineveh taken by Cyaxares in alliance with Nabopolassar.. 606

jSabylonian Empire after the Capture of Nineveh,
according to scriptt - - —

OTUS, AND XeNOPHON.

according to Scripture, Ptolemy, Berosus, Herod-

Years. B.C

1. Nabopolassar throws off the Assyrian yoke, Nineveh be-
ing destroyed, reigned • » v ...... . 2 . . . .606

HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY. 45

Years. B.C.

2 Nabocolassar, Bochtan ser, or Nebuchadnezzar 43 ... . 604

S Libdues Persia or Elam 596

3. Evil Merodach 3.. ..561

4. Nericassolassar, Ncriglissar, or Belshazzar* 5 . . . . 558

5. Laborosoarshod did not reign a year.

6. Nabonadius or Labynetus il. aj)pointed by Cyaxares or

Darius the Medc* 17 ... .553

Babylon taken by Cyrus, and the empire terminated 536

It is unnecessary to repeat the lists of Chaldean and
Arabian kings which appear in the table, as no particulars
whatever are given of their reigns. The last of them, if
they ever had an existence, was overthrown and proba-
bly put to death by the celebrated Ninus, the first in Cte-
sias's catalogue of Assyrian rulers, who at this time waxed
great, and succeeded in uniting under one sovereign the
crowns of Assyria and Babylon.

Of the monarchs who filled the throne of Assyria, from
the foundation of the empire by Asshur till the accession
of Ninus, no record has reached our times, either in pro-
fane or in sacred history ; and the magnitude and duration
of the empire itself can only be inferred from the fact that
it contained many rich and populous cities, and became
so powerful as to overthrow the might of Babylon. As,
however, the whole narrative touching the following race
of kings rests upon the authority of Ctesias, it maybe well
to examine shortly what degree of credit is due to his wri-
tings.

That he had good opportunities for observation and in-
quiry cannot be denied ; for he enjoyed the favour of the
monarch at whose court he lived, and had access, it is as-
serted, to the records of the empire, preserved from a re-
mote period.

But, in the first place, we are met by the fact already
stated, that Nabonassar had, previously to the time he
treats of, destroyed all, or, at any rate, most of the nation-
al records ; and, in the second, unfortunately for his credit,
he did not confine himself to those things concerning which
he might have had personal knowledge. Besides, the ac-
count he wrote of India was such as to stamp him in the
minds of all his readers as a perfect romancer : hence the
great Aristotle, nearly his contemporary, declares him to
be a writer entitled to no belief; and others of the ancients

* Hales.

46 HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY.

have been equally severe on him. "Who can see Ninus
at the head of millions of men, at a time when the earth
must have been but thinly inhabited, when mankind must
have been a good deal in a state of simplicity and nature j
who can read this without arraigning the historian of false-
hood and forgery 1 Or who can read his story of Semira-
mis — her mighty valour and heroic deeds at the age of
twenty or thereabout ; her two millions of men employed
in the building of Babylon ; her 300,000 skins of black oxen
made up in the form of elephants, and other things of this
nature — and not conclude that what contained it was no
genuine history, but a most barefaced romance T'*

Then, continues the same writer, the very medley of
names, Greek, Egyptian, and Persian, argue his list to be
the grossest forgery. In the canon of Scripture, all the
five names recorded are evidently Assyrian, being derived
from the names of their gods : thus we find Pul or Phulj
Tiglath-pileser for Tiglath-pul-assur, Shalmaneser for Shal-
maLii-assur, and Esarhaddon for -4sswr-haddon ; whereas no
such analogy is observable in the lists of Ctesias and his
followers. Again, the length and equality of the reigns is
against all experience and probability: besides which,
there exist anachronisms and discrepancies from sacred
history which condemn him ; for, according to him, Ninus
and Abraham must have existed together, as the former,
by his account, conquered Persia, Media, Egypt, Assyria,
and all Asia in the days of the patriarch, while no trace
of any such events is to be found in Scripture. On the
contrary, the succession of rulers given in the Bible is to-
tally inconsistent with the fabled conquests by Ninus and
Semiramis.

Dr. Russell, on the other hand, is inclined to repose far
greater confidence in the testimony of Ctesias, partly be-
cause, he argues, it does not appear that the historian could
have had any motive for fabricating a falsehood, and part-
ly because there are strong grounds for believing that some,
at least, of the sovereigns and conquerors he mentions ac-
tually had existence, and performed some of the exploits
attributed to them. But for the long and elaborate chain
of reasoning by which he arrives at the conclusion that
the term of duration and list of kings assigned by that his-

* Ancient Universal History, vol. iv., p. 265.

HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY. 47

torian to the Assyrian monarchy, from its foundation by
Kinus to its extinction under Thonos Concolerus or Sar-
danapalus, are worthy of credit and adoption, we must re-
fer to the work itself,* as it is too long for insertion here,
and depends too much upon a nice comparison of dates
and events to admit of abridgment. With these remarks
upon the credibility of Ctesias, we shall proceed to give a
short account of his history.

Ninus, the first-mentioned sovereign, is represented as a
martial and ambitious prince, who, conceiving the idea of
extensive conquest, trained up the youth of his kingdom to
warlike usages and personal endurance. By these means,
having created a formidable army, he entered into a league
with the King of Arabia, by whose assistance he overran
Babylonia, reduced its cities and strongholds, carrying the
royal family away to captivity and death.

Armenia, his next object, would have fallen an easy
prey, had not its king, Barzanus, appeased the conqueror
with gifts, and consented to become his vassal. Pharnus,
the sovereign of Media, was next overthrown and put to
death ; and, if we are to credit the historian, in seventeen
years Ninus appears to have brought into subjection the
greater part of Asia, except India and Bactriana; proba-
bly the vast regions of Tartary also remained untouched.
Having led his victorious army back to his own country,
he employed the treasures he had amassed, and the multi-
tude of people he had collected, in building the city of Nin-
eveh, the origin of which is in Scripture assigned to As-
shur, at probably a much earlier period, unless, with some,
we should conclude that Ninus and he are the same person.

An expedition against the Bactrians having failed, the
great conqueror, after constructing the stupendous city de-
scribed by our author, proceeded a second time against
that nation ; and the enter]5rise was not more remarkable
for the success which attended the arms of the Assyrian
monarch, than for its being the occasion of his union with
the renowned Semiramis, whose name is so well known
in the ancient history of the East, although chronologers
cannot agree within 1500 years as to the period of her ex-
istence.

So extraordinary a heroine could not in those days be

* Connexion of Sacred and Profane History, vol. U., c. 1.

48 HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY.

permitted to have a mere human origin ; and, according-
ly, Ctesias ascribes her birth to the amour of a certain
goddess, named Derceto by the Greek writers, with an ob-
scure youth who was sacrificiDg at her altar. The infant,
abandoned by its mother near Ascalon in Syria, was rear-
ed, according to tradition, by flocks of pigeons, from which
circumstance these birds w^ere held sacred in Syria; and
the name of Semiramis is by some asserted to be derived
from a word in that language signifying a dove.

The fact probably is, assuming the reality of her exist-
ence, that she was a woman of low origin, but remarkable
for beauty of person and vigour of mind. By these quali-
ties she captivated the heart of Menon, governor of Syria,
who married her, and had by her two children. In the
end he became so attached to her, that, when forced to ac-
company his sovereign into Bactriana, he desired her to
repair to the camp in disguise. She obeyed, and made
her appearance in a dress calculated to conceal her sex,
and yet to set off her charms so much, that the Persian
ladies afterward assumed it.

Ninus, who on this occasion is said to have led against
Bactriana the incredible multitude of 1,700,000 foot, 210,000
horse, and 10,600 scythe-armed chariots, had already re-
duced the whole country, with its numerous and populous
cities, except the capital, which was still maintained by
its king Oxyartes. The acute and intelligent observations
of Semiramis upon the conduct of the siege first attracted
the great monarch's attention ; and the valour and ability
which she displayed in carrying into practice the measures
she advised, not less than her beauty, made, in the sequel,
so powerful an impression on his heart, that he attempted
by negotiation to obtain the lady from her husband. Find-
ing these means ineffectual, he succeeded in his object by
menace; upon which MenoH, in a fit of rage and despair,
put an end to his life, and Semiramis became the consort
of Ninus.

By this lady the Assyrian ruler had a son named Ninyas,
who succeeded his mother on the throne. For himself, he
did not live long to enjoy his triumphs ; and his death has
by some subsequent writers been attributed to the treach-
ery of the woman whom he had, at the expense of faith
and honour, raised to a throne. It is said that, having
secured the good- will of the nobles, she induced the king

HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY. 49

to invest her with the sovereignty over his dominions for
five days, and that the first use she made of this power
was to put himself to death. Other authors, who follow
Ctesias, are silent regarding the manner of his demise,
which is supposed to have taken place at Nineveh in a
natural manner, after his return from the conquest of Bac-
tria, and at the close of a reign of fifty- two years. At all
events, sufficient honours were paid to his remains by the
Avidow, for she erected in his capital a tumulus of the most
gigantic proportions.

Secure on the throne. Semiramis now thought only of
eclipsing the glory of her husband ; and her first act was
to build the city of Babylon, the same, we are told, of
which the ruins still excite the astonishment of travellers,
and the magnificence of which, according to the account
preserved from Ctesias, is calculated to excite doubt even
more than amazement. Nor were her splendid works
confined to the metropolis. The banks of the Euphrates
and Tigris were embellished with towns; and the com-
merce of her empire was improved by various judicious
measures, as were its agricultural resources by the canals
which she caused to be formed.

Having completed her operations in Mesopotamia, Se-
miramis assembled a vast army, and marching into Media,
left there also magnificent monuments of her power and
taste, and where, during the completion of these works,
according to some authors, she abandoned herself for a
long time to a course of the most profligate vice and luxu-
ry. But, arousing from this disgraceful sloth, she visited
the whole of her Asiatic dominions, and passing thence
through Egypt, added the grertter part of Libya to her wide
territories. From thence she marched to reduce Ethiopia,
and, having settled aftairs in that quarter, she again enter-
ed Asia, and reposed for a while at Bactra.

But tranquillity had no charms for this restless conquer-
or. The wealth and prosperity of distant India excited
her ambition; she longed to view its wonders, to possess
its riches, and therefore she resolved to invade it. Three
years were consumed in preparing an armament suited to
this great enterprise ; and the force with which she at last
left Bactra is by Ctesias set down at the incredible multi-
tude of 3,000,000 foot, 200,000 horse, 100,000 armed chari-
ots, 100,000 camelmcn, besides artificers. To these v/era

E

50 HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY.

added 2000 vessels for navigating the Indus, carried to the
banks of the river on camels, together with the hides of
300,000 black oxen, made into artificial elephants, formed
for the purpose of familiarizing her cavalry with the sight
of these animals, as well as to terrif}^ the Indians and en-
courage her own troops by a show of the counterfeit quad-
rupeds.

The preparations made by Stabrobates, the sovereign
of India, for repelling this alarming invasion, were such
as became a powerful prince, jealous of his independence,
and indignant at an unprovoked aggression. It is assert-
ed that he gathered together a far greater army than Se-
miramis commanded, and, adding contumely to defiance,
upbraided his enemy with her infamous mode of life, and
threatened, should his arms be successful, to put her to a
cruel death. She smiled at his threats, and advanced to
the Indus. "Ke does not know me yet," said she; "he
will soon have an opportunity of judging me by my ac-
tions and deportment." But the height of her fortune and
the limit of her empire had now been reached. A tempo-
rary success rendered her bold ; and, decoyed across the
river, over which she constructed a bridge of boats, she
came to a decisive action with the Indian king. Her ar-
tificial elephants could not withstand the shock of the true
ones ; and, being wounded in a combat hand to hand with
Stabrobates, she was forced to recross the stream. The
bridge was destroyed in order to check pursuit ; but, though
many of the Indians perished in the struggle, a multitude
of her own troops also were destroyed, and the Assyrian
queen retreated to Bactra vrith scarcely a third part of her
army.

This was the last of her enterprises. Her own son, de-
siring to anticipate the prediction of an oracle, which de-
clared " that she should, at a certain period, disappear from
the eyes of men," sent a eunuch to assassinate her. She
forgave him the attempt, surrendered herself into his hands,
and was translated from earth, as was asserted, in the form
of a dove, a flock of which birds had settled at the mo-
ment upon her palace.

Such, after a glorious and successful reign of forty- two
years, and a life of sixty-two, was the end of the celebra-
ted Semiramis ; and the description of her actions alone
has been held by many as clearly decisive as to the defect

HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY. 51

of the historian's claim to credit. It is not alone the in-
credible numbers of her army and vast preparations that
cast over the narrative an air of fable, for this may be
found in other authors, both Greek and Mohammedan, in
relating facts which themselves rest on indisputable evi-
dence. We may instance the enormous armaments at-
tributed to Darius and Xerxes in their invasions of Greece,
and the incredible multitudes of human beings said to
have been slaughtered by Zinghis Khan. In the sack and
destruction of five cities alone, Merve, Nishapore, Herat,
Rhe, and Bagdad, the number of persons put to death, ac-
cording to the historians of Zinghis, exceeds eight millions !
But to attribute to distant countries like India such an ad-
vanced state of power, riches, and civilization, at a period
little more than a thousand years after the Flood — and not
only to call into existence such prodigious armies, but
imagine they could be maintained in remote quarters of
the globe, when the race of men were as yet but thinly
scattered over any part of its surface — argues not only a
strong disposition to romance, but a deficiency of all au-
thentic records.

Ninyas, the son of Semiramis, was ill qualified to main-
tain the mighty fabric of empire which his parents had
reared. Little, in truth, remained for him to do; for all
Asia, with the exception of India, acknowledged his su-

Eremacy, and few were the adventurers in those early times
ardy enough to dispute his power. Unmoved by any ne-
cessity for exertion, he abandoned himself to voluptuous
enjoyment. Concealing himself from the eyes of his sub-
jects, as if he were something more than niortal, he spent
his time in lascivious sloth among his concubines and eu-
nuchs. Yet it would appear that he did not altogether
neglect the affairs of state ; for we hear that, in order to
preserve tranquillity throughout his dominions, it was his
practice to levy an army every year, enrolling a certain
number of men from each province, who, at the end of that
period, were each bound by an oath of fidelity, and dismiss-
ed to their homes. The rapid changes involved in this sys-
tem were considered to afford security against any serious
conspiracy on the part either of officers or soldiers.

Of the long list of his successors, little or nothing has
been recorded by Ctesias, or at least by his transcribers,
beyond their names, and that they pursued a line of policy

52 HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY.

similar to that of their progenitor. And here, again, there
does appear a most conclusive objection to the authenticity
of this portion of the narrative. That, at any period of the
world, a term of 1200 years should have been occupied in
one empire by a single family, in an unbroken line of con
secutive sovereigns, whose reigns all extended to so unu-
sual a length, is a fact unparalleled in history, and opposed
to the course of human affairs : and that this long period
should, moreover, have been so unproductive of great
events as not to afford a single prominent occurrence to
give the means of fixing a date, is a circumstance so en-
tirely at variance with all probability, as to render the
whole recital totally unworthy of credit.

The last of this long race of sovereigns, Thonos Conco-
lerus of Ctesias, the Sardanapalus of Diodorus, Justin, and
Polyhistor, has left a name almost unequalled for effemi-
nate luxury and depraved sensuality. It is asserted that
he had become so lost to a sense of decency, that not only
did he clothe himself like a woman, but painted his face,
and, assuming the ornaments and air of the most worthless
of the sex, sat and spun among his concubines. The bold-
ness and resolution, however, with which he is represented
to have roused himself and defended his kingdom, when
attacked by the rebel Medes and Babylonians under Ar-
baces and Belesis, is so inconsistent with the character
attributed to him, that it has been brought forward as one
among other reasons for concluding that there were more
than one king of the race named or entitled Sardanapalus ;*
and that two of them — one an effeminate, the other a brave

Erince — have, in the accounts of Ctesias and his followers,
een confounded together. But this is one of many con-
jectures to which the obscurity of this period of history has
given rise, when the false light of fable was beginning to
fade before the gleams of truth from more authentic
sources.

It is at the termination of this monarch's reign and life
that Ctesias has placed the destruction of Nineveh ; but
this obviously must be a mistake; for, according to the
most approved chronology, the downfall of Thonos Con-

* St. Martin and others suppose this to have been a title borne by the
kings of Aasyria (derived, no doubt, from the appellations of their gods),
rather than a name peculiar to any one sovereign, as there appear to
have been more than one who bore it

HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY. 53

colerus took place about the year B.C. 821.* Yet, twenty
years afterward, following the same notation, w^e find the
prophet Jonah sent to preach repentance to the Ninevites,
in " that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thou-
sand persons that cannot discern between their right hand
and their left hand, and also much cattle ;"t and that their
unnamed king, and all his people, received the divine warn-
ing with reverence, humbling themselves before the Lord
in sackcloth and ashes. The most probable solution of
this dihiculty is, that Ctesias and his ibllow^ers have some-
how confounded together the taking of Nineveh by Arba-
ces and Belesis and the death of Sardanapalus, when the
former prince established the Medo-Assyrian dynasty upon
the throne of Nineveh, with the hnal capture and demoli-
tion of the city, and ov^erthrow of the empire by Cyaxares
the Mede, in the year B.C. 60G.

The account of this first taking of Nineveh, and the death
of the last sovereign of the line of Ninus, is shortly as fol-
lows. Sardanapalus, living in despicable effeminacy, be-
came odious to his subjects, and more especially to a val-
iant noble named Arbaces, and Belesis, a priest and as-
trologer. These two conspired for the overthrow of their
unworthy sovereign, the latter assuring his confederate
that, by the rules of his art, he could foresee that he was to
dethrone Sardanapalus, and become lord of his dominions.
The former, on his part, promised that, should they succeed
in their enterprise, he would bestow the government of
Babylon upon him.

The conspirators raised their friends, and, gaining over
many of the king's troops, attacked the royal army, but
were defeated in three pitched battles. Belesis, however,
relying on his astrological revelations, persevered ; and,
re-enforced by the revolted troops of Bactria, surprised the
army of Sardanapalus at a splendid festival, and routed
them with immense slaughter. The king fled to Nineveh,
where, having laid up immense magazines, and trusting to
the response of an oracle, which declared that the great city
would never be taken until the river had become her ene-
my, he abandoned himself in fatal security to the indul-
gence of sloth, while the enemy blockaded his walls.

He was at length roused from his delusion; for, after

* Pr. Russell's Connexion, vol. ii., c. 1. t Jonah, iv., 11

E 2

54 HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY.

two years, the river, swollen to an extraordinary size by an
nnusual fall of rain, overflowed its banks, and swept away
no less than twenty stadia, or about two miles and a half, of
the fortifications. Sardanapalus saw that, the oracle being
fulfilled, his hour was come ; and he prepared to meet it in
a characteristic manner. Retiring to his palace, he caused
a vast pile of wood to be raised in one of the courts, having
a chamber constructed within. On it he heaped all his
gold and silver plate and rich apparel, and entering with
his eunuchs and concubines, set fire to the pile, whereby he
destroyed himself and them together.

Thus far have we followed Ctesias, whom we now re-
linquish for other guides. Of the credit due to the earlier
parts of his work, we have already expressed a distinct
opinion. That there may be some foundation for a portion
of his list of kings, it would be idle to. dispute or deny, and
that the later periods of his narrative afford more frequent
and decided glimpses of truth, may also be safely admit-
ted. But, cut off as we are from all reference to the origi-
nal, and restricted to the works of copyists, who may not
always have abstained from alterations, it seems impossi-
ble to admit the statements within the pale of authentic
history.

We shall now shortly examine the history of the Assyr-
ian or Medo-Assyrian dynasty, according to the canon of
Scripture and of Ptolemy, which have a remarkable coin-
cidence, arranged principally from the Universal Histor}^,
and the authorities followed by its compilers.

With its exception of the slight mention of Asshur as the
founder of Nineveh in the book of Genesis, the first ruler
of that city noticed in the Old Testament is the personage
to whom Jonah was sent, unless we should admit " Chu*
shan-risliaihaim^ king of Mesopotamia,"* who held the chil-
dren of Israel in bondage eight years, to be an Assyrian
sovereign. And of that nameless monarch visited by the
prophet, nothing more is known than what we read in the
Bible ; but it has been conjectured that he was the same as
Arbaces the Mede.

The next mention in the inspired writings! of an As-
syrian king is that of Pul, who was contemporary with
Menahem, king of Israel, B.C. 771, perhaps the Mandau-

* Judges, iii., 8. t 2 Kings, xv., 19.

HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY. 55

ces of Clesias, and successor to Arbaces. The only fact
recorded of this prince is that he invaded Syria, and re-
ceived from the court of Samaria 1000 talents of silver as
the price for forbearance and future protection.

Pul appears to have been succeeded by Tiglath-pileser,
B.C. 747, probably his son, and perhaps the Sosarmus or
Artycas of Ctesias, who, in the year B.C. 740, overran the
dominions of Israel, and carried away many of the inhab-
itants captive.* He pursued the same system towards his
other conquests in that quarter; for we find in the same
sacred text,t that, instigated by the King of Judah, he
marched against Damascus, slew Rezin its king, and,
transporting his people to Kir in Media, put an end to his
sovereignty.

Shalmaneser, the Enemessar of Tobit, succeeded Tig-
lath-pileser, B.C. 726. Provoked by the rebellion of Ho-
shea, king of Israel, who had been reduced to the condi-
tion of his tributary, and who had solicited the assistance
of So, king of Egypt, to enable him to throw off the Assyri-
an yoke, he overran the country with a powerful army,
laid siege to Samaria, which, at the end of three 3^ears, he
took, and, carrying all the people into captivity, brought to
a termination the independent existence of the ten tribes.
He then proceeded against the cities of Sidon, Acre, Pa-
loBtyrus, and others, which, revolting from the Tyrians,
opened their gates ; but he failed, after a struggle of five
years, to gain possession of Tyre itself.

Sennacherib, possibly the Arbianes of Ctesias, makes
his first appearance in Sacred Writ in the fourteenth year
of the reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah, B.C. 714, march-
ing against the dominions of that prince, who had withheld
the stipulated tribute. On this occasion, the Assyrian
monarch not only compelled him to acknowledge his su-
premacy, and promise an annual paym^ent of thirty talents
of gold and 300 of silver, but, unsatisfied with these con-
cessions, and with the treasure which the other was forced
to strip from the house of God, he sent his generals, Tar-
tan, Rabsaris, and Rab-shakeh, with a mighty host, to re-
duce Jerusalem itself These men declared their master's
will, taunted Hezekiah with his weakness, and warned
him not to put his trust either in the power of Egypt or in

♦ 2 Kings, XV., 29. 2 Chron,, xxviii. t 2 Kings, xvi., 9.

56 HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY.

the arm of Jehovah ; for that the one was a broken reed,
that would pierce the hand of him who should lean there-
on; and as for the other, " Know ye not," said they, in the
name of their master, "what I and my fathers have done
unto all the people of other lands ? Were the gods of the
nations of those lands any ways able to deliver their lands
out of mine hand, .... that your God should be able to de-
liver you out of mine hand?'* Therefore did he summon
the people to submit, that they might be taken to a land
abounding with corn and oil, where they might live and
not die.

It was on this memorable occasion that Hezekiah call-
ed upon the name of the Lord. And the arm of the Al-
mighty was stretched forth; and, of the multitude of arm-
ed Assyrians that followed their king to battle, 185,000
men were in one night smitten dead. The rest, terror-
struck, fled with their baffled monarch, and returned with
speed to Nineveh, where, soured by disappointments, he
became so cruel and tyrannical as to exhaust the endu-
rance even of his own family, and was at length put to
death by his two sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, while
performing his devotions in the temple of Nisroch his
god.t

The decline of the Ass5rrian power may be dated from
the reign of this prince. His father's losses before Tyre,
and his own in Judea, with his subsequent misrule and
death, were probably the exciting causes of a second revolt
of the Medes, who were desirous to throw off the yoke.
And though Esarhaddon (acccrrding to Ptolpmy. Asaradin ;
to Tobit, Sarchedon ;$ to Isaiah, Sargon§), third son of the
murdered monarch, in B.C. 710, and his successor, exerted
himself to maintain the integrity of the empire, he was un-
able to reduce the rebels to subjection, who soon after were
formed into a separate monarchy under their first king,
Dejoces, B.C. 704.

These events have led some to regard Esarhaddon as the
warlike Sardanapalus who resisted the efforts of his rebell-
ious subjects with so much fortitude.il That he was an
equitablelT as well as a courageous prince, seems probable,

* 2 Chron., xxxii., 13-15.

t Tobit, i., 21. 2 Kings, xix., 37. 2 Chron., xxxii., 21.

X Tobit, i., 21. ^ Isaiah, XX., L

II Ancient Universal History, vol. iv., p. 327, 329.

II Ezra, iv., 10, calls him the great and noble Asnapper.

HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY. 57

and his reverses in the north were counterbalanced by suc-
cesses in the southwest; for he reduced Babylon — whose
king, Evil Merodach, had revolted from the Assyrian sway

and then advanced into Syria, to recover the ground lost
by his father. He took from the kingdom of Israel the few
remaining subjects left by his ancestors, thus expunging it
from the list of nations ; and reducing that of Judah to ut-
ter dependance, carried its king Manasseh in chains to
Babylon.* From thence he pursued his victorious career
into Egypt and Ethiopia, making a multitude of captives,t
and returned, having, in a great degree, revived the splen-
dour of the Assyrian monarchy.

Chronologistsi have introduced a king between Esarhad-
don and Saosducheus, under the name of Ninus III., who
does not appear in Scripture, and whose reign is said to
have commenced in the very year when the Saosducheus
of Ptolemy's canon took possession of the throne of Nine-
veh and Babylon, viz., B.C. 667.

At all events, he was succeeded by Saosducheus, of whom
little is related, except that he reigned twenty years, and
was followed by his son Chyniladan, B.C. 647.

This prince is supposed by the authors of the Universal
History! to be the Nabuchodonosor of the book of Judith, an
active and warlike sovereign, who, alarmed at the en-
croachments of the Medes, raised a great army, and on the
plain of Ragau (Rhages) utterly defeated Arphaxad (or
Fhraortes), the Median monarch, putting him to death in
the neighbouring mountains, whither he had fled after the
battle. Returning to Nineveh, which even then, according
to the book of Judith, and also to Herodotus, was in its
power and glory, he feasted his army a hundred and twen-
ty days J II after which he sent Holofernes to punish those
vassals who had resisted his authority, and refused the aid
he required in his late campaigns. His general's expedi-
tion was fortunate for a season. Such as did not fall or
flee before him submitted to the will of his master, until he
jDroceeded against the Jews, and invested Bethulia, a hill-
fortress, encamping in a valley near the place, "spreading
themselves in breadth over Dothaim even to Belmaim, and

* 2 Chron., xxxiii., 11. f Isaiah, xx., 4.

i Blair, Hales, and others. Dr. Russell follows them.
^ We refer to the fourth volume of this valuable work, p. 328, for the
grounds on which this opinion is supported.
U Judith, i., 16.

58 HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY*

in length from Bethulia unto Cyamon, which is over against
Esdraelon."* There he fell, as is well known, a victim to
his own inordinate passions, by the hand of the Jewish he-
roine Judith, who had devoted herself to destroy him in or-
der to save her country ;t and the Assyrians, panic-struck
at the loss of their leader, lied to their own country, pur-
sued with great slaughter by the enemies they had despised.

It seems not improbable that, in the successful warfare
of Nabuchodonosor with the Medes, the great feast held
after it, and the dispersion and slaughter of the Assyrians
themselves subsequently to the death of Holofernes, we
may discover the events which have been confounded by
Ctesias, and form his conclusion to the reign of Thonos
Concolerus.

Of Chyniladan we hear no more, but that he was suc-
ceeded by a king called by Polyhistor, Sarac — probably the
Sardanapalus of Justin and other modern authors — in 636
B.C. ; but, less able or less fortunate than his predecessor,
he lost all that had been wrested from the Medes, and his
power was reduced so low that Nabopolassar, the govern-
or of Babylon, to whom he had committed the command
of his forces in that country, thought it a fit occasion to
throw off the Assyrian yoke. Entering into an alliance
with Cyaxares the Mede, he assisted that prince in his at-
tack upon Sarac, and the city of Nineveh was invested by
the combined troops. This unfortunate ruler, whose mind
had been enfeebled by misfortune, dreading to fall into the
hands of his enemies, put an end to his life by burning the
palace in which his wealth and family were bestowed in
the manner related by Ctesias in reference to Concolerus.
But some confusion of dates appears here, by which it
seems doubtful whether this event was not suspended at
least twenty-eight years ; for at this period the Scythians
overran Central Asia, against whom the combined Median
and Babylonian force found full employment for their arms.
In the mean time, Nabopolassar died, leaving the kingdom
to his son, the celebrated Nebuchadnezzar (or Nabuchodo-
nosor), who completed the destruction of the Assyrian pow-

* Judith, vii., 3.

t The authors of the Universal History advert to the probability of th«
story of Judith being- fictitious. The point need not be discussed here ;
we refer our readers, if curious on the subject, to that book, vol. iv., p-
173, and to Prideaux.

HISTORY OF THE ASSYRIAN MONARCHY. 59

er about 606 B.C. The great city of Nineveh, levelled to
the ground by Cyaxares, no longer lifted her head among
nations. In process of time, indeed, other towns rose from
amid its ruins, and flourished, and decayed, and were for-
gotten ; but even at the present day the site of that great
and mighty capital may be traced upon the banks of the
Tigris.

The empire itself, however, was now no more ; the word
of God had gone forth against it, and its power Vv^as with-
ered, its glory passed away. " Behold, the Assyrian was;"""',
a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shad-
owing shroud, and of an high stature ; and his top was
among the thick boughs. The waters made him great, the
deep set him up on high with her rivers running round
about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the
trees of the field. Therefore his height was exalted above
all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied,
and his branches became long, because of the multitude of
waters when he shot forth. All the fowls of heaven made
their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all
the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under
his shadow dwelt all great nations. Thus was he fair in
his greatness, in the length of his branches : for his root
v/as by great waters. The cedars in the garden of God
could not hide him : the fir-trees were not like his boughs,
and the chestnut-trees were not like his branches ; nor any
tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.
I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches ; so
that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God,
en vied. him. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, Because
thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up
his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up
in his height, I have delivered him into the hand of the
mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal Avith him:
I have driven him out for his wickedness. And strangers,
the terrible of the nations, have cut him off, and have left
him ; upon the mountains and in all the valleys his branch-
es, are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the rivers
of the land; and all the people of the earth are gone dov/n
from his shadow, and have left him. Upon his ruin shall
all the fowls of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of
the field shall be upon his branches : to the end that none
of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves for their

60 RISE AND FALL OF THE

height, neither shoot np their top among the thick boughs,
neither their trees stand up in their height, all that drink
water : for they are all delivered unto death, to the nether
parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with
them that go down to the pit,"* &c.

CHAPTER in.

Rise and Fall of the Babylonian Empire.

TJie only authentic Record contained in Holy Writ. — Ptolemy's Canon
affords the only true Chronology. — Nabonassar. — Merodach Baladan.
— Esarhaddon, the warlike King- of Assyria. — Nabopolassar. — His
Power. — Nabocolassar or Nebuchadnezzar. — Aids in the Destruction
of Nineveh. — Overruns Syria, and carries the Jews into Captivity. —
Humbles Pharaoh. — His Dreams. — Divine Predictions. — His Humilia-
tion— Repentance — And Death. — Evil Merodach. — The Belshazzar of
Daniel. — Murdered by Neriglissar, who probably is identical with Da-
rius the Mede. — He seizes the Throne — And is slain in Battle. — Labo-
rosoarchod. — Nabonadius. — Nitocris. — Her Acts and Improvements. —
Babylon attacked by Cyrus. — Taken by turning the Euphrates. — Ful-
filment of the Prophecies. — Gradual Decay of Babylon. — Its Destruc-
tion by Darius — By Xerxes. — Seleucia. — Accounts of its Desolation by
various Authors.

It is now requisite to turn back nearly a century and a
half, that we may discover the establishment of the con-
temporary kingdom of Babylon, the history of which is so
intimately connected with that of Assyria that it is impos-
sible to disunite them.

It has been already observed, that the only authentic no-
tice of what is generally supposed to have been the origin
o: the ancient Babylonian power — the first monarchy of
the postdiluvian world — is contained in three verses of the
lOth chapter of Genesis ; that the lists of Chaldean and
Arabian kings given by Syncellus, Polyhistor, and Moses
of Chorene, are entitled to no credit, because they rest not
on any authentic ground ; and that there is no mention of
any ruler of Babylon before Merodach Baladan, who, B.C.
710, v/rote to Hezekiah.t Prior to this lime, however,

* Ezekiel, xxxi., 3-14.

t There is, it is true, mention made in Gen., iv., 1, 2, of Amraphel,
king of Shinar, who warred with the kings of Sodom and Gomoirah in
the days of Abraham.

BABYLONIAN EMPIRE. Gl

commences the canon of Ptolemy, the most valuable of
uninspired records ; and had the chronology of the previous
period been certain, and the date of the lirst revolt of the
iVIedes and Babylonians from the Assyrians under Arba-
ces and Belesis been accurately fixed, we might have ex-
pected to find the commencement of the Babylonian king-
dom placed in the year B.C. 821, contemporary with that of
the Medo- Assyrian, and Belesis named as the first sover-
eign. But historians have wisely preferred the accounts cf
Ptolemy, confirmed by occasional notices in Sacred Writ,
to the less certain authority of other profane writers ; and
he appears to have discovered no king prior to Nabonas-
sar.* It has been established by astronomical calculations
that this monarch's reign began on Wednesday, the 26tli
of February, B.C. 747, in the twenty-third year after the
appearance of Pul on the west of the Euphrates. This
shows the kingdom to have been of Assyrian origin, and
accords with what is stated by the prophet Isaiah :t " Be-
hold the land of the Chaldeans : this people was not, till
the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilder-
ness : they set up the tov/ers thereof, they raised up the
palaces thereof"

It is uncertain who this prince was ; but, as he was con-
temporary with Tiglath-pileser, some have supposed that
he may have been his brother, a son of Pul, king of Assyria.
This, it is acknowledged, is entirely conjectural; and that
he was tributary or subservient to 'Tiglath-pileser appears
more certain. Indeed, the authors of the Universal His-
tory are inclined to think that the Semiramis of the Greeks,
if she ever did exist as queen of Babylon, must have been
the wife of this prince, and that, as her husband commenced
the city, she must have exerted herself after his death in
beautifying it, from whence she obtained the reputation of
being its founder. For the arguments by which this hy-
pothesis is supported, Ave must refer to the work itself.

Of the three monarchs who, according to the canon, next
succeed, nothing is recorded ; and Mardoch Empades, the
Merodach Baladan of Scripture,? fifth on the list, is only

* It lias been already observed, that Nabonassar, desirous of being"
thoug-ht the first monarch of the dynasty, destroyed all the records of
Babylon that had been preserved in the temple or archives.

t Chap, xxiii., 1.3.

i 2 Kings. XX., 12. Isaiah, :<xx\x., 1. lie is called the son of Baladan.

F

62 RISE AND FALL OF THE

remarkable as ha,ving held communication with the kings
of Jadah. He sent a special messenger to Hezekiah to
congratulate him on his recovery from illness. The next
who claims notice is Asaradin, the Esarhaddon of Scrip-
ture, w^ho, we have seen, acquired fame as the warlike
Sardanapalus of ilssyria, and who possibly, on the race of
Nabonassar becoming extinct or rebellious, B.C. 680, took
possession of the sovereignty. It was he who utterly swept
away the people of Israel, and carried Xvlanasseh, king of
Judah, with him in chains to Babylon. Of his successors,
Saosducheus and Chyniladan, we have already spoken, as
masters at once of Assyria and Babylon.

The most brilliant period of the Babylonian history now
approached. Nabopolassar, having broken the power, if
not destroyed the city of Nineveh, removed the seat of em-
pire to his capital. During the time when the forces of
these allies v/ere employed in repelling the Scythian inva-
sion, Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, attempted to recover
his former possessions in Syria ; and, in his way to besiege
the city of Carchemish, overthrew the King of Judah, who
lost his life in the encounter.* Nabopolassar was succeed-
ed by his son Nobocolassar (or Nebuchadnezzar), who,
after driving out the Syrians, co-operated with Cyaxares
in destroying Nineveh. Having resolved to punish other
invaders, he marched at the head of a powerful army
against the Egyptians, who had formed an alliance with
the revolted tribes on the western bank of the Euphrates.
In this enterprise he was not only successful, but on his re-
turn entered Judea, took Jerusalem, rifled the temple, and
made the king a prisoner. The humble submission of the
fallen Jehoiakim, and the promise of a yearly tribute, saved
him from the fate of the other captives, Vvdio were sent in
chains to Babylon. Pursuing his victorious career, he
humbled Pharaoh ; and, after making himself master of
the whole country between the Nile and the Euphrates, he
returned to Babylon, loaded with spoil and encumbered
wdth captives, when he began to enlarge and embellish the
seat of his growing empire.

In this he eminently succeeded, though he himself lived
to experience the lowest degree of human degradation as
well as of grandeur. His history is faiidliar to every

* 2 Chron., xxxv., 20-24.

BABYLONIAN EMPIRE. 63

reader of Scripture. The revelation which he had in the
second year of his reign* was the commencement of a se-
ries of Divine intimations which accompanied his career,
and were not more remarkable in themselves than for the
manner of their falfilment. The dream in question troub-
led Nebuchadnezzar the more, because in the morning
" the thing had gone from him;" and although, w^ith the
unreasonable caprice of a despotic prince, he threatened
the Chaldeans, the magicians, and the wise men with
death, unless they should interpret his vision, he could
give them no aid whatever in describing its tenour or its
nature.

The tyrannical mandate had already gone forth, and the
soothsayers of Babylon trembled under the upraised sword
of their executioners, when they were saved by the faith
and courage of Daniel, a young Hebrew, who, with three
companions, had, by the command of the king, been edu-
cated in the Magian sciences, and whose life was thus in-
volved in the general sentence of destruction. Remon-
strating with the captain of the guard, who was intrusted
with the execution of the royal decree, he boldly pledged
himself to declare the interpretation to his majesty, and,
together with his associates, prayed "to the God of heaven
concerning this secret, and it was revealed unto Daniel in
a night vision." And he returned thanks to the Lord, and
blessed his name, and made known to the monarch both
his dream and its interpretation.

Nebuchadnezzar proceeded in his appointed course,
each step of which was the subject of a prophetic annun-
ciation. The unfortunate people of Judah, already heavi-
ly visited, fell under his displeasure ; for Jehoiakim, hav-
ing, in spite of the warnings of the faithful Jeremiah, t
thrown off his allegiance, lost his life miserably, while his
son Jehoiachin, who went out with his mother from the city
to humble themselves to the conqueror, were made cap-
tives. The metropolis was plundered, the temple spoiled,
and the inhabitants carried away in such numbers that
scarcely were there enough left to cultivate the ground;
while tihe victor, on his return, placed Zedekiah, the son of
Josiah, on the tributary throne.

In like manner were the successes of this tyrant against

* Daniel, ii. t Chap, xxii., xxvi.

64 RISE AND FALL OF THE

the Elamites or Persians, the Moabites, the Ammonites,
the Tyrians and others, made the subject of prophetic an-
nouncement, and Jeremiah* sent tokens of the impending
wrath to the ambassadors of all the devoted powers. En-
couraged by Pharaoh Hophra, the people of western Syria
renounced their allegiance ; but the King of Babylon, an
instrument, no doubt, of vengeance in the hand of the Al-
mighty, overthrew first the monarch in whom they had
confided, and then, turning his arms against Jerusalem,
he destroyed its walls, burned it with fire, and, putting out
the eyes of the ill-advised Zedekiah, carried him in chains
to the Eastern capital.

The predictionst against Tyre and Egypt still remain-
ed to be accomplished. A thirteen years' siege of the first-
at length gave to the conqueror possession of an empty
city, for the inhabitants had retired to a neighbouring isl-
and with their effects, though his army, meanwhile, was
successfully employed in reducing to obedience the Sido-
nians, the Ammonites, and the Edomites.

But the plunder of Egypt compensated for his disap-
pointment at Tyre ; and, having laid waste that land,
*' from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethio-
pia,"! he returned to his capital.

With the gold amassed in these various expeditions, and
especially with the spoils of the Temple of Jerusalem, it is
supposed he erected the colossal statue in honour of his
god Bel, which he placed in the plain of Dura, and com-
manded his subjects, of whatever nation or fiiith, to fall
down and worship it. The beautiful story of the three
Hebrew youths, who, refusing to comply with this tyran-
nical and unholy mandate, were in consequence cast into
the fiery furnace, is well known to every reader of the sa-
cred annals.

But the hour of retribution and reverse drew nigh; for
scarcely had he returned from this splendid career of vic-
tory, when his mind was again disturbed by a singular and
ominous dream, which seemed to prefigure events so aw-
ful as to shake for a moment even the intrepid soul of the
prophet who was called upon to interpret it. " Daniel was
astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him."§

* Chap, xxvii. t Ezekiel, xxvi., xxvii., xxviii

t Ibid., xxix., 10. ^ Daniel, iv., 19.

BABYLONIAN EMPIRE. 65

But, recovering his equanimity, he lifted up his voice, and
boldly declared the will of the Most High, the terrible
sentence which drove the haughty monarch to herd with
the beasts of the held. Nor was the fulfilment of this
dreadful denunciation long deferred, although it appears
that the humbling eflect of its announcement had been but
transitory. Only one year afterward, we find the devoted
ruler walking in the front of his palace, contemplating the
mighty works of which he had been the author, with a
heart, not filled with gratitude and veneration towards the
Giver of all good, for the unmerited prosperity which he
had bestowed upon him, but swelling with pride and arro-
gance ; saying, " Is not this great Babylon, that I have
built for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my
power, and for the honour of my majesty'?" But, ''while
the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from
heaven, saying, O King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spo-
ken ; The kingdom is departed from thee : and they shall
drive thee from among men, and thy dwelling shall be with
the beasts of the field : they shall make thee to eat grass
as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou
know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men,
and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The same hour
was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar ; and he was
driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body
was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown
like eagles' feathers, and his nails like bird's claws. And
at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine
eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto
me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and hon-
oured him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an ever-
lasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to
generation : and all the inhabitants of the earth are repu-
ted as nothing : and he doeth according to his will in the
army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth;
and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest
thou 7 At the same time my reason returned unto me ;
and, for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and bright-
ness returned unto me : and my counsellors and my lords
sought unto me ; and I was established in my kingdom ;
and excellent majesty was added unto me. Now I, Nebu-
chadnezzar, praise, and extol, and honour the King of heav-

F2

66 RISE AND FALL OF THE

en, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment :
and those that walk in pride he is able to abase."*

Never was there so overwhelming a check given to hu-
man pride ; never a more impressive warning held forth to
the impious and the vain ; nor can language express a
more affecting acknowledgment of error, or a deeper and
more grateful piety, than breathes in the concluding words
of the royal penitent's narrative. We envy not the feel-
ings of the man who should attempt to weaken the force
of such a lesson by seeking to explain, upon natural causes,
events which arose out of a direct interposition of divine
power.

During the period of the monarch's humiliation, the reins
of government were held by his son. Evil Merodach, wbose
bad administration was severely punished by his father
upon his return to reason. But the aged sovereign sur-
vived this act of justice only one year; and the manner of
his death, on which sacred history has been silent, has by
profane writers been described as attended v/ith preternat-
ural circumstances. A spirit of prophecy is said to have
come upon him as his hour approached ; and, ascending tf/»
the top of his palace, he foretold the destruction of his king-
dom by the Medes and Persians, praying at the same time
that he might not live to v/itness the event. While yet
speaking, it is added that he, like Semiramis, was snatch-
ed away from the view uf men, and was no more seen upon
earth.

Evil Merodach, called Ilvarodam in Ptolemy's canon,
and usually consideied the Belshazzar of Daniel, who
speaks of him as the son of Nebuchadnezzar,t now re-
leased from the dungeon into which the just displeasure of
his father had cast him, commenced his reign by an act of
mercy. He took from the prison, where he had languish-
ed thirty-seven years, Jehoiachin, king of Judah, and treat-
ed him ever afterward as a sovereign.? But, while acting
as regent during the visitation inflicted on his parent, he
had the imprudence to provoke the anger of Astyages, king
of Media, by plundering a part of his country during a
great hunting-match which he held on the occasion of his
marriage with Nitocris, a Median lady; and an armed
body being sent out to punish the aggressors, the Prince

t Ibid., v., 2. t Jeremiah, lii., 31.

BABYLONIAN EMPIRE. 67

of Babylon was routed, and pursued with great slaughter
to his capital. In this battle the great Cyrus, though only
sixteen years of age, first distinguished himself* This act
of folly appears to have been the origin of those forebodings
of evil uttered by the father, and which appear to have
thoroughly subdued the spirit of the son, who, retiring into
his palace, abandoned himself to sloth two whole years,
alter which he was murdered by Neriglissar, the husband
oC his sister, supposed to be a Mede, who headed a con-
spiracy of the nobles.

In this account of the end of Evil Merodach, supposing
him to be identical with the Belshazzar of Daniel, of which
there seems little room to doubt, there is a remarkable co-
incidence between the narrative given by the prophet and
that of profane authors. Berosus, an annalist, it is true,
deserving of no great credit in his accounts of very remote
periods, but who is entitled to more belief as the events he
describes approach nearer to his own time, relates that he
was killed at a banquet by some of his lords. Daniel
writes that, on the occasion when the miraculous writing
on the wall appeared, Belshazzar made a great feast to a
thousand of his lords, and commanded the golden and sil-
ver vessels, which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out
of the temple of Jerusalem, to be brought, that the king and
his princes, his wives and concubines, might drink there-
from. " In that night," says the prophet, emphatically,
" luas Belshazzar^ the king of the Chaldeans^ slain. And Da-
rius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore
and two years old."t

■ This statement, it is obvious, can refer to nothing more
than the death of Belshazzar himself, which, according to
Ptolemy's canon, occurred in the year B.C. 553, seventeen
years before the final destruction of Babylon, and not to
the latter event, of which there is no distinct record in Holy
Scripture. The Darius here mentioned, and who must not
1)0 confounded wdth Cyrus, is supposed, with sufficient
probability, to be Neriglissar the Mede, and chief conspir-
ator, who seized the kingdom. That this conqueror con-
tinued to reign in Babylon after his accession to the throne,
appears from the sixth chapter of Daniel, where he is rep-
resented as setting over his kingdom 120 princes, of whom

* C3rropoedia of Xenophon. t Daniel, v., 30, rll

GS RISE AND FALL OF THE

the prophet himself was made the first ; while Cyrus U
spoken of in the 10th chapter distinctly as Ki7ig of Persia.
1'hat the sovereignty of Babylon existed independently of
that of the Medes and Persians for a space after the death
of Beishazzar, is therefore as clearly proved from Scripture
as from the canon of Ptolemy and other profane writers.
Indeed, the concurrence of known dates renders this ob-
vious and apparent; but, for farther information upon this
perplexing subject, we must again refer to the authors of
the Universal History.*

Neriglissar, or Darius, is represented to have been a wise
and prudent prince ; but the power of the Medes and Per-
sians Y/as so greatly on the increase, that he was forced to
solicit aid from his allies to enable him to resist them.
The accounts of this period are chiefly gathered from the
works of Berosus and the Cyropsedia of Xenophon, which
last describes both the war and its issue. After an at-
tempt at mediation on the part of the sovereign of India,
who sent ambassadors lor the purpose of prolfering his
good offices, the armies met, and a general engagement
ensued, in which Neriglissar was slain, and his army utter-
ly dispersed.

But the day on which Bab3don was doomed to fall had
not yet arrived. What use the conquerors made of their
victory does not appear; but we find that the throne was
next occupied by a youth, son of the late monarch, who
by Berosus is called Laborosoarchod, and Labassoarasc
by Abydenus.t In this respect they both differ from Ptole-
my's canon, where no such name intervenes between Ne-
riglissar and the last king, Nabonadius. Perhaps it was in
consequence of his very brief reign of only nine months
that he has been omitted. He evinced a most vicious and
cruel disposition, which is probably the cause which led to
his assassination by Nabonadius.

The prince just named, the Labynetus of Herodotus, is
understood to have been the son of Evil Merodach and of
the celebrated Nitocris, who naturally enough was moved
with indignation at seeing his country falling into ruin, and
his people oppressed by the worthless heir of a usurper,
who had excluded him "from the throne. Yet, to preserve,
even for a season, his hereditary power, recovered by such

* Ancient Universal History, vol. iv., p. 422-426.
t Ibid, vol. iv., p. 418.

BABYLONIAN ExUPIRE. (39

»olent means, was a painful struggle. The resources of
if.e kingdom, though still sufficient to check the progress
of certam invaders, had been greatly impaired by misrule,
and were still in a declining state, while probably Na]»ona-
dius was not qualified, either by talents or disposition, to
restore their efficiency. It appears, indeed, that his reign
of seventeen years derived its chief lustre from the acts of
liis mother Nitocris, who exerted herself not only to em-
bellish the city and improve the surrounding country, but
to fortify it so as to resist the storm whicii she foresaw
would come from the east. Many of her hydraulic opera-
tions were calculated to extend cultivation and increase
the resources of the state; but she also added to the works
of the capital, constructing walls along the river-banks, to
prevent an enemy from gaining access in that way. He-
rodotus also ascribes to her the building of the bridge,
which till her time had been wanting at Babylon. Of her
death there is no particular mention, but it probably was
the forerunner of the defeat of her son and the fall of the
monarchy.

Cyrus, having at length not only established himself
firmly on the throne of Persia, but reduced a great part of
Asia to obedience, once more directed his arms against
Babylon. Nabonadius attempted to oppose the great war-
rior in the field, but was beaten back into the city, and im-
mediately placed under a close blockade. The immense
strength and perfect state of the fortifi-cations, not less than
the condition of the magazines, which contained supplies
sufficient for twenty years' consumption, inspiring the citi-
zens with confidence, they gave themselves up to unbound-
ed luxury and enjoyment. This unwise security suggest-
ed to Cyrus the means of their overthrow. Herodotus and
Xenophon both relate that, after he had passed full two
years before Babylon, and had even begun to despair of
success, the incautious blindness of the inhabitants induced
him to attempt a bold stratagem. On the night of an an-
nual festival, which they were wont to spend in drinlfing
and jollity, he cut the bank of a canal which communica-.
ted with a great lake that had been formed to receive the
superabundant waters of the Euphrates at the period of
its flood. The river poured its contents into that res-
ervoir, which was of capacity sufficient to receive them
for a time; and, placing strong bodies of troops at the

70 RISE AND FALL OF THE

points where the stream entered and quitted the city, which
Avas divided by it into two parts, he commanded them, so
soon as it should become shallow enough to admit of be-
ing forded, to enter by its channel. In the disorder of the
night, the gates leading from each street to the bank had
been left unclosed and unguarded. The Persians ad-
vanced unopposed ; and the several parties, meeting at the
palace, seized and put to death the king, on which the sur-
viving inhabitants submitted to the conqueror.

Such was the termination of the Babylonian empire ;
and thus was commenced the fulhlment of that series ot
prophetic denunciations pronounced by Isaiah, Jeremiah,
and Daniel. It is interesting to trace how closely the cir-
cumstances that are related of this event by profane histo-
rians correspond with and illustrate the narrative of Sa-
cred Writ. Great obscurity, no doubt, still hangs over
this interesting period ; and chronologists are as much,
perplexed by the conflicting dates deduced from various
computations, as the historians have been puzzled by the
numerous discrepancies that appear, both in regard to
names and persons, in the records of different authors.
But on this one important point there is no material dis-
pute, namely, that the kingdom of Babylon, including the
empire of Assyria, was finally subverted by Cyrus the
Great, about the year 536 before the Christian era. It is
equally manifest that these powerful sovereignties never
afterward recovered a separate or independent existence,
but passed as subordinate provinces to each succeeding
conqueror that arose in the East. Alexander, indeed, en-
tertained views of restoring the city to its ancient glory,
and making it the metropolis of his immense domin-
ions ; but death prevented the accomplishment of his in-
tentions. His successor, Seleucus, established a capital
on the banks of the Tigris, but it endured only for a sea-
son, and is now, like the other, deserted and desolate.
The followers of Mohammed also founded an empire, of
which Mesopotamia and Assyria formed a portion ; but,
for their chief town, they avoided the proscribed site oi'
Babylon, and built Bagdad on the Tigris. Yet even their
more recent power has passed away like that of their pred-
ecessors : the structures they erected have ceased to exist,
and the modern inhabitants can scarcely point out w^here
the palace of the caliphs once stood. " Babylon, the glory

BABYLONIAN EMPIRE. 71

of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency," ia
indeed " as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt ia
from generation to generation : . . . . wild beasts of the des-
ert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful
creatures ; and owls shall dwell there, and the wild beasts
of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and drag-
ons in their pleasant palaces How art thou fallen

from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou
(Ut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations !"*

It may, however, be interesting to trace with somewhat
more distinctness the gradual decay of this magnificent
city, after its first capture by Cyrus the Great. Leniently
dealt with by that conqueror, who appears to have made it
the seat of his government seven months in the year, the
inhabitants recovered in a great measure from the efifects
of the calamity which had stricken their nation, and lived
happily under the protection of their new master. But
his son Cambyses, a dissolute and cruel prince, having
loaded them with heavy taxes, and removed the royal res-
idence entirely to Susa, they took advantage of the troub-
les consequent on his death, and attempted to throw off the
Persian yoke. This called down upon them the ven^
geance of Darius, his successor, who marched with a pow-
erful army to reduce them to obedience.

Besieged within their walls, the Babylonians had re-
course to a very cruel expedient, in order to economize
the consumption of their stores. Each man selected from
his women the wife he was most attached to, and a single
maid-servant ; and all the rest of his family, old men and
children, fathers, mothers, sisters, and infants, were with-
out distinction strangled. Thus relieved from the fear of
want, they not only held the city, but completely baffled
every stratagem put in practice by Darius to throw them
off their guard. The disgrace of ultimate failure on his
part was prevented by the extraordinary self-devotion of
one of his chief officers. This man, named Zopyrus, hav-
ing mutilated himself by cutting off' his nose and ears,
and mangling his body by stripes, fled to the Babylonians,
feigning that he had been thus used by his master for ad-
vising him to raise the siege, and had come to them burn-
ing for revenge.

* Isaiah, xiii., 19-22; xiv., 12.

72 RISE AND FALL OF THE

Falling into the snare, they at once received and em-
ployed him. Some considerable successes over the Per-
sian troops, which Darius connived at to cover the deceit,
induced the inhabitants to intrust Zopyrus with a still
more important charge, till at length the guard of the city
ports was confided to his care. On the next assault, the
Cissian and Belidian gates were opened by him to the Per-
sians, who thus, through the wiles of a pretended desert-
er, became a second time masters of Babylon. Resolved
to provide against the chance of future rebellion, Darius
crucified three thousand of the principal citizens, and beat
down the walls, it is said, from the height of 200 cubits to
fifty, which, if we admit the correctness of the former di-
mensions, may account for the difference on this head be-
tween the measurement given by Herodotus and that of
Strabo. But he provided for the repopulation of Babylon
by sending them 50,000 women to replace those they had
murdered ; and, to cherish a spirit of loyalty, gave them
Zopyrus for their governor.

His son Xerxes w^as still more cruel and less scrupu-
lous ; for we learn from Arrian that, after his return from
Greece, he destroyed the temple of Belus and other places
consecrated to the national worship, and carried off the
great golden image of which Herodotus was told by the
Chaldeans.

But it is not easy to reconcile the destruction of the
walls by Darius, and of the temple by Xerxes, with the
description which the foniier historian gives as an eyewit-
ness of its condition in his own day, for he speaks of it as
it existed at that time, and not merely as it had formerly
been. As we hear of no farther violence being inflicted on the
city till the time of Alexander, it must appear not a little
singular, that then, which was but one century afterward,
the temple of Belus should again have become so much
dilapidated that the work of ten thousand men should be
required for two months merely to remove the fallen ru-
ins. By that time, however, the city also had suffered
greatly from its misfortunes ; and though we learn, as
has just been stated, that the intention of the conqueror
was to restore the fane of the national god, and make Baby-
lon his chief residence, his death put a stop to all tne
measures which he contemplated for carrying his purpose
into effect. His successor, Seleucus Nicator, by building

BABYLONIAN EMPIRE. 73

Seleucia on the Tigris, and transferring thither the seat
of government, dealt to the waning glories of Babylon a
still more deadly blow, the moral ellects of which were, no
doubt, accelerated by the removal of materials to the mod-
ern capital, which is said to have vied in splendour wilh
the more ancient one. Pausanias, indeed, informs us that
Seleucus compelled the inhabitants to settle in the new
city, and that the walls of Babylon and the temple of Be-
lus had then almost ceased to exist, though there were still
a few Chaldeans who continued to dwell around the con-
secrated edifice. Pliny remarks that the old metropolis,
swallowed up by the other, had become quite a wilderness.

From this time we hear little of the condition or fortunes
of the great city. A Parthian general is said, about the
year B.C. 127, to have destroyed what remained of the
public buildings, overturned the temples, and carried off
many families to Media, where they were sold as slaves.
In the reign of Augustus, as Diodorus informs us, there was
but a very small portion of it inhabited. Strabo, who
wrote in the reign of the Emperor Tiberius, but who prob-
ably never himself visited Mesopotamia, observes that "at
the present time Seleucia is actually a much more consid-
erable city than Babylon, which is to a great degree de-
serted, and to which may be applied, without any hesitation,
the words of the comic poet, ' The great city is a great des-
ert.' "

A persecution of the Jews, who had taken refuge in Bab-
ylon, in the reign of Caligula, rendered her desolation yet
more complete, insomuch that little mention is made in the
expeditions of Trajan and Severus of the metropolis once
so great ; and Lucian of Samosata, who flourished in the
time of Marcus Aurelius, speaks of it as formerly remark-
able for its vast circumference and numerous dependan-
cies, but which would soon disappear as Nineveh had done.

Saint Jerome, who resided in the East more than thirty
years, about the beginning of the fourth century, speaks of
Babylon as a preserve of game for the Persian kings ; and
Theodoret, bishop of Cyprus, who died about A. D. 458, says
that the city was no longer inhabited either by Assyrians
or Chaldeans, but only by some scattered Jews. He adds,
that the Euphrates had changed its course, and no longer
passed through the town except by means of a small canal.

From this time the city is no more mentioned but as a

G

74 ORIGIN, GOVERNMENT, ETC., OF THE

collection of shapeless ruins in a howling wilderness, the
haunt of venomous creatures and beasts of prey ; and so
complete is the annihilation of all which might tell of the
past, that tradition and science are equally unable to dis-
cover, among the heaps of dust and potsherds which at-
tract the traveller's eye, even the site of the celebrated tern ■
pie of Belus, or the gigantic walls of Babylon.

CHAPTER IV.

Origin^ Government^ Religion^ Laws and CustomSy (f*c., oj
the Ancient Assyrians and Babylonians.

Sources of Information. — Origin of the Ass)rrians. — Govenament. — Re-
Jigion. — Gods of the Assyrians. — Customs and Laws same as those of
the Babylonians. — Government of the Babylonians. — Names of their
Monarchs, and Derivation. — Their Habits. — Officers and Functiona-
ries.— Establishment and Titles. — Laws. — Little known regarding
them. — Sale of Virgins. — Punishments. — Religion. — Chaldeans. —
Opinions regarding their Origin. — Regarded as a nomad Race by
Ileeren and Gesenius. — Faber's Theory of the Progress of their Reli-
gion— And of the Dispersion of Mankind after the Flood. — Of the Cu-
thim or Cushim. — Remarks on Faber's Theory. — Mr. Beke's Theory. —
Supported by Coincidence of ancient and modern Names. — Bochart. —
Difficulties of the Subject. — The Chaldeans the dominant People in
ancient Babylon. — Origin and Progi-ess of their Religion. — Chaldean
Cosmogony and Doctrines according to Berosus. — Its Similarity with
the Scriptural Account of the Noachian Deluge. — Mythology. — Pul or
Belus. — Nebo, Rach, Nego, Merodach, &c. — Crossness and Depravity
of their Ceremonies. — Manners and Customs of the Babylonians. —
Learmng. — Science. — Astronomy and Astrology. — Mathematics. — Mu-
sic.— Poetry. — Skill in working Metals and Gems. — Manufactures. —
Commerce.

Origin. — It will now be proper to place before our read-
ers the little that is known of the origin, government, re-
ligion, laws, and customs of the ancient Assyrians and
Babylonians. The sources of information on these sub-
jects are much the same as those from whence the general
history is derived, and are neither less limited nor imper-
fect. From Scripture we know that Assyria w^as occupied
by Asshur and his descendants, to whom, no doubt, it
owes its name. We have the same authority for believing
that a portion, at least, of Mesopotamia was possessed by

ANCIENT ASSYRIANS AND BABYLONIANS. iO

Nimrod and his progeny ; and an attempt has been made
to prove that another section became the abode of Arphax-
ad, the son of Shem, and his posterity.*

Governme7it. — Of the nature of the Assyrian government
we know nothing more than may be gathered from the Bi-
ble ; that it was an hereditary monarchy, and quite despotic.
We are equally in the dark respecting the laws by which
it was governed. It is probable they were few and simple,
depending chiefly, in their application, on the will of the
prince, partaking, in a great degree, of the nature of patri-
archal rules, though sometimes harshly enforced by arbi-
trary power.

Religion. — This, there is no doubt, was a polytheistical
idolatry ; for there is sufficient proof that the nation had
various idols. In Scripture, for example, we hear of Sen-
nacherib being slain by his sons while v/orshipping in the
temple of his god. In all probability, the deities and forms
of adoration among the Assyrians were nearly the same as
those of their neighbours, and particularly the Babyloni-
ans, a circumstance which will afterward be more partic-
ularly noticed. It mfiy, therefore, be sufficient at present
to name such of their divinities as were peculiar to them,
of which Nisroch was one. Adrammelech and Anamme-
lech, both mentioned in the Old Testament, appear to have
been other names for Moloch, which itself signifies Lord,
or supreme power ; and they were revered under various
representations, as that of a mule, a peacock, a pheasant,
or a quail.

Derceto, the reputed mother of Semiramis, though of
Mesopotamian origin, was recognised at Ascalon. The
Greeks attributed to her several other names ; and, like
their own Venus, she was represented as half v/oman, half
fish. Hence the Assyrians are said to have had a super-
stitious reverence for the finny tribes ; a feeling which they
extended to pigeons, from their having been the nurses of
their great queen, who disappeared from the eyes of man-
kind in the shape of a dove. In fact, it appears that, like
other nations of antiquity, they deified all their deceased
sovereigns who had in any degree distinguished themselves.

The customs, arts, and trade of Assyria, having, so far
as is known, been similar to those of Babylon, require no

* Origines Biblicae ; or, Researches in Primeval History. By Charles
Tilstone Beke ; 8vo, Lond., 1834, vol. i., p. 106.

76 ORIGIN, GOVERNMENT, ETC., OP THE

separate notice ; we shall therefore proceed at once to the
consideration of these particulars in relation to the latter
people.

Government of the Babylonians. — This, like that of all
other Eastern states, was essentially despotic, gradually de-
generating from the pure patriarchal form into the sway of
an absolute monarch. Everything centred in the person
of the sovereign; all decrees were issued by him; and,
claiming a supernatural character, he even demanded di-
vine worship. The names of the kings, accordingly, were
derived from those of their gods, or of former rulers who
were confounded with them ; and, on a similar principle,
they affected strict retirement from the vulgar eye, and sel-
dom appeared in public.

Haughty and arrogant as they were, these autocrats
were nevertheless obliged to have frequent communion
with their nobles, with whom we find them occasionally
feasting, and from whom were selected the chief officers
who administered the government of the country. Of the
duties of some of these functionaries we are incidentally
informed by various authors; and it appears that the judges
were divided into three sections, and chosen from the gra-
vest personages of the empire. On the first class devolved
the regulation of marriage, and the punishment of all crimes
which violated its sacred obligations; the second took cog-
nizance of robberies and thefts ; and the third decided in
all civil affairs. We find also, from the book of Daniel,
that Nebuchadnezzar deputed his authority to princes, gov-
ernors, captains, judges, treasurers, counsellors, and sher-
iffs, whose duty it was to maintain good order in all de-
partments of the imperial service. Again, from the same
source, we gather that the great king had a household cor-
responding in the extent of its establishment to his mighty
state, including the captain of his guard, the prince of his
eunuchs, the supreme judge, and the chief of the magi-
cians, who were always in attendance. The first of these
was the minister of his justice ; the second had charge of
the interior of the royal dwelling, and the education of the
youth who were brought up within the palace ; the third
sat at the king's gate, that is, in an adjoining apartment,
to hear complaints and to pass judgment ; the last attend-
ed near his person, to interpret all omens and dreams, fix
fortunate periods, and to satisfy the monarch's mind with

ANCIENT ASSYRIANS AND BABYLONIANS. 77

regard to everything that related to prognostication. All
these were chosen on account of their personal qualities,
? swell as the excellence of their mental endowments. He
was saluted with the Oriental form of " O king! live for-
ever !" which resembles nearly the mode of address adopt-
ed at the present day towards the great sovereigns of Asia,
whose courts, in respect of attendance and magniiicence,
bear a close resemblance to those of the Assyrian and
Mesopotamian empires.

Of their laws nothing in detail appears to be known, ex-
cept that strange and revolting arrangement, particularly
described by Herodotus and Strabo, whereby it was pro-
voided that, instead of parents disposing of their own daugh-
ters in marriage, all young women should be brought to a
public place appointed for the purpose, and put up lor sale,
one by one, to the highest bidder. The money thus ob-
tained for the most beautiful was employed in obtaining
husbands for those left without an offer, and who were dis-
posed of in the same manner, with a premium proportioned
to their want of personal attraction. But the historian in-
forms us also that the whole business was conducted with
the strictest attention to decorum, being always under the
superintendence of the officers appointed for this duty, re-
spectable by their age and rank, and who, before the bar-
gain was concluded, received security from each purchas-
er that he would marry the object of his choice.

We have no information respecting their punishments,
farther than that they appear to have been inflicted accord-
ing to the will or caprice of the reigning monarch. This
we see exemplified in the story of Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego, and in that of the prophet himself, when,
through the intrigue of his enemies, he was cast into the
den of lions.

The administration of their various religious rites was
committed to the Chaldeans, who composed the hierarchy
of the country, and engrossed the whole of their boasted
learning. They were not only the priests, but formed the
scientific body of the nation, pretending to the gift of
prophecy, a knowledge of augury and divination, and
the power, by means of enchantment, of influencing the
destinies of men. By these means they acquired a most
dangerous influence over their superstitious countrymen;
but who these Chaldeans originally were, is a problem

G2

78 ORIGIN, GOVERNMENT, ETC., OF THE

that has never yet been satisfactorily solved, although fre.
quently made the subject of much learned discussion.
Even the stock from which they sprung, and the land
where they first acquired power, are matters still involved
in darkness. From the profane writers of antiquity we
gain little knowledge on the subject; and although they
are frequently mentioned in Scripture, the notices are iso-
lated, and sometimes obscure. Thus far it is certain that
they were a distinct nation as far back as the days of Te-
rah, the father of Abraham, who lived "in Ur of the Chal-
dees ;" and it may be inferred, from a statement in the
book of Job,* that they were a predatory race. Yet the
prophet Isaiah, it might be thought, must have had some
other people in his view when he said,t " Behold the land
of the Chaldeans : this people was not^ till the Assyrian
founded it for them that dwelt m the icilderness.'^ Could this
have been applied to a tribe who lived in Mesopotamia in
the days of Terah and Abraham ?

Heeren,t following Gesenius in his disquisition on this
very text, is disposed to seek for the original Chaldeans in
the mountains of Kurdistan, or still farther to the north,
and suggests that the name may have been applied by the
Semitic nations to the more barbarous tribes of upper
Asia, as that of Turani afterward was, by the inhabitants
of Iran or Persia, to the Tartars. He regards them as a
nomad race, who, about the year B.C. 630, descending
from the mountains of Taurus and Caucasus, overwhelm-
ed southern Asia, and, entering the Mesopotamia n plains,
first as mercenaries, at length started forth as conquerors,
and made themselves masters of the rich provinces of
Babylonia and Syria. This, however, appears to be a
mere conjecture, founded on insufficient grounds, and in-
consistent with the declaration of Scripture as to the ex-
istence of the Chaldeans in Mesopotamia at a much ear-
lier period.

Mr. Faber, who has treated the question fully in his in-
genious work upon Pagan Idolatry, regards the Chaldeans
as a branch of the descendants of Cush, the son of Ham ;
and his theory is so curious that we shall attempt a very
slight sketch of it, in order to give the reader an idea of

* Chap, i., 17. t Chap, xxiii., 13.

t Historical Researches, 3 vols. 8vo, Oxford, 1833, vol. ii., p, 147, and
note.

ANCIENT ASSYRIANS AND BABYLONIANS. 79

the various speculations to which this dark subject ha^s
given rise.

This learned author supposes that the descendants of
Noah did not quit the land of Armenia at an early period
after the Flood, but that the patriarch lived and died in the
vicinity of the spot whence he issued from the Ark. No
sooner did his personal influence cease to be felt, than di-
visions took place among his progeny, which disposed the
different families or clans to a separation. Nimrod, a man
of an ambitious spirit and powerful mind, being surround-
ed by his kindred, who regarded him with devotion, natu-
rally controlled the councils of the whole body, who, pass-
ive and disunited, easily submitted to his sway. To re-
strain the turbulent, laws soon became necessary, as well
as officers to administer and an armed police to enforce
them. These statutes were framed, of course, by the great
leader, whose family constituted the magistrates, and from
whose tribe were chosen the conservators of the peace ;
who, thus armed, and formed into a disciplined band, be-
came the first military establishmxent — an irresistible en-
gine in the hands of the mighty hunter.

But the religion professed by these early inhabitants of
the earth — a devotion to the will of the one almighty Cre-
ator— ^was unfavourable to the project of absolute dominion
entertained by Nimrod ; for the command of God had gone
forth that they Avere to separate, and replenish the earth
with human beings : a consummation which the ambitious
chief sought to prevent. To effect his purpose, a change
of worship was necessary, and that, accordingly, became
his next object. To administer this new religion a priest-
hood was indispensable, selected from his own military
caste, whose interests were identified v/ith those of the
tribe, and in whom alone their ruler could trust. Such an
institution would, of course, be reverenced and upheld by
soldiers proud of their privileges, who, at the same time,
would naturally regard their holy brethren as their best
coadjutors in obtaining and preserving their own power.

Such was Nimrod, the leader of the Noachites, and on
such a basis was his power constituted, when, according to
our author, he led the unbroken nation of mankind, about
559 years after the Flood, from the country of Armenia into
the plains of Shinar, and about 54 years later commenced
the tower and city of Babel. This undertaking, a short

80 ORIGIN, GOVERNMENT, ETC., OF THE

time afterward, was brought to an abrupt conclusion by di-
vine interposition ; whence followed the ordained disper-
sion of mankind.

The moral effect of so severe a blow upon such a proud
nation would, it is supposed, appear in dividing them into
many portions, each of whom would seek their own for-
tune where chance might lead, some containing individu-
als of all classes and castes, others composed entirely of
priests and military ; which last would carry with them a
nigh notion of their former privileges, and claim for them-
selves the peculiar honours due to a race of unpolluted no-
bility.

This tribe or clan, of which Nimrod was the chief, and,
in fact, the king, is designated by Mr. Faber the Cushim or
Cutkim., as being the descendants of Cush, the son of Ham;
and they are regarded by him as fulfilling a very exalted
destiny, and sustaining a most remarkable part in the his-
N tory of mankind. It is imagined by many that Ham and
his race became accursed on account of the sin against his
father Noah ; but this exposition of the well-known pas-
sage in the 9th chapter of Genesis is rejected by the author
just named, who, for reasons which he sets forth, conceives
the curse to be limited to Canaan, while he confers the
sceptre of the world on the warlike posterity of Cush, not-
withstanding that reading of the Sacred Volume which
blesses both Shem and Japheth, and gives to them Canaan
as their servant.

He also maintains that the first postdiluvian empire,
that of the Ciithites, commenced v/ith the institution of an
idolatrous religion at Babel. After this, he admits, Scrip-
ture is silent on the future fate of the family ; but he nev-
ertheless asserts that there is no quarter of the world where
the name and the race are not to be found. He conceives
that, while many of them emigrated to different quarters
of the earth, Nimrod, with the portion who adhered to him,
founded Babel, and three subordinate towns ; and that he
afterward loent forth to Nineveh, where he discovered the
family and descendants of Asshur already settled. These
he drove out, and built a city after his own name, v/hile
his former capital, now abandoned, sunk for a time into a
merely provincial town. Meanwhile, the dispersed Cuth-
ites took their way in various directions, settling at first
principally in the mountainous tract which stretches from

ANCIENT ASSYRIANS AND BABYLONIANS. 81

the head of the Ganges by the south of the Caspian Sea to
the northeast of the Euxine, including all that lofty region
called by the natives "the stony girdle of the earth," Irom
whence they overran most parts of the world. Thus in
Africa they occupied the whole country from the Thebais
to the source of the Nile and Mountains of the Moon, as
well as the land of Egypt, which was subjugated by a tribe
of pastoral Cushim from Upper India and Ethiopia. In
Asia their rule stretched from the banks of the Indus to the
Mediterranean Sea ; while, migrating northward, they cov-
ered Touran (Tartary) with an unmixed race, under the
name of Scuths or Scyths. These were the Celto-Scuths
of the West, and the Indo-Scuths of the East. In short,
" this enterprising people, who, by a singular fate, have
ever been, at different periods, the corrupters and the re-
formers, the disturbers and the civilizers of the world, were
known by various names, either general to the whole, or
particular to certain divisions. They were called Scuths,
Chusas, Chasas, Cisseans, Cosseans, Coths, Ghauts, and
Goths, from their great ancestor Cush; whose name they
pronounced Cusha, Chusa, Ghoda, Chasa, Chasya, or
Cassius. They were styled Palli, Bali, Bhils, Philistim,
Paiistim, Bolgs, or Belgas, from their occupation; for the
term denotes shepherds. And they were partially denomi-
nated Phanakim or Phosnicians, and PIuc-Sos or Shep-
herd-kings, from their claiming to be a royal race ; Sacas,
Sagas, Sacasenas, Sachim, Suchim, Saxe, or Saxons, from
their god Saca or Sacya; Budins or V/udins, from their
god Buddha or Woden ; Teuts or Teutons, from their god
Teut or Taut; and Germans or Sarmans, from their god
Saman or Sarman, and his ministers the Samaneans, or
Sarmaneans, or Germaneans, as they are indifferently call-
ed, according to a varied pronunciation of the same word."*
The Chaldeans, then, according to Mr. Faber, were
those descendants of Cush who, under Nimrod, built ^'in-
eveh, and founded what has been called the Assyrian em-
pire, but really the Cuthic ; and the first Chaldean dynas-
ty he supposes to coincide with that of the seven monarchs
mentioned by Eusebius and Syncellus — and which lasted
224 years, or, according to Alexander Polyhistor, only 190
— and with the Mahabadians of the Iranians. To these he

* The Origin of Pagan Idolatry. By George Stanley Faber, B.D. ; 3
vols. 4to, Lond., 1816, vol. i., p. 85, 86.

G

82 ORIGIN, GOVERNMENT, ETC., OF THE

adds the list of kings given by Ctesias, which, commen-
cing with Mnus, terminates with Thonos Concolerus ; and
Irom this results a line of sovereigns of the Cuthic lineage,
extending through a space of 1495 years from Nimrod.
These positions he endeavours to establish at great length
and with much ingenuity ; dwelling particularly on a pas-
sage of Justin, quoted from Trogus Pompeius, which men-
tions a Scythian race of kings, who, prior to the era of Ni-
nus, coming from the north, and extending their sway even
to Egypt, were the dominant power for some time in In-
dia. These, he contends, were the imperial Cuthim, for
they must have been Nimrodic monarchs : and thus, says
he, " we may be morally sure that the descent of the Scyth-
ians from the Armenian Caucasus, previous to their ac-
quiring the sovereignty of Asia, really means, however it
may be disguised, the descent of the Cushim, at tJie head of the
subjugated Noaclvid(Z^from Mount Ararat into the Bohijlonian
plain of Shinar, and that the national appellation of Scyth-
ians or Scuthim is the selfsame w^ord, pronounced only
with a sibilant prefix, as Cuthim or Cushim."*

We Imve enlarged on this author's view^s, because he
enjoys a high reputation for learning, and his work, how-
ever open to criticism in some points, assuredly displays
much research as well as talent. But, though we do not
mean to enter the lists with him, we cannot avoid observ-
ing, that his account of the origin of the Chaldees appears
not to coincide with the facts narrated in Scripture, nor
wdth the probable condition of the world in those early
ages.

In the first place, the Noachidee, whether subjected or
not by a section of their number, and whether remaining
in Armenia or existing in the plains of Shinar at the pe-
riod in question, comprehended at all events the Avhole of
the human race.t There could not, therefore, be any oth-
er of the sons of men whom they might subdue on their
descent, either in Egypt, or in any part of Asia; indeed,
none of the countries could have received their names, as
the several families of the Noachidce, from whom they de-
rived their respective appellations, had not yet dispersed
to seek their several abodes.

In the second place, it seems scarcely possible to identi-

* Origin of Pagan Idolatry, vol. iii.,p. 402. t Gen., xi., 1-9.

ANCIENT ASSYRIANS AND BABYLONIANS. 83

fy the Chaldees of Ur, in the days of Terah and Abraham,
with the Cushim of Ninus, who in Sacred Writ are always
designated as Assyrians, and whose descendants, if Mr.
Faber's hypothesis be just, must about that time have been
in great glory, and enjoying the power won for them by
the victorious Semiramis. In fact, it seems difficult to
conceive that a monarchy, so extensive as that of Assyria
is represented to have been, could have existed contempo-
raneously v/ith so many petty sovereigns in its vicinity ;
and the presence of any great power in that quarter must
appear extremely doubtful when we read of Abraham res-
cuing Lot and defeating the King of Elam with only 31S
men of his household.

Mr. Beke propounds a theory totally different from that
now stated. Ur of the Chaldees he supposes to have been
peopled by the descendants of Arphaxad, the son of Shem,
who, according to the system laid down in his work, set-
tled in the northwestern parts of Mesopotamia, and, as
their numbers increased, extended themselves southward
and eastward along the valley of the Hernias, from Nine-
veh to the territory of Shinar, which latter he conceives,
upon grounds to which we may hereafter have occasion
to advert, not to have been in Babylonia, but near the foot
of Mount Masius. These Arphaxadites or Casdim he
conceives to have been the ancient Chaldeans ; consider-
ing the latter term as an abbreviation of the Hebrew pat-
ronymic Arphacasdim, that is, the children or descendants
of Arphaxad.*

This reasoning receives some corroboration from the
fact that many places in that neighbourhood retain the ap-
pellations they bore in ancient times, and which they prob-
ably received from their iirst settlers. Thus Haran,t which
still exists in the vicinity of Ur, received its name, no
doubt, from the brother of Abraham ; and Serug, in the
same country, was most probably the dwelling-place of the
grandson of Peleg. Nineveh is not the only spot which,
preserves the name of Nimrod. Babel remains unchan-
ged ; and Mosul even at this day is known to its Christian
inhabitants as the city of Atur : a fact which is implied in
the title-page of the Syro-Chaldean Bibles, found in every
church.

* Ori^ines Biblicse, vol. i., p. 107.

t Mr. Beke, however, does not admit this to have been the Haran of
Abraham's brother.

84 ORIGIN, GOVERNMENT, ETC., OF THE

Nor need this immutability of name be regarded with
surprise, when we reflect that the Syrian, Chaldaic, He-
brew, and Arabic are all cognate tongues, which have not,
as in other lands, been superseded, or even greatly corrupt-
ed, by the more barbarous dialects of the strangers who
from time to time liave overrun the district. The unchan-
ging Arabic is still the general language of all those re-
gions, while Jews and Christians use, with little variation,
the forms of speech that were common in the days of the
captivity. This is a state of things singularly favourable
for etymological discoveries and the advancement of com-
parative geography ; and though the application of the one
science to the other may occasionally be carried too far,
there is, in the present case, strong grounds of probability,
at least, for the derivation of the term Casdim and the lo-
cation of the Chaldees in Ur.

In both these points, it is true, Mr. Beke is opposed by
high authority. The learned Bochart ridicules Josephus
and others when they maintain that the Chaldeans were
formerly called Arphaxadites, and insists that they derive
their name from Chased or Chesed, the son of Nahor,
brother of Abraham, who was their progenitor, and from
whom, in the ancient Scripture, they are always called
Chasdim. In confirmation of this he quotes Hieronymus,
who says that "Chased also is the fourth from whom
the Chasdim, that is, the Chaldeans, were afterward call-
ed ;" from whence, too, Ur Chasdim, that is, Ur of the
Chaldees, is always described as the region or city in
which he dwelt. He confesses, indeed, that Chased was
not born at the time when we read that Abraham went
forth from Ur of the Chaldees, but that the city was so
called by anticipation ; a figure, he says, common in Scrip-
ture, as the one from which that celebrated people were to
spring. Arphaxad, he adds, appears to have given his
name to that part of Assyria called by Ptolemy Arrapa.-
chitis.*

Enough has now been stated to show the difficulties of
this subject, which would be perplexed rather than eluci-
dated by the recital of farther conjectures. But, notwith-
standing this obscurity, there is no doubt that the Chalde-
ans, as the dominant people in ancient Babylon, possessed

* Bocharti Geograpliia Sacra, editio quarta, folio, Lugd. Bat., 1707,
lib. ii., cap. iv., p. 74.

ANCIENT ASSYRIANS AND BABYLONIANS. 85

all power and learning, as well as the influence which be-
longed to the priesthood. Whether their idolatry com-
menced w^ith the era of the dispersion or not, it probably
arose in the manner common to all such superstitions.
The Almighty, invisible to mortal eye, was worshipped
through the medium of his most glorious works; and
thence sprung Sabaism, the adoration of the heavenly host.

To this simple and pure veneration another element was
soon added. The souls of those kings who had greatly dis-
tinguished themselves on earth were regarded after their
death as protecting spirits, who continued to watch over
their people and families upon earth. From heroes they
were transformed to demigods, and at length each was
identified with some one of the heavenly host. The found-
er of their race, or he who was regarded as such, was rep-
resented by the sun ; and a female influence, naturally pro-
vided as his consort, took her place in the mythological
character as the moon. The other chief personages re-
ceived various names and titles, suiting their several char-
acters, but all might be resolved into the one original idea.

The Chaldeans, according to Berosus,* taught that there
were kings who ruled at Babylon before the Deluge, the
amount of whose reigns were 120 sari, or 432,000 years,
each saros being a period of 3600. The last of these w^as
Xisuthrus, at the termination of whose reign of eighteen
sari came the Deluge. In the time of the third of these
antediluvian monarchs appeared Oannes Annedotus, an
amphibious creature, half man, half fish, who ascended by
day from the Erythrean Sea, and instructed the assembled
multitudes of mankind. He taught that there was a time
when all things were darkness and waters, wherein resi-
ded monsters of various sorts, with snakes, reptiles, and
fishes. Over these presided Omoroca, a female who long
reigned in gloomy and solitary independence ; but at length
Belus came and cut her asunder, and out of one half of her
body was formed the earth, while the other half became
the heavens, upon which all the monsters were annihila-
ted. This, he said, was an allegory, conveying to them,
the aqueous origin of the miiverse ; for that Omoroca was
the same as Tlialatth^ or the sea, although the word might
also mean the moon. Afterward, seeing that the earth.

* Ancient Fragments. By Isaac Preston Corv ; 2d edit., 8vo, Lond.,
1832, p. 30. ^

H

86 ORIGIN, GOVERNMENT, ETC., OF THE

wanted living beings, he commanded one of the gods to
cut oiFhis head, and the other gods, mixing the blood with
earth, formed the human species from the compound. This
same Belus, whom men also called Dis, or Pluto, divided
the darkness from the light, and separated the earth from
the heavens ; disposed the world iii order, and called forth
the starry host.

Cannes also taught the Babylonians the use of letters,
and made them acquainted with the principles of architec-
ture, jurisprudence, and geometry ; showed them valuable
seeds, and was their instructer in all useful arts. Of this
merman there were four appearances, one of which was
under the name of Odacon.

To Xisuthrus the god Cronus appeared in a vision, and
told him that a flood would take place in a particular
month, and that he should write a history of all things
down to the time, and bury it in the City of the Sun at
Sippara.* He was instructed to build a ship, and embark
in it with his family, friends, and a pilot, together with an-
imals of all sorts. Having obeyed the mandate, he sailed
about the world, floating on the face of the waters until the
Deluge abated, when the vessel stranded, as is supposed,
among the Gordysean Mountains, where, like Noah, after
sending forth birds, he found that the earth was dry, and,
with his wife, and daughter, and the pilot, quitted his asy-
lum. Having then built an altar and sacrificed to the gods,
he and his companions disappeared.

Those who remained in the ship now disembarked, and
began to lament their lost companions, calling upon the
name of Xisuthrus. Him they saw no more ; but they
heard his voice in the air, admonishing them to pay due
regard to religion, and telling them that, on account of his
piety, he had been translated to live with the gods, and that
his wife, children, and the pilot enjoyed the same honours.
He farther told them to make the best of their way to Bab-
ylonia, and search at Sippara for the records he had left,
and which were to be made known to all mankind.

The similarity of this account to that of the Noachic
Deluge must be quite apparent, although the whole is
greatly disfigured by its Chaldean dress. At what period
idolatry began, we know not, nor when the simplicity of

* The Perisabora of the ancient geographers, and Anbar, the ruiius of
vhich are still to be seen close to the castle of Felugia.

ANCIENT ASSYRIANS AND BABYLONIANS. 87

the patriarchal system gave way to the fantastic innova-
tions of man; but we learn from Scripture that images
were made use of as objects of adoration as early as the
days of Terah, the father of Abraham. The period of hero-
worship soon followed ; and the gods of the Chaldees from
hencetorth are to be viewed in images and monsters made
by the hands of men.

The first of the ancient kings who received the honours
of deification was Pul or Be], Belus, to whom his son, the
Tiglath-pileser of Sacred Writ, or Ninus of profane writers,
erected an image; and his title to this distinction appears
to have been acknowledged throughout Mesopotamia as
well as Assyria, for a temple was built to him in Babylon
at a very early period, where he was regarded as the tu-
telary divinity. In this celebrated structure, however,
there appear to have been two gods, one of whom was un-
derstood to be invisible, while the other was represented by
a colossal statue of gold. There were also two altars ; on
the one, which was of the same precious metal, and of mod-
erate size, only young victims could be offered ; on the
other, which was larger, none but such as were fullgrown;
hence it would appear that one of these gods was held sub-
ordinate to the other.

The next in importanT^e of their deities appears to have
been represented by an idol called Succoth-benoth, men-
tioned in 2 Kings, xvii., 30, and which is said to mean the
tabernacles of the da^ughters. Herodotus says that this god-
dess was by the Babylonians called Mylitta, signifying
mother ; and Selden considers the name as the root oif the
Venus of later mythologies, a derivation which is support-
ed by other authorities, and involves but an easy change
of orthography.

Another of the Assyrian or Babylonian deities was Nebo
or Nabo, whose name so often enters into those of their
kings, and who, therefore, may be supposed to have been
held in high estimation. He is found in Isaiah (chapter
xlvi.) coupled with Bel, and may possibly have been the
same with Chemosh or Baal-peor of the Moabites ; but lit-
Je more is known of him than that he is understood to have
been much consulted as an oracle.

To these may be added Rach, Nego or Nergal, Mero-
dach, and many others that have not reached our time,
who were objects of worship to the capricious Babyloni-

88 ORIGIN, GOVERNMENT, ETC., OF THE

ans, whose city appears to have been the resort of all
idols.

The epistle of Jeremy the prophet, appended to the book
of Baruch, contains a view of their ceremonies, their tem-
ples, and their priests, which gives a very revolting pic-
ture of grossness and utter depravity. Not only was im-
morality encouraged by example, but human victims were
sacrificed in order to appease the imaginary deities of a
barbarous people. It is supposed, however, that this atro-
cious violation of all the feelings of humanity, as well as
of divine law, was too revolting to be long continued, and
that the shedding of human blood was afterward confined
to the inhabitants of a particular district, who were called
Sepharvites from the name of their city, Sepharvaim, and
who offered even their own children in sacrifice. But the
practice appears to have been revived at Hierapolis, where
all that is abominable in idol-w^orship seems to have taken
refuge after the destruction of Babylon.

With regard to the manners and customs of the Babylo-
nians, the little information we possess is collected from
the writings of Herodotus, Strabo, Berosus, Gluintus Cur-
tius, and other ancient authors, who quote principally from
one another, and who, doubtless, chiefly recorded those
things which seemed strange to them, and in which the
people of Babylon differed from other nations. But we
hear nothing of their employments, their domestic habits,
or of those minute observances that make up the greater
portion of human life. We learn, indeed, that the people
were peculiarly credulous, superstitious, and immoral; that
they were gorgeous in their apparel, expensive in their es-
tablishments, aflfecting even a degree of effeminacy in their
dress and adornments. Their under garment was of linen,
reaching to their heels ; over this they wore a vestment of
woollen, and above all a white mantle or cloak, often very
expensively ornamented. They wore their own long hair,
their heads being covered with a tiara or mitre. They
anointed their bodies with oil of sesamum, and were par-
ticularly lavish of perfumes. Each man carried on his fin-
ger a seal-ring,* and in his hand a staff' or sceptre, which,
by law, was adorned on the head with some badge or figure,
as a rose, a lily, an eagle, a beast ; and their feet were shod

* Great numbers of these are picked up at this day in the rums of Bab*
ylon and the surrounding country.

ANCIENT ASSYRIANS AND BABYLONIANS. 89

with a sort of slipper, such as is observed in the sculptures
at Persepolis. It is almost unnecessary to observe that
this account applies only to the latter period of the Empire,
and not to the earlier times, when their mamiers must have
been more simple, the public mind more energetic, and
habits of vice less prevalent.

The whole learning of the nation rested, as we have al-
ready said, with the Chaldees, who refer their first instruc-
tion in astronomv, geometry, arid astrology to that Cannes
of whom we have just spoken. Sir Isaac Newton leans to
the opinion that this person v/as an Egyptian, who, not long
before the days of David and Solomon, fled mto Chaldea,
carrying with him the science of his country. This opin-
ion, however, seems rather at variance wdth the Scripture,
where the learning of the latter nation is spoken of as re-
markable at a very early age ; and the attempt of the lirst
postdiluvians to build the tower of Babel, implies an ac-
quaintance with the principles of architecture which could
only belong to an advanced state of the exact sciences.
Besides, according to the tradition of Jews, Arabs, and In-
dians, the Egyptians owed all their knowledge to the Chal-
deans, from whose country it was conveyed by Abraham :
and, rivals as the two nations were, both in arts and arms,
the claim to superior antiquity, at least, did certainly lie in
favour of the IVlesopotamians.

But, whatever may have been its source, it is manifest
that their science in later times was stationary. They de-
parted not from the rules they had been taught ; professed
neither to knovv^, to require, nor to teach more than they
themselves had learned from their ancestors ; and their
principal merit appears to have consisted in being perfect-
ly acquainted with what they professed to know. In point
of fact, their attainments were very trifling, and their no-
tions of astronomy, in particular, were fanciful and absurd.
They appear to have considered the earth as a being like a
vessel or boat, hollov/ within, round which the sun, and
moon, and stars revolved, but at what rehitive distances
they were totally ignorant ; hence they attributed the great-
er length of time occupied by their respective revolutions
only to a greater tardiness of motion. The moon, howev-
er, they conceived w^as an exception to this hypothesis;
they taught that she shone with a light not her own, and
accounted for her eclipses by her immersion in the shadow

H '

90 ORIGIN, GOVERNMENT, ETC., OF THE

of the earth ; but as to the eclipses of the sun they were to-
tally uninformed.

They divided the zodiac into twelve spaces, each being
distinguished by a sign, and throughout wliich the several
planets performed their revolutions. These bodies were
six in number, enmiierated according to their respective
shares of influence, as follows : Saturn, the Sun, Mars,
Venus, Mercury, and Jupiter ; and they were denominated
interpreters, as portending by their motions and aspect the
will of the gods.

Under the planets they ranged thirty stars, which they
called counselling gods ; half of whom took cognizance
of what was done under the earth, the other half of that
which was done by men, or in the heavens ; and they
taught that once in ten days one of the superior stars de-
scended as a messenger to the inferior, and vice versd^ by
which a regular correspondence was kept up. Of these
deities there were twelve chiefs, one of whom was assign-
ed to each month of the year and section of the zodiac.
Out of the inferior stars, again, they selected twenty-four,
placing twelve towards the north pole and twelve to the
south.

All these luminaries were believed to exercise great
power over the fortunes of men ; and from their aspects
and position with reference to each other, they predicted
all of good or evil that should befall the individuals born
under their sway. This, it will be observed, was less a
system of astronomy than of astrology, to the knowledge
of which, indeed, they made the highest pretensions.

As to the world, they taught that it was eternal — without
beginning and without end; and they acknowledged a
Divine Providence, who directed the motions of the heav-
ens and the course of nature by means of inferior agents
or deities. Beyond this, little is known of their doctrines
on those lofty subjects.

That the Chaldeans had a considerable acquaintance
with mathematics and geometry appears certain, as we
have already observed ; for, without some knowledge of
these sciences, they could not have constructed the build-
ings and other important works which are attributed to
them, and of which the vestiges still rem.ain.

It is likewise manifest that they had musical instm-
ments and performers, as in the book of Daniel we read

ANCIENT ASSYRIANS AND BABYLONIANS. 91

of flutes, comets, harps, sackbuts, psalteries, and dulci-
mers ; but we are ignorant of their real form ; and it is
not improbable that they bore some resemblance to those
used by the rude band now called the Nokara Khaneh^
which in Persia and other Eastern countries plays at sta-
ted times over the gateway of the royal palace.

Of their poetry we know nothing ; and their total igno-
rance of medicine may be estimated from the fact that it
was their custom to expose their sick publicly in places
where every passer-by might see them, in the hope that
some one who had been similarly afflicted might commu-
nicate the means of cure.

That they were skilful in the working of metals, and in
the cutting of stones and gems, appears not only from the
uses they made of these substances in their palaces, tem-
ples, and houses, but from the fragments which are, even
at this remote period, occasionally found among the ruins
of Babylon and other cities of Mesopotamia. They were
also celebrated for their manufacture of linen and wool-
len. The cloaks called sindones, usually made of cotton,
were highly valued for fineness of texture and brilliancy
of colour, insomuch that they were commonly set apart
for royal use. Their carpets of finest fabric and most
splendid dyes, also their gorgeous drapery and embroider-
ies, were equally famous. The former were in great re-
quest in Persia, where every bed and couch were covered
with them.

Pliny mentions a suit of Babylonian hangings for a di-
ning-room which cost a sum equal in our money to <£645S
65. 8^. / and Plutarch, in his life of Cato, tells us that the
stern patriot, having received in a legacy a Babylonian
cloak or mantle, sold it immediately, as being far too cost-
ly for him to wear. This people, too, as well as the As-
syrians, were celebrated for their purple dye.

That the commerce of ancient Babylon must have been
very great, is unquestionable. The riches and luxury of
the country alone afford sufficient proof of this ; and as-
suredly no city of that period could boast of a more ad-
vantageous position as a trading entrepot. Built upon one,
and commanding the navigation of two noble streams,
both leading to the Persian Gulf, and surrounded by pop-
ulous districts, nothing was wanting to encourage a spirit
of advei^ture ; and that such did exist to a very great ex-

92 ORIGIN, GOVERNMENT, ETC., OF THE

tent we know, though of the exact nature and particulars
of the commerce itself we have no detailed account. The
natives were fond of magnificence, and full of artificial
wants ; costly in dress, perfumes, ornaments, and in their
general habits of life. Their own country did not produce
the articles they consumed in such abundance, and they
must therefore have imported them; and as the land around
afforded little to give in return, the means of purchasing
must have arisen in part from the profits of trade and barter.

It is known, also, that many of the early sovereigns gave
great encouragement to merchandise as well as to agricul-
ture. Gerrha, supposed to have been near the site of the
modern El Katif, was a commercial station ; Teredon, on
the Pallacopas, was founded by Nebuchadnezzar; and
Semiramis is said to have built towns upon the banks of
the Tigris as marts for Media and Persia.

The land-trade of Babylon is divided by Heeren* into
five chief branches: that to the east with Persia and Bac-
tria ; to the north with Armenia ; to the west with Phoe-
nicia and Asia Minor; and, finally, to the south with
Arabia.

The great road to the east ran by Ecbatana to the Cas-
pian Gates, through which it led to Hyrcania and Aria,
and thence in a northerly direction to Bactra, which last
was the entrepot of Central Asia, Tartary, and the more
southern provinces.

The path for western commerce, according to Strabo,
passed north through Mesopotamia to Anthemusia on the
Euphrates, twenty-five days' journey, where it turned to-
v/ards the Mediterranean. This line could only be trav-
ersed by strong caravans, on account of the Scenite Arabs,
who occupied the Desert and plundered all whom they
could overpower.

The northern route to Armenia and Asia Minor was the
great military communication made by the Median sov-
ereigns, from Susa by Babylon to Sardis. It was divided
into 110 stages of five parasangs or about twenty miles
each, every one having a splendid caravansera attached
to it. Tavernier traced it from Smyrna to Tokat, from
whence, in later times, it went to Erivan for the purpose of
reaching Ispahan, subsequently the capital of Persia. The

* Historical Researclies, vol, ii, p. 203.

ANCIENT ASSYRIANS AND BABYLONIANS. 93

great road now leads by Erzeroum to Tabreez and the
north of Persia.

But the commerce with Armenia was chiefly maintain-
ed by the River Euphrates on rafts of timber bound upon
inflated liides, or in lude boats. These were loaded witii
wine and otner produce of the country, and when they
reached Babylon were sold, together with the commodi-
ties which they conveyed, the lorce of the stream render-
ing- it impossible for them to return up the river. I'he
owners, however, carefully preserved the skins, which
were lolded upon asses or mules, and carried back by
land. This traflic is described as having been prosecuted
to a great extent.

But the main branch of trade was undoubtedly that with
India and the countries beyond the Gulf. This was car-
ried on, of course, in ships, many of which, it may be pre-
sumed, were the property of Chaldean merchants ; for that
this people possessed a mercantile nav}^ is not only alluded
to in Scripture,* but is rendered certain from many inci-
dental notices preserved to us in the Greek writers, btill
there is reason, as Heeren observes, for believing that
much of this intercourse was conducted by the Phoeni-
cians, who had settlements on the eastern coast of Arabia,
and were the great carriers between India and Babylon.t

The principal objects of this trade were frankincense
and drugs, spices, especially Ceylon cinnamon, ivory, eb-
ony, fragrant woods, precious stones, pearls, gum-lac for
dye, robes, gold and gold-dust, and Indian dogs, which last
were greatly in demand all over Central Asia. One of
the satraps of Babylon is said to have devoted the revenue
of four towns to their maintenance; and Xerxes carried
an immense number along with him when he invaded
Greece.

The chief places in the East to which this navigation
was directed, were on the western coasts of the Indian pen-
insula: to Crocola, now Curachee; probably to Barygaza,
nowBaroach; and to Ceylon.

Heeren speaks of certahi ports in the gulf which were
places at once of produce and of commerce. Tylos, an
island, according to Ptolemy, fifty miles from the Bay of
Gerrha, supplied walking-sticks, and timber for ship-build-

* Isaiah, xliii., 14. t Historical Researches, vol. ii., p. 246.

94 ANTIQUITIES. BABYLON.

ing,* the Aradus and Daden of the Hebrew poets. Bah-
rein must then, as now, have supplied abundance of pearls.
The trade to Persia and Bactria afforded to the Babylo-
nians many articles both of luxury and manufacture.
Carmania (Kerman) sent its wool; Bactria, lapis-lazuli,
emeralds, rubies, and other precious stones ; Cabul, onyxes
and sardines ; Khorasan, turquoises ; and, though not men-
tioned particularly by any author, there is no doubt that
the various commodities which form the lading of cara-
vans at this day were then equally objects of commerce.
Their saffron, indigo, and assafcetida, with the various
gums and drugs, dyes, and manufactures of Upper India,
as well as of the countries between it and Persia, were
brought in abundance to Babylon, not only for consump-
tion there, but for transit to the coasts of tlie Mediterrane-
an. Cotton and wool must have been required to a great
extent for their manufactures ; and even silk, as some sup-
pose, may have found its way from China.

CHAPTER V.

Antiquities. — Babylon.

Greatest Interest of these Countries attaches to the early Periods of their
Existence. — Vestiges of former Greatness everywhere abundant. —
Ruins of Babylon. — Discussions regarding- the Identity of Site of an-
cient Babel and Babylon. — Denied by Beke, who places the Land of
Shinar m Upper Mesopotamia. — Ainsworth's g-eological Observations.
— Tower of Babel. — No Scriptural Authority for supposing that it was
destroyed at the time of the Dispersion of Mankind. — Location of the
other Cities of Nimrod. — Accad. — Erech. — Calneh. — All Traces of the
most ancient Postdiluvian Fabrics probably effaced by subsequent
Structures. — Ancient Babylon described. — By what Authors. — Extent.
— Height of its Walls according to various Authorities. — Structure. —
Streets. — Intersected by the Euphrates.— Bridge.— New Palace and
hanging Gardens. — Temple "of Belus. — Described by Herodotus. —
Golden Statue. — Other gigantic Works. — Canals. — Artificial Lake. —
Its Construction attributed to Semiramis, to Nebuchadnezzar, and to
Queen Nitocris. — Population. — Space occupied by Buildings. — Scrip-
tural Denunciations against Babylon.

It is obvious, from the slight sketch w^e have given of
the history of the countries under consideration, that the
great interest they possess attaches to the early period of

* There is no island of the gulf which now produces any timber.

ANTIQUITIES. BABYLON. 95

their existence, when they were the seats of empire, popu-
lous and rich, and covered with cities, towns, and villages,
of which now, in many cases, not even the names remain.
Before, therefore, describing the country in its present de-
cayed condition, it is fit that our attention should be turned
to the vestiges of that fallen greatness ; the venerable re-
mains of departed prosperity which meet the traveller's
eye in every quarter — in the alluvial plains of Babylonia
as well as in the rocky mountains of Assyria. In descri-
bing the most prominent of these, we shall endeavour, by
examining what time has spared, and making use of the
imperfect lights which history or tradition presents, to com-
pare, in some degree, the brilliant past with the desolate
present, and trace, in the obscure mounds and shattered
walls that now encumber the land, the abodes of genera-
tions who once were among the wise and mighty of the
earth.

Of these vestiges no place affords a more abundant dis-
play than Babylonia and Chaldea, the, Irak-Arabi of the
Mohammedans. Not only are the ruins of the ancient cap-
ital, the first and probably the greatest city of the world,
to be found within their precincts, together with those of
Seleucia, Ctesiphon, Orchoe, and Waasut, but the whole
plain is thickly covered with traces of former habitations.
Scarcely, indeed, is there a single rood of ground which
does not exhibit some fragment of brick, or tile, or glass,
or sepulchral urn, to tell that man has lived in a region
which now presents to the eye but one vast expanse of arid
desert : a howling wilderness, where the only evidence
that he still exists is afforded by the black Bedouin tent, or
the wandering camel which here and there dots its dreary
surface.

Among these numerous vestiges, the mounds of ancient
Babylon claim, of course, the first place in interest and im-
portance; and we shall accordingly proceed to consider it
as it was and is. But, before attempting a description of
this great city, there are some preliminary questions which
can scarcely fail to suggest themselves as involving con-
siderations of the highest interest, and which it is there-
fore proper to examine.

In the first place, are we to consider the ruins which are
now very generally admitted to be the remains of the Bab-
ylon of Nebuchadnezzar, as occupying also the position of

96 ANTIQUITIES. EABTLOrs.

the Tower of Babel, and the first city of the postdiluvians 1
Do any one of the mounds which now meet the traveller's
eye represent the relics of that earliest architectural effort
of the human race 1 Or did the Babel of Nimrod, the cap-
ital of the mighty hunter, occupy the same spot as the me-
tropolis of the Chaldaeo-Babylonians 7

These questions lead directly to another, on the solution
of which the replies to them must mainly depend, namely,
w^hether the land of Shinar, mentioned in the book of Gen-
esis, is identical with the Babylonia of more recent times.
To the consideration of this point we shall first address
ourselves.

Many learned disquisitions have been promulgated upon
this subject, and various results embraced by their authors.
The opinion most commonly received is that the plains of
Babylonia do really represent the land of Shinar. Some
writers, however, are disposed to deny this proposition ;
and among these, Mr. Beke has endeavoured to prove not
only that the territory of Babylonia is not identical with
the land of Shinar, but that we must look for that land in
Upper Mesopotamia; and he is inclined to fix it in the
plains about Ur* or Orfa, in the province of Diar-Modzar.
But there are better data on which to proceed in examin-
ing this question ; and Mr. Ainsw^orth, in his " Pcesearches,"
has furnished proof, first, that the country indicated by Mr.
Beke as answering to the Shinar of the postdiluvians,
agrees in no particular with the description of that land in
Scripture; and, secondly, that the alluvial formations of
Babylonia did not, at the period when the Tower of Babel
was built, differ greatly in extent, consistence, or natural
appearance from their condition at the present day. In
regard to the first point, it may be sufficient to remark, that
the whole of Upper Mesopotamia, with the exception of
particular and limited spots, consists of gravelly tracts in-
tersected by ranges of hills, in no place affording an ex-
panse of flat country answering to the Scriptural account
of Shinar. The only two level tracts of great extent are
those which stretch eastward from the Khabour, and south
from Sinjar to the Hamrine range of hills; and both ol
these, so far as is known, are rather of a gravelly than an
alluvial character, and in no case far removed from mount-

* See the map annexed to his work.

ANTIQUITIES. BABYLON. 97

ains. Now we are especially told in Scripture that the
builders of the Tower of Babel used bricks, well burned in
the fire, instead of stones, and slime or bitumen lor mortar.
But in no part of Upper Mesopotamia could there have
been occasion for such expedients, the two last-named ma-
terials being far less abundant than stone and mortar;
whereas, in the alluvial district of Babylonia, the use of
brick would become a measure of necessity j and the ever-
flowing fountains of Hit, which unquestionably furnished
the bituminous cement for the capital of Nebuchadnezzar,
were at hand to supply the builders of Babel with the same
ingredient.

These considerations may serve, perhaps, to prove that,
notwithstanding the tempting lure which the name of Sin-
jar or Singara holds out to etymologists, the position of
that land must be sought for at a lower point in the valley
of the Euphrates, if, indeed, the whole country from the
Sinjar hills downward to the sea did not, in those early
times, pass under the same name. In fact, the geological
researches of Mr. Ainsworth supply us with the means of
showing that the early postdiluvians could have had no
such serious obstacles to contend with in choosing the lo-
cality which is generally believed to have been the scene
of their daring attempt. We shall not follow him through
the elaborate inquiry of which he has given us the result.
It goes chiefly to prove that the large beds of breccia and
gravel which abound throughout Mesopotamia must have
been brought to their present situation by the agency of
water, at some period antecedent to the Deluge of Scripture :
first, because these beds in many places underlie formations
of a Plutonic character, which must have been produced
by physical convulsions, of which there exists no record
since that event ; secondly, because these gravelly forma-
tions extend in the valley of the Euphrates to a distance
beloio the site of ancient Babylon, having been discovered
at Iskenderia, in the ancient bed of the Pallacopas, and to
the west of Semava ; and, thirdly, because there is every
reason for believing the greater part of the alluvium of
Babylonia and Chaldea to have been formed by the Flood,
and to have experienced little alteration since the progress
of alluvial encroachment upon the waters of the gulf by
the washings of the rivers became comparatively slow.
Mr. Ainsworth proves that, reckoning from the time when

i

98 ANTIQUITIES. BABYLON.

Babylon attained its high rank as a city, a period of 2600
years, the increase of land by the deposition of alluvium at
the head of the gulf, into which the Euphrates, Tigris, and
all the rivers of Susiana empty their waters, has not ex-
ceeded the rate of thirty yards per annum.

Thus it may be considered as established, both that the
Shinar of Scripture, or, at least, the portion of it referred
to in the 10th chapter of Genesis, was not in Upper Mes-
opotamia, and also that it lay farther down the valley of
the Euphrates, in an alluvial soil, in the neighbourhood of
bituminous springs. A full consideration of all the cir-
cumstances detailed will, we think, lead to the conclusion
that the Tower of Babel and first city of the postdiluvians
must have been founded on some spot not ver)^ distant
from the ruins of Babylon which are seen at this day.
Whether that celebrated structure did actually occupy the
exact position of those momids that now attract the trav-
eller's eye, is a point which, from the scanty information
we possess, will never, in all human probability, be decided.
Adopting, however, the reasoning of Mr. Rich, in his
first Memoir on the ruins of Babylon, it may be observed
that there is no Scriptural authority for supposing that
the building was destroyed at the time of the dispersion of
mankind, although its farther progress was arrested. We
learn that the Babel of JNimrod was certainly- placed in
the land of Shinar, and there appears nothing unreasona-
ble in the supposition that the city of the dispersed might
continue to be the abode of the mighty hunter and of his
descendants ; while those who, in a later age, undertook to
raise a monument to the honour of Belus, may have avail-
ed themselves of the labours of their forefathers as a foun-
dation for their own. At the same time, it may be re-
marked that there are no grounds for even conjecturing to
what extent the building had proceeded when stopped by
the interposition of the Almighty, or whether it had attain-
ed a magnitude calculated to impart an enduring grandeur
to its ruins.

Assuming, then, that the Babel of the postdiluvians did
actually occupy the same, or nearly the same place as the
mounds which represent the Babylon of a subsequent pe-
riod, a step at least will be gained"^ towards establishing the
positions of the other cities of the kingdom of Nimrod,
*' Erech, and Ac cad, and Calneh," in the land of Shinar.

ANTIQUITIES. — BABYLON. 99

Recent researches, both geographical and historical, have
induced several learned persons to Ax. the sites of these
ancient cities as follows :

Accad is supposed to be represented by the huge mound
of Akkerkoof, above six miles from Bagdad, and the
smaller ones by which it is surrounded.

Erech, by the still more imposing remains known by
the name of Workha, in Chaldea Proper, below Lemlum.

Calneh is referred to the site of Ctesiphon or Madayn,
which cities have, of course, obliterated all vestiges of a
prior state.

The proofs on which these conclusions rest are not as
yet before the public, and it would exceed the bounds of a
work like this to give in detail a chain of evidence and
reasoning which, it is to be hoped, will soon appear in a
perfect shape. But, with regard to the first, it may be
mentioned that, while the remains of ancient embank-
ments, canals, and other buildings, fragments of pottery,
glass, and similar substances, no less than the nature of
its structure and materials, attest its having, in very re-
mote times, been a place of great importance, the name
applied to it by several ancient authors approaches to that
of the ancient city of Nimrod. Thus, in the text of the
Talmud, it is called Aggada, and the learned Hyde quotes
from Maimonides the expression '' Extat Aggada tres an-
nos natus" in reference to this spot. That the Accad of
Scripture .should be found in the vicinity of Babel was to
be expected ; and it is worthy of remark, that the Akker-
koof of the Arabs is by the Turks called Aker-i-Nimrod
or Akree-Babel.

The name of Erech appears to be well preserved in the
present appellation of Irkah, Irakh, or Workha ; while its
locality with reference to that of Babel, as now assumed,
appears confirmatory of the conjecture that it commem-
orates the second-mentioned city of Nimrod. Yet it is
possible that it may represent only the Orchoe of the Chal-
deans instead of Umgeyer or Mugeyer, a ruin hitherto
unknown or undescribed, and which by some is conceived
to occupy the ground of that city; while, on the other
hand, the term Orchoe may be nothing more than a modi-
fication of the ancient Erech, and Workha or Irkha a
more modern pronunciation of both.

T'he comparative vicinity of the site of Ctesiphon to

100 ANTIQUITIES. BABYLON.

that of ancient Babel may, in like manner, lend plausi-
bility to the conjecture which places the Calneh of Nim-
rod's kingdom on the ground afterward occupied by the
former; and it is farther strengthened by the appellation
of Chalonitis, subsequently borne by the whole district,
which was the seat of one of the early bishoprics. Yet
even in the position of Chalonitis there appears to be a
doubt ; for Isidore of Charax, himself a native of that
quarter, says that Apolloniatis commenced at Seleucia,
extending eastward thirty-three shoeni or parasangs, the
city of Artemita, then called Chalasar, being distant fif-
teen of these measures from Seleucia, nearly direct east.
Prom thence — that is, from the boundary of Apolloniatis
— stretches Chalonitis, twenty-one shaeni broad, of which a
Greek city, Chala, is the capital, fifteen shoeni from Apol-
loniatis, and 156 miles east of Seleucia. Five shgeni east
from it is Mount Zagros, the boundary between Chaloni-
tis and the territory of the Medes.*

That any portion of the mounds now seen, or the sites
we have described, belong to those earliest cities of the
world, which are presumed to have been there erected, it
would be more than rash to afiirm. On the contrary, it is
almost certain that, in the long period of more than 4000
years which have elapsed since Nimrod founded his king-
dom in Shinar, every portion of the original fabrics must
have mouldered into dust, and that the huge mounds which
astonish us in various parts — such as the Birs Nimrod,
Akkerkoof, Workha, Mugeyer, Sunkhera, Zibliyeh, Jibe!
Sanam, and others — belong all to far later, though still
very remote ages, and were temples erected at the instance
of the Chaldean priesthood, in the days succeeding Bel or
Pul, to the honoiir of their various deities.

From the consideration of these heaps of dust and pot-
sherds, it is now time to turn our eyes for a while to the
Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar, "the glory of the kingdoms/'
"the golden city," "the praise of the whole earth," which
the arrogant monarch, in the days of his impious pride,
declared that he had built by the might of his power and
for the honour of his majesty.

But, in order to form some idea of this splendid metrop-

* Two Essays on the GeograDhy of Ancient Asia. By the Rev. John
Williams, 8vo,"^Lond., 1829, p. 58.

ANTIQUITIES. BABYLON. 101

olis, we must have recourse to other sources besides Scrip-
ture ; for, although we find in the Sacred Volume many-
direct allusions to the great power of the empire, and the
magnificence of its capital — its walls, its palaces, its tem-
ples, and its idols of massy gold — to give a detailed de-
scription of Babylon in its high and palmy state, formed
no part of the design contemplated by the inspired writers.
We must therefore turn to the pages of Herodotus, Cte-
sias, Strabo, and Diodorus, where we shall find ample
materials.

These authors all describe the city as having been in
form a square, each side of which, according to the first
of them, extended 120 stadia, or about fifteen miles. But,
as the accounts differ greatly in regard to the dimensions
and extent of the walls, the following table, taken from
Pcennell's Geography of Herodotus, will serve to give at a
glance the results of the several authorities :

Circuit of Walls. Height of Walls. Breadth of Walls.

Stadia. Cubits. Feet. Cubits. Feet.

Herodotus 480 200 300 50 75

Ctesias 360 * 300

Pliuy 480

Chtarchus 365

Curtius 368 100 150 32

Strabo 385 50 75 32

The walls, according to the old historians, were protect-
ed from approach by a large wet ditch, the mud from
which served to form the bricks that were used in the
building. These were cemented together with melted
bitumen, and the moat was lined with the same materials.
In each side of the square there were twenty-five portals,
making 100 in all, which were furnished with gates of
brass. On the summit of the wall, between each two of
these gateways, were built three towers: there was one
at each corner, and three between each corner and the
first gate, all of them rising ten feet above the parapet of
the wall. In some parts, however, where the line led
through a morass, these towers were omitted, as mmeces-
sary for defence, so that there were but 250 in all. Within
the walls there was left a space of 200 feet clear of houses,
forming a spacious pathway all round. The city was in-
tersected by straight streets, running from each gate on
either side to that corresponding opposite, so that the

* Fifty orgya are given ; it should probably be fifty cubits.
12

102 ANTIQUITIES. BABYLON.

whole area of it was divided by fifty streets — each fifteen
miles long, and crossing each other at right angles — into
676 squares. Around these stood the houses, not contigu-
ous, but with spaces between them, and all three or four
stories high, having their fronts ornamented in various
ways. The interior of each square was laid out in fields
and gardens, so that more than half the space within the
walls was occupied by cultivated land.

Babylon was intersected by a branch of the Euphrates,
which, running from north to south, divided it into two
parts, each of its banks being lined by a breastwork or
wall of burned brick, in which were sm.all portals furnish-
ed with gates of brass corresponding to each of the streets.
These parts were united in the middle of the city by a
bridge thirty ieet in breadth, and not less than a furlong in
length,* and built with much ingenuity. At each end of
this bridge, according to some authors, there was a palace,
the old and the new ; the former, on the east side, occupy-
ing four of the square divisions, that is, being three miles
and three quarters in circumference ; the latter, on the west,
covering nine of them, that is, having a circuit of seven
and a half miles. The Temple of Belus, which filled a
single square, rose near the former. Herodotus mentions
but one of these palaces, stating that it stood in an enclo-
sed circular space at one end of the bridge ; the Temple of
Belus, with its brazen gates, standing in the other. The
new palace, according to Diodorus, was a place of vast
strength, surrounded by three walls, having considerable
vacancies between them, and each, as well as those of the
old palace, being embellished with a variety of sculptures.

To this new structure, which, it is pretended by Berosus,
was but the work of fifteen days, were attached what have
been called the hanging gardens, built by Nebuchadnezzar
to gratify his wife Amytis, a Median lady. These occupied
a square of four plethra, or 400 feet on each side, and are
described as rising in terraces one above another, till they
attained the height of the city walls ; the ascent to each
terrace being by a flight of steps ten feet wide, the pile
resting upon a series of arches, tier above tier, and strength-

* Diodorus states that it was five furlongs in length, while, according to
Strabo, the Euphrates at Babylon was only one furlong broad. The
bridge may, however, have been of such a length as to connect the two
portions of the city in the event of a flooding of the river.

ANTIQUITIES. BABYLON. 103

ened by a surrounding wall twenty-two feet thick. The
floors were formed by a pavement of stones, each sixteen
feet long by four broad, over which two courses of brick,
cemented together with plaster, were laid in a bed of bitu-
men; over these were spread thick sheets of lead; and on
this solid terrace was placed suitable mould, deep enough
to nourish and support the largest trees. On the highest
of these terraces was a reservoir, which, being filled by an
engine from the river, served to water the plants. Such,
according to Diodorus, were the celebrated hanging gar-
dens of Babylon erected by Nebuchadnezzar. The Temple
of Belus, which, at all events, was enlarged and embellish-
ed by that monarch, is described by Herodotus as two fur-
longs square, in the midst of which rose a tower of the
solid depth and height of one furlong, upon which, resting,
as a base, seven other turrets were built in like manner
and in regular succession. The ascent, which was on the
outside, v/inding from the ground; was continued to the
highest tower, and in the middle of the vast structure there
was a convenient resting-place. In the last tower was a
large chapel, in which was placed a couch, magnificently
adorned, and near it a table of solid gold ; but there was
no statue. No man was suffered to sleep there ; but the
apartment was occupied by a female, who, as the Chal-
dean priests affirmed, was selected by their deity from the
whole nation as the object of his pleasures. " They them-
selves," adds the historian, " have a tradition, which can-
not easily obtain credit, that their deity enters this temple,
and reposes by night on this couch."

In the temple there was also a small chapel, which con-
tained a figure of Jupiter, in a sitting posture, with a large
table before him. These, with the base of the table and
the seat of the throne, were all of the purest gold, and were
estimated to be worth 800 talents. On the outside of the
chapel there were two altars ; one was of gold, on which
only young animals were sacrificed; the other was of im-
mense size, and appropriated to the sacrifice of those which
were full grown. Upon this, too, at the annual festival in
honour of their god, the priests are said to have consumed
incense to the amount of 1000 talents. In this temple there
was formerly a statue of solid gold, twelve cubits high ; a
fact the historian mentions from information given by the
ChaldeanSj not from his own knowledge, which would seem

104 ANTIQUITIES. BABYLON.

to imply that his other descriptions were drawn from per-
sonal observation. Darius, the son of Hystaspes, he adds,
endeavoured by sinister means to obtain possession of this
statue, not daring openly to take it ; but his son Xerxes af-
terward seized it, putting to death the priest who endeav-
oured to prevent its removal.

Besides those gigantic works, there were others of less
show, but much more important to the prosperity of the
capital and its surrounding territory, which were construct-
ed or completed by Nebuchadnezzar, or other sovereigns of
the Chaldseo-Babylonian dynasty. Such were the noble
system of canals, which are alluded to by Herodotus, and
several of which are mentioned by ancient historians — the
Nahr Malikah, the Pallacopas, the Nahrawan, and the
Dijeil of later times. To these may be added the great arti-
ficial lake, the huge embankments, and the subterraneous
passage or tunnel under the Euphrates, attributed by Dio-
dorus, on the authority of Ctesias, to the great Semiramis ;
by Berosus, Abydenus, and others, to Nebuchadnezzar;
and by Herodotus to dueen Nitocris, who, we have reason
to believe, was the wife of Evil Merodach, although the
historian mentions neither the name of her consort nor of
her predecessor.

Of these canals Herodotus speaks in terms of approba-
tion, but seems to consider them as formed rather as a
means of defence than of agricultural improvement ; for he
says that, by their disposition, they rendered the Euphrates,
which before flowed to the sea in an almost even line, so
complicated in its windings, that, in its passage to Babylon,
it arrived three times at Ardericca, an Assyrian village, at
which all persons wishing to go from the sea to the capital
were compelled to touch on three diiferent days. The
banks, too, which she raised to restrain the river on each
side, were, he says, really wonderful, from their enormous
height and substance. The earth used for them was taken
from an immense lake which she dug, the circumference
of which was not less than 420 furlongs (about forty-two
miles), and the banks were strengthened by stones brought
from a distance.

One use of this lake, he remarks, was to receive the wa-
ters of the Euphrates, which were turned into it, so that,
the bed below becoming dry, she was enabled to erect a
bridge over the channel ; previous to which period, all per-

ANTIQUITIES. — BABYLON. 105

sons desiring to cross from the one half of the city to the
other were Ibrced to make use of boats. To have been
available for this purpose, the lake must doubtless have
communicated with some of the low marshy tracts to the
southward, by which the water made its way to the sea, or
Avas absorbed by the sand ; and it may now be represented
by some of those very tracts southwest of Babylon, as, how-
ever large, it could scarcely have absorbed the river for a
time sullicient to admit of the construction of a bridge over
so broad a stream. It proved, in the sequel, a fatal work
to the city, as it was by a repetition of that very operation
that Cyrus gained an entrance, and wrested it and the em-
pire from King Labynetus.

With regard to the population of this great metropolis,
and the extent of inhabited ground contained within its
walls, a great deal has been written, and various opinions
entertained. D'Anville, upon a calculation of what he
conceives to be the most probable data, reduces its area to
thirty-six square miles ; while Rennell, following a similar
method, inclines to assume for its extent a square of eight
and a half British miles, or seventy-two square miles, ob-
serving that even this estimate is far below the one in He-
rodotus, which w^ould give an area of 126 square miles, or
about eight times that of London. It is not, however, to
be imagined that the whole of this enclosure was covered
with houses ; on the contrary, we learn that the interior of
every division was occupied by gardens ; and duintus Cur-
tius, particularly, limits the space under building to eighty
stadia, adding, "nor do the houses join, perhaps from mo-
tives of safety ; the remainder of the place is cultivated,
that, in the event of a siege, the inhabitants may not be
compelled to depend upon supplies from without." What
the eighty stadia of Curtius may have meant, it is by no
means certain ; but this much is sure, that a great limita-
tion was intended of the inhabited space within the walls.
It is very well known that most Oriental cities usually con-
tain a large space of garden-ground within their circuit ;
and when w^e find Nineveh called a city of three days' jour-
ney, we may be sure that this description comprehended a
vast extent of orchards, or even fields. Those who desire
to see what has been written on this subject by a deserved-
ly esteemed writer, may consult Rennell's Geography of
Herodotus, section xiv. It will there be seen that the

106 ANTIQUITIES. BABYLON.

learned author is inclined to think that Babylon, in its
most flourishing state, may have contained 1,200,000 in-
habitants.

Such, then, was the capital of Nebuchadnezzar and his
successors, until sacked and destroyed by Darius, accord-
ing to the testimony of Herodotus, who visited the place
scarcely a century after its first reduction by Cyrus, and
about eighty- seven years after the more severe treatment
inflicted on it by his successor. We have now to visit its
mouldering remains, after the full accomplishment of the
Divine denunciations pronounced against it by the mouth
of his prophets : " How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lu-
cifer, son of the morning ! how art thou cut down to the
ground, which didst weaken the nations ! I will make it
a possession for the bittern, and pools of water ; and I will
sweep it with the besom of destruction."* " And Babylon
shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for dragons, an as-
tonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant. Her
cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness ; a
land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man
pass thereby."t

* Isaiah, xiv., 12, 23. t Jeremiah, li., 37, 43.

RUINS OF BABYLON DESCRIBED. 107

CHAPTER VI.

Ruins of Babylon described.

Allusions to tliem by ancient Authors. — From A.D. 917 to 1616. — De-
scribed by Niebuhr and Beauchamp. — By Olivier. — By Rich. — Gen-
eral Aspect. — Face of the Country. — Principal Mounds described. —
Hill of Amran. — El-kasr. — Remarkable Tree. — Embankment. — Muje-
lib^. — Cofhns discovered there. — Birs Nimrod. — Vitrified Masses. — Al
Heimar. — Other Ruins. — Bucking-ham's Account and Opinions of the
Mujelibe, El-kasr, &c. — Al Heimar. — The Birs. — Sir Robert Ker Por-
ter.— His Description of the same Ruins. — His Search for farther Ruins
on the west Side of the Euphrates. — Difficulty of reconciling- the Posi-
tion of these Ruins with the Accounts of ancient Historians. — Specu-
lations reg-arding- the ancient Walls of Babylon. — Probable Mistakes of
Bucking-ham. — Chang-es in the Course of the Euphrates. — Conjectures
concerning- the Birs Nimrod — And the ancient Borsippa. — Discrepan-
cy between ancient Accounts. — Arrian and Berosus. — Cities built from
the Ruins of Babylon. — Ainsworth's Sug-g-estion of a Chang-e of Names
for the several Ruins. — His Mistakes in regard to Measurements.-^
The vitrified Masses. — Much Room yet for Investig-ation respecting
these Ruins and the circumjacent Country. — Prospects of this being-
effected.

The gigantic mounds and mouldering heaps which are
now all that remains of this great capital, have for ages
past attracted the notice of travellers. Ibn Haukul, the
Persian geographer, in 917 A.C., speaks of Babel as a
small village, and assumes that hardly any remains of
Babylon were to be seen. Abulfeda describes the former
merely as the place where Ibrahim ul Khaleel was cast
into the fire. The city, he says, is now destroyed, and re-
placed by a diminutive hamlet, and, quoting from Ibn Hau-
Kul, he calls it the most ancient structure of Irak, from
which the surrounding country took its name. " The Ca-
naanitish kings and their descendants dwelt here ; its ruins
declare it to have been an extensive city." Benjamin of
Tudela, a Jewish traveller of the twelfth century, remarks
that nothing was to be seen but the ruins of Nebuchadnez-
zar's palace, into which no one dared to enter, on account
of the serpents and scorpions with which it was infested.
In 1583, Eldred, an English merchant, on his way from
Bir to Bagdad, passed the " old mighty city of Babylon,
many rums whereof are easily to be seen b}^ daylight;'^

108 RUINS OF BABYLON DESCRIBED.

and he mentions, in particular, the Tower of Babel, which
he describes as a quarter of a mile in circuit, and about
the height of St. Paul's, but it " showeth much bigger;"
and he farther states that it w^as built of very large sun-
dried bricks, cemented by courses of "mattes, made of
canes, as though they had been laid within one yeere."

Rawolff, who visited the place in the sixteenth century,
speaks of the remains of an ancient bridge, of the relics of
ancient fortifications, and of the Temple of Belus, which
was so much destroyed, and so full of venomous animals,
that it could only be approached during tw^o months of win-
ter, when they do not leave their holes.

In 1616, Pietro della Valle visited the ruins, and descri-
bed them rather generally as a confused heap of fragments,
so covered over with earth that they looked sometimes as
much like hills as buildings. There are on record the nar-
ratives of several other persons w^ho travelled thither during
the same century- but Niebuhr in 1765, and Beauchamp
twenty years later, are the first among more modern au-
thors who have given any account of the remains. The
latter states that the ruins of Babylon are very conspicu-
ous about one league north of the town of Hillah. " Above
all the rest is one which is rather flat on the top, of an ir-
regular form, about thirty toises or 180 feet high, and much
cut up by furrows down the sides. It would never have
been taken for a work of man, were it not for the regular
layers of bricks which are visible, and which prove that
it was no natural hill. Beyond this mound, on the bank of
the river, are immense masses of building, which supplied
bricks for the building of Hillah."

Besides these ruins, M. de Beauchamp likewise men-
tions a brick w^all, which he calculates must have been
sixty feet thick. " It ran," he observes, " parallel with the
river, and may have been part of the wall of the city. I
discovered also a subterranean channel, w^hich, instead of
being vaulted, was covered with flat stones three feet broad
by six or seven long. These ruins extend several miles to
the north of Hillah, and satisfactorily prove this to have
been the site of ancient Babylon." He also alludes to
Brouss, on the opposite side of the river, but he does not
<iescribe it.

A few years after, Olivier visited these ruins, which he
describes as being so far from presenting any traces of a

RUINS OF BABYLON DESCRIBED. 109

city, that a careful examination is required before some of
tlie mounds, dug into on all sides, are discovered. Am.ong
these heaps, he particularizes one, which, he says, appears
to be the remains of the Temple of Belus, built by Semira-
inis. The surface of it is formed of earth ; but from the
interior the Arabs dig out large baked bricks, cemented
with a layer of reeds and bitumen ; and the circumference
he estimates at 1100 to 1200 ordinary paces. This is cer-
tainly the Mujelibe, as he says that it is situated about one
league north of Hillah ; and he adds, that between it and
the river there are a great many heaps, and many founda-
tions of ancient walls.

" Here it is that in general are found the large bricks on
which are the inscriptions in unknown characters. There
are some ruins to be found on the west side of the Euphra-
tes, where likewise are sometimes found bricks with in-
scriptions on them ; but I sought in vain for traces of the
palace of the kings, nor could 1 discover, in any direction,
the ramparts or wails of the city." Hence it is plain that
Olivier did not see, or, at least, did not visit, the Birs.

The first comprehensive and authentic account we pos-
sess is from the pen of Claudius James Rich, of the East
India Company's civil service, who for many years filled
the important situation of Resident at Bagdad, and, through
the consideration he enjoyed from his official situation and
high character, possessed peculiar advantages for prose-
cuting his researches. Of these he fully availed himself;
and, repairing to Hillah, accompanied by the requisite
guards, he spent ten days upon the gromid, zealously oc-
cupied in investigation and inquiry. We shall, therefore,
take his description of these ruins as the groundwork of
our own, adding what farther may appear expedient from
the observations of subsequent writers.

" From the accounts of modern travellers," says he, '' I
had expected to have found on the site of Babylon more
or less than I actually did. Less, because I could have
formed no conception of the prodigious extent of the v/hole
ruins, or of the size, solidity, and perfect state of some of
the parts of them; and more, because I thought that I
should have distinguished some traces, however imrierfect,
of many of the principal structures of Babylon. ' I imjjk
gined, I should have said, ' Here, were the walls, and such
must have been the extent of the area: there stood the pai

K

no KUINS OF BABYLON DESCRIBED.

ace, and this, most assuredly, was the Tower of Beius/
I was completely deceived: instead of a few insulated
mounds, I lound the whole face of the country covered
Avith vestiges of buildings, in some places consisting of
brick walls surprisingly fresh, in others merely of a vast
succession of mounds of rubbish, of such indeterminate fig-
ures, variety, and extent, as to involve the person who
should have formed any theory in inextricable confusion.
.... I shall confine myself, in the present Memoir, to a
plain, minute, and accurate statement of what I actually
saw, avoiding all conjectures except where they may tend
to throw light on the description, or be the means of exci-
ting others to inquiry and consideration.

" The whole country between Bagdad and Hillah is a
perfectly flat and (with the exception of a few spots as you
approach the latter place) uncultivated waste. That it
was at some former period in a far different state, is evi-
dent from the number of canals by which it is traversed,
now dry and neglected, and the quantity of heaps of earth,
covered with fragments of brick and broken tiles, which
are seen in every direction — the indisputable traces of for-
mer population."*

Little need be added to this general description of the
appearances on the ground, for the accuracy of which ev-
ery one who has visited the spot will readily vouch. The
wide extent of mounds and vestiges of buildings must, in
truth, arrest the attention of every beholder, who, at the
same time, will not fail to remark how little the shapeless
heaps on which he gazes can suggest in any degree either
the nature or object of the structures of which they are the
wrecks. After a minute account of the surrounding coun-
try, Mr. Rich goes on to describe the mins. The principal
masses on the eastern side of the river extend from a point
about two miles north of Hillah for a space of three miles in
the same direction, and are chiefly embraced by a long cir-
culart mound, which commences near the southeast corner
of the Mujelibe, and, taking a wide detour to the eastward,
terminates at the southeast corner of the eminence called
the Hill of Amran. There is, besides, a long ridge called

* Narrative of a Journey to the Site of Babylon, &c., by Claudius
James Rich, Esq., 8vo, London, 1839, p. 33-46.

t Sir R. K.Porter describes it as two straight lines converging to an

ande.

RUINS OF BABYLON DESCRIBED. Ill

by him the Embankment, which extends 750 yards along
the river, and, bending to the eastward, is continued beyond
the village of Jumjmna, till, farther east, it crosses the road
from Hill ah to Bagdad. The whole area included within
these rampart-like mounds is two miles and 600 yards from
east to west, and two miles 1000 yards from north to south.
It is again cut nearly in half, longitudinally, first, by a
straight dike, like the bomidary, but of less magnitude, of
which only a mile in length remains ; and there is to the
west of this a still smaller and shorter ridge, which termi-
nates to the north in a high heap of rubbish of a red colour,
nearly 300 yards long and 100 broad, but containing few
whole bricks. All these, and the rest of the ruins hereafter
to be described, consist of mounds of earth formed by the
decomposition of buildings channelled by the weather, and
the surface of them strewed with pieces of brick, bitumen,
and pottery.

Beyond the southern enclosure or embankment, which
affords little interest, and proceeding towards the north, is
found the first grand mass of ruins, which, in consequence
of having upon it a small domed building, said to be the
tomb of a son of Ali named Amran, has been named the
Hill of Am.ran. Its figure approaches that of a quadrangle,
of about 1100 yards long and 800 broad, very irregular in
height, but rising in the highest part from fifty to sixty feet
above the plain. It has been much dug into for the purpose
of procuring bricks ; but there is nothing in its appearance
to require a more particular description. On the north of
this mound there is a valley of 550 yards in length, covered
with tufts of rank grass, and crossed by a low ridge of ruins.
To this succeeds the second important class of remains,
which form nearly a square of 700 yards in length and
breadth, and are connected with the mounds of Amran
by a bank of considerable height, and nearly 100 yards in
breadth. This square, named the Kasr or Palace, Mr.
Rich considers as the mosi interesting part of the Babylo-
nian ruins, as all that can be seen of it attests its having
been composed of buildings far superior to any which have
left traces in the eastern quarter. The bricks are of the
finest description, and, notwithstanding the immense quan-
tities of them that have been carried off, they appear still to
be abundant. But the search for them has caused farther
dilapidation and confusion, by burrowing into the mound,

112 RUINS OF BABYLON DESCRIBED.

and cutting it into ravines in all quarters, so that it is im-
possible to guess at the original plan of the structure. In
these excavations, walls of burned brick and excellent mor-
tar are constantly met with, and fragments of alabaster
vessels, fine earthenware, marble, and great quantities of
varnished tiles, the glazing and colouring of which are
surprisingly fresh. He found in a hollow a sepulchral urn
of earthenware, and near it some human bones, which pul-
verized with the touch. One ravine, hollowed out by ex-
plorers, ran into its substance near 100 yards by thirty feet
wide, and forty to fifty deep, displaying on one side some
yards of a perfect wall, the front, no doubt, of some build-
ing; the other, an utterly confused mass of rubbish, as if
the way had been made through a solid structure. At the
south end was found a subterraneous passage, floored and
walled with large bricks laid in bitumen, and covered over
with blocks of sandstone a yard thick and several yards
long. It was half full of brackish water, is nearly seven
feet in height, and, the workmen said, increased farther on
so much in size that a horseman might pass through it.
The superstructure over it is cemented with bitumen ; in
other parts of the ravine mortar has been used ; and all the
bricks have writing on them. At the northern end of this
cavity, Mr. Rich, in consequence of hearing from an old
Arab of an image or idol of black stone having been seen,
set some men to excavate, and disinterred a lion,* rudely
sculptured in dark gray stone, and of colossal dimensions,
standing on a pedestal.

A little to the west of the ravine is a pile of building,
consisting of several walls and piers, which face the car-
dinal points, eight feet in thickness, in some places orna-
mented with niches, and in others strengthened by pilas-
ters and buttresses built of fine burned brick, still perfectly
clean and sharp, laid in lime cement of such tenacity that
those whose business it is to find bricks have given up
working on account of the extreme difficulty of extracting
them whole. The tops of those walls are broken, so that
they may have originally been much higher. This remark-
able ruin is by the natives called the Kasr or Palace,
which appellation has been used to distinguish the whole

* This lion, having- been again disinterred, and examined by the officers
of the Euphrates expedition, has been pronounced to be an elephant, of
■which the trunk is broken off.

RUINS OF BABYLON DESCRIBED. 113

quadrangular mass. A little to the north-northeast may
be seen the singular tree, the only one found near these re-
mains, said by the Arabs to have flourished in ancient
Babylon, and to have been miraculously preserved to af-
ford Ali a convenient place to tie up his horse after the bat-
tle of Hillah. It is thought to resemble the lignum vitoe j
but it is, in fact, a peculiar species of tamarisk.

Mr. Rich then describes the embankment on the river-
side, which is separated on the east from those of Amran
and the Kasr by a winding valley or ravine 150 yards
broad, the bottom of which is covered with nitrous efflores-
cence, and apparently never had any buildings on it. The
face of the mound to the river-side is abrupt and perpendic-
ular, having been cut by the action of the water, and ex-
poses at the top a number of urns filled with human bones,
which have not undergone the action of fire. The river
has encroached here, as fragments of masonry are seen in
the water beneath the bank.

The other mounds within this space deserve little atten-
tion, as they present no remarkable appearance ; but the
huge mass farthest north requires particular notice. It is
called by the Arabs Mukalibe or Mujelib6, the first of
which words means the "overturned," a term which, Mr.
Rich observes, is sometimes applied to the Kasr. The
second, Mujelibe, has been rendered "the place of captiv-
ity," from jalib, "a captive;" and is supposed to identify
the place as the prison in which the Israelites were con-
fined. It is of an oblong shape, but irregular in its sides,
which face the cardinal points — the northern one being 200
yards in length, the southern 219, the eastern 182, and
the western 136. Its height is still more unequal, but at
the highest point, which is the southeastern angle, it
measures 141 feet. Near the summit of the western face,
which is the least elevated part, there appears a low wall
with interruptions, built of unburned bricks mixed up with
chopped straw or reeds, and cemented with clay-mortar
of great thickness, having between every course a layer of
reeds. On the north side there are vestiges of a similar
construction. The southwestern angle is crowned by
something like a turret or lantern ; the other angles are in
a less perfect state, but may once have been similarly or-
namented. All its faces are furrowed by the weather, and
in some parts ploughed to a very great depth. The top is

1\, ^

114 RUINS OF BABYLON DESCRIBED.

covered with heaps of rubbish, in digging into some of
which layers of broken bricks cemented with mortar are
discovered, and entire ones with inscriptions may here and
there be fomid ; the whole being interspersed with innmner-
able fragments of pottery, bitumen, pebbles, vitrified scoria,
and even shells, bits of glass, and mother-of-pearl. There
were dens of wild beasts in several parts ; and Mr. Rich
perceived in some a strong smell like that of a lion.
Bones of sheep and other animals, with abimdance of por-
cupine quills, were seen in the cavities, with numbers of
bats and owls. It is a singular coincidence, that here, for
the first time, he became aware of the belief held by the
natives as to the existence of satyrs — animals like men
from the waist upward, but having the thighs and legs of
a goat. It is added, they hunt them with dogs, and eat
the lower part, abstaining from the upper portion of the
figure on account of its resemblance.

Having heard that a coffin of mulberry- wood, contain-
ing a human body, swathed in tight wrappers and partial-
ly covered with bitumen, had been observed in a passage
which leads into the interior of the mound, he set twelve
men to work, in order to uncover the cellar to which it
leads. ^They dug into a shaft or hollow pier sixty feet
square, lined with brick laid in bitumen and filled with
earth, in which they got a brass spike, some earthen ves-
sels, and a beam of date-tree ; and, after three or four days*
toil, and making their way through several passages, lined
chiefly with fine bricks, but exhibiting also some that were
unburned, they found a wooden coffin, containing a skeleton
in high preservation. Under the head of it was a round
pebble, on the outside a bird, and in the inside an ornament
of the same material, which had probably been suspended
to some part of the corpse. A little farther on was seen
the skeleton of a child. No doubt can be entertained of
their antiquity.

Such are the principal remains on the eastern side of the
river. Upon the western, Mr. Rich found but one object
worthy of much attention ; and, indeed, on looking to that
quarter from the height of the Mujelibe, none else was to
be seen. The ruin in question was the Birs Nimrod, by
far the most interesting and gigantic of the whole that un-
derwent his examination. This huge and venerable pile,

RUINS OF BABYLON DESCRIBED. 115

which is situated about six miles* southwest of Hillah, is
a mound of an oblong figure, the total circumference of
which is 762 yards. The eastern side is cloven by a deep
farroAV, and is not more than fifty or sixty feet high ; but
the opposite side rises in a conical figure to an elevation of
198, and is crowned by a solid pile of brickwork, thirty-
seven in height by twenty-eight in breadth, diminishing in
thickness to the top, which is broken and irregular. It is
rent by a fissure to a great extent, and is also perforated by
square holes, disposed in rhomboids. The fine bricks of
which it is built nave inscriptions on them ; and so admi-
rable is the cement by which they are fastened, and which
appears to be lime-mortar, that, though the layers are so
close together that it is difficult to discern what substance
is between them, it is nearly impossible to extract one of
them whole. The other parts of the summit are occupied
by immense fragments of brickwork, of no determinate
figure, tumbled together, and converted into solid vitrified
masses, as if they had undergone the action of the fiercest
fire, or been blown up with gunpowder, the layers being still
perfectly discernible : a curious fact, and one for which
Mr. Rich professes himself quite unable to account.

The whole of the mound on which those fragments are
deposited is itself a ruin, channelled by the weather, strew-
ed also with the usual debris, as well as with pieces of
black stone, sandstone, and marble. In the eastern face,
layers of unburned brick are plainly to be seen, but no
reeds were discernible in any part, and in the north side
may be observed traces of building exactly similar to the
brick pile. At the foot of the mound a step is observed,
scarcely elevated above the plain, but exceeding in extent,
by several feet each way, the tine or measured base ; and
there is a quadrangular enclosure aroimd the whole, as at
the Mujelibe, at once much more perfect and of greater
dimensions. At a trifling distance from the Birs, and par-
allel with its eastern face, is a mound, not inferior to that
of the Kasr in elevation, but much longer than it is broad.
On its top are two small oratories, one of which is called
Makam Ibrahim ul Khaleel ; and around the Birs to a con-
siderable extent are traces of smaller elevations.

This very remarkable ruin, m.ore striking from its utter

* By some of the officers of the Euphrates expedition it is considered
to be ten or eleven.

116 RUINS OF BABYLON DESCRIBED.

loneliness, burst upon Mr. Rich's view under circumstan-
ces of a peculiarly impressive nature. It was a stormy
morning, and dark clouds obscured every surrounding ob-
ject, till, when just within a favourable distance, they
broke, and discovered the Birs, with its picturesque
mound, relieved against the opening sky, yet enveloped
with a gauzy haze that added to the sentiment of mysteri-
ous awe which the sight of this venerable pile cannot fail
to inspire.

The mound of Al Heimar resembles the one now de-
scribed, though on a much smaller scale, and stands about
six miles east of Hillah, being generally included among
the Babylonian ruins. It is a conical mass of rubbish,
surmounted by a structure of brickwork, which, like that
of the Birs, but far inferior in style, evidently rises from
the foimdation. It is called Al Heimar from its red col-
our.

Several other remains are noticed in the vicinity of
these, the most remarkable of which are Nebbi Eyoub, the
tomb of the prophet Job, three leagues south of Hillah,
near the Euphrates, with a canal and two large mounds ;
and a collection of ruins, named Boursa by the natives,
near Jerbouiya, a village four leagues south from the same
town, but distant from the river. Two considerable ele-
vations are visible from the top of the Mujelibe, looking
southward, and another, called Towereij, to the northwest.
The governor also mentioned one as large as the Mujelibe,
thirty-five hours south of Hillah, where, a few years ago,
a cap or diadem, and some other articles of fine gold were
found. This was probably Mugheyer, of which we shall
hereafter have occasion to speak more at length.

Such is an abstract of Mr. Rich's account of these in-
teresting relics ; and, in the few observations which he has
offered regarding them, his object has rather been to ena-
ble his readers to form their own opinion, or to make their
own conjectures, than to pronounce any decision himself.
He has been followed by Mr. Buckingham and Sir Robert
Ker Porter, who have each of them given a detailed nar-
rative, not only of what they saw, but of the conclusions
they arrived at, respecting the various mounds which they
describe from personal inspection. The first-mentioned
gentleman spent only two days in his examination, the
latter ten j but, as the result very nearly corresponds with

• RUINS OF BABYLON DESCRIBED. liT

that attained by Mr. Rich, we shall only notice the points
on which any difference exists. Mr. Buckingham, indeed,
on all occasions, refers to the Memoir as to a document
vaiich cannot be improved in point of accuracy. He
i^dopts Rich's measurements generally, and quotes exten-
sively from his publication. He thinks the Mujelibe was
certainly enclosed by walls and ditches, but differs entire-
ly from those who have been disposed to regard it as the
ruins of the Temple of Belus ; being satisfied that it must
have comprised a variety of edifices, varying in form as
well as in use and materials. On its exterior surface are
the remains of walls sufficient to prove that its base is still
a solid building, very little enlarged by debris ; while the
summit, for similar reasons, affords ample evidence that
its elevation could never have much exceeded that of its
present height. All this goes to establish that it cannot be
the Tower of Belus, which must have left an infinitely
larger quantity of ruins. Its area, too, is larger than what
has been attributed to that celebrated structure, which,
besides, is stated by Diodorus, Strabo, and others, to have
been built of fire-burned bricks and bitumen, whereas the
chief part of the Mujelibe is composed of sun-dried ones,
cemented with clay mortar and layers of reeds or rushes.

Mr. Buckingham is rather disposed to consider this
mound as the old castellated palace mentioned by Diodo-
rus, which he supposes to have been built on the side of
the river opposite to the Temple of Belus.

The Kasr, distant from the Mujelibe somewhat more
than a mile, is, he observes, occasionally called Babel ;
and here he conjectures was the royal abode to which
were attached the hanging gardens. "Were it not that
the palaces are said to have been seated on opposite sides
of the river, I should have said, when looking towards the
Mujelibe, There was certainly the old palace, and here is
the site of the nev\^;" but this he acknowledges to be at va-
riance with all existing accounts, though he suggests that
the stream may have changed its course, and once passed
between them.

Viewing the mounds of Amran and the Kasr, connect-
ed together as they are with a broad and lofty ridge like a
causeway, and faced by an embankment on the edge of
the river, he is inclined to regard them as forming the
space and buildings which, according to Diodorus and

US RUINS OF BABYLON DESCRIBED. ^

Strabo, were surrounded by three walls, one of sixty stadia
in circuit, one of forty, and a third, of which the extent is
not mentioned. The lirst of these walls, he observes, may
be represented by the moimd which strikes off from the
east corner of the embankment, and which, he says, may
be traced at its northern end in an eminence appealing
northwest of the Mujelibe. The wall of forty stadia is
the circular ridge mentioned by Mr. Rich, joining the
southeastern corner of Amran, and coinciding nearly with
the southeast angle of the Mujelibe. The third he con-
siders to be represented bv the straight mounds E and F
of Mr. Rich's plan.*

After surveying this place, Mr. Buckingham and his
companion rode eastward across the country, to try if they
could find any traces of the walls of Babylon. Their
more definite object was Al Heimar, in their way to which
they saw many straight lines of mounds running in vari-
ous directions, some intersecting others, which that gen-
tleman identifies at once as being the remains of the recti-
linear streets of the old capital, because they rise too high
above the soil to be formed of the earth from the interve-
ning space, which was level with the surrounding land.
Had Mr. Buckingham been better acquainted with the na-
ture of the ancient canals of Babylonia, he would have
known that their banks generally rose above the surface ;
and that these mounds, therefore, more probably represent
aqueducts than houses, which were too insignificant botii
in point of size and material to have continued so long
where so many great fabrics have entirely disappeared.

This author enters into a long and elaborate disquisition
to prove that the mound at Al Heimar is the remains of
part of the wall of the ancient metropolis ; a conclusion
which we shall notice hereafter. As to the Birs Nimrod,
he estimates the mound at 200 feet high, and the brick
building on the top at fifty more. He describes four sta-
ges in this remarkable ruin, besides the step already men-
tioned, a little raised above the ground, and exceeding in
extent by several feet the true base of the building. With-
in this rises the lowest stage, showing a part of its materi-
al only where a pit has been dug or worn. These are of
sun-dried though firmly made brick, cemented with bitu-

* Rich's Journey to the Site of Babylon, <fec., p. 60.

RUINS OF BABYLON DESCRIBED. 119

men or mortar, but without reeds. The second stage pre-
sents at the northeast angle, which is exposed, a wall, ex-
ternally, at least, of burned brick. The third, which, like
the last, recedes in a dae proportion, is also formed of the
same material. Above all rises the fourth and last stage,
which is the tower-like pile. The summit of this, still
250 feet above its base, occupies, says he, nearly an area
of 100 feet, only one side of which is now erect, being a
wall of thirty feet in breadth, fifteen in thickness, and fifty
feet high. He adverts to the vitrified masses at its foot,
and seems to think that, had fuel been collected in the up-
per stage, and set on fire, it might have burst the fabric
asunder, and produced such effects ; alluding here to a
quotation by Sir Isaac Newton from Vitringa, in which
that author speaks of a Parthian king having, about 130
years B.C., burned many of the temples of the Babyloni-
ans with fire. Mr. Buckingham entertains no doubt that
this is really the remains of the Tower of Belus, notwith-
standing the objections that may be urged against it on the
ground of its locality or otherwise.

Sir R. K. Porter spent ten days at Hillah, great part of
which was employed in examining the ruins; and his ac-
counts, though in some respects more detailed, differ little
in substance from those furnished by Mr. Rich. He lim-
its the circumference of the Birs Nimrod to 694 yards ; but
the difference between this and the measurement of his
predecessor may probably have arisen from the difficulty
of deteraiining the exact limit of the base. The mound
he states to be 200 feet high, and the fragments of the brick
wall thirty-five. He remarked that in the upper part of the
masoniy, lime is exclusively used for cement, while bitu-
men has been confined to the lower parts of the building.
The bricks, too, used below were larger, so that in some
parts of the wall, exposed at the eastern angle, he found
them twelve inches and three quarters square, by four inch-
es and three quarters thick, and laid in mortar an inch
deep. In a portion of the wall at the northwest angle, the
•several courses, instead of being on a level, had a gentle
inclination ; those facing the north sloped towards the east,
and those on the western face towards the south. Still
lower down, a large hole afforded a peep into what Sir
Robert calls the pith of the building, which was composed
of large sun-dried bricks, cemented with clay-mortar mixed

120 RUINS OF BABYLON DESCRIBED.

with broken straw or reeds to the thickness of an inch
and a half. Hence he supposes that the whole interior of
the lower part is constructed of these materials, each stage
or story being cased with furnace-baked bricks, binding
the rest together; and that the bitumen was used only
near the foundation, where damp was likely to do inju-
ry. He entertains no doubt that the Birs is the ancient
Temple of Belus. Of the Mujelibe his description is quite
the same as that of Mr. Rich, but his measurements vary.
As to its height he nearly agrees, the southeast corner be-
ing the highest pcdnt ; but states that the north side meas-
ures 552 feet ; the south, 230; the east, 230 ; and the west,
551. In this there is probably some error, as the south,
instead of the west side, must correspond with the north-
ern one. He thinks it never rose much higher than at
present, and concludes that it must have been a platform
on which more magnificent buildings were meant to be
erected, as at Persepolis. He repudiates entirely the opin-
ion that this could have been the Tower of Belus, and in-
clines to consider it as the remains of the castellated
palace.

In the measurements of the Kasr he agrees in the main
with Mr. Rich, since whose visit, he remarks, the excava-
tions had greatly altered its external form. Here, also, he
observed the use of bitumen in the lower part of the build-
ing, but adds that the core or pith of these mounds is com-
posed of furnace-baked bricks cemented with lime. He
entertains no doubt that the two mounds of Amran and
the Kasr conjointly formed the new palace, of which the
first enclosure was the rampart-like mass that joins it to
the Mujelibe, and which Sir Robert lays down as forming
an angle with the apex pointing eastward instead of a cir-
cular sweep. The second and third enclosures he con-
ceives to be represented by the several ridges which divide
the enclosed space in a direction from north to south, and
subtending the angle, along the summit of one of which
the present road to Hillah runs. He considers Rennell's
idea of the river having ever flowed between the Mujelibe
and Kasr as totally chimerical.

At Al Heimar, Porter discovered nothing new. He vis-
ited certain mounds about a mile to the eastward, but con-
ceives that they could never have stood within the pre-
cincts cjr Babylon. He took considerable pains, also, in

RUINS OF BABYLON DESCRIBED. 121

searching for ruins on the western side of the river, and
found two groups of mounds between the village Anana
and the Birs. The largest of these was thirty-five feet
high, and the country was dotted with heaps. He asks
whether these can be the remains of the lesser palace.
He observed also, in proceeding round by the village Tha-
masia, that for a mile and tliree quarters before reaching
the Birs, the land was covered with the usual vestiges,
which continued to the foot of that ruin; and, relying on
this fact, he argues that the Birs did actually occupy a
space in the city.

Such is the amount of the three best descriptions of the
Babylonian remains, written by persons who, in our own
day, have enjoyed the most flivourable opportunities for
carr3ang on their investigations ; and it will be seen that,
upon comparing the delineations of ancient writers with
the actual state of the ruins, they have all come to the
conclusion that the Temple of Beius is represented by the
Birs Nimrod, and the palace and hanging gardens by the
xuins of the Kasr, in combination, perhaps, with those of
the Amran Hill.

To reconcile the positions of these two places, and the
present course of the Euphrates, with the details given by
Herodotus, Diodorus, Strabo, and others, appears impossi-
ble. Yet, from many circumstances, it seems more prob-
able that their writings have been inaccurately copied, or
imperfectly understood by us, than that the mounds in
question can represent any other buildings of the ancient
capital than those now specified. For, in the first place,
assuming that the Euphrates has changed its course, the
distance of from seven to eleven mJles at least — which we
find between the Birs* and the Kasr — can never be made
to correspond with that w^hich would appear to have exist-
ed between these celebrated edifices according to every
description of Babylon that has reached our times. On
the other hand, it must be admitted that no other structures
could have left remains so gigantic as those which have
just been described, and are presumed to represent the
Temple of Belus and the palace of Nebuchadnezzar.

So great, indeed, is the distance between the principal

* A late traveller, Colonel Chesney, asserts, that the distance of the
Birs from Hilhih is not loss than ten miles ; if this be so, it must be elev-
en, at least, (um t!io Iv.a,or.

K

122 RUINS OF BABYLON DESCRIBED.

moundSj that it seems impossible, by any process of meas-
urement, to bring them within the space assigned to the
wails of the old city. For, even supposing the enclosed
sections in each division of it — in one of which was ths
palace, in the other the Temple of Belus, as mentioned by
Herodotus — not to have been, mathematically speaking,
in the centre of their respective squares, it is scarcely pos-
sitle to wrest the sense so far as to imagine that either
building could have been placed in a corner or at an ex-
tremity of the town; and yet, if the Birs and Kasr are as-
sumed to represent the temple and palace described by the
Greek historian, such must needs be the case with one of
them, supposing the other to have been near the centre of
its division.

Some very ingenious antiquaries, in seeking for the boun-
daries of ancient Babylon, have been inclined to regard the
Birs as forming the soiuhwestern angle of the city ; Al Hei-
mar as that of the southeast ; the Towebah as represent-
ing the northeast angle ; Avhile the one to the northwest
must be looked for in the marshes that stretch westward
in that quarter. This, of course, would exclude the Birs
from the distinction, which others are disposed to bestow
Upon it, of representing the Temple of Belus, even if we
concede to the metropolis the utmost extent assigned by
any historian ; but there appears to be no ground for sup-
posing such a theory, nor does actual observation warrant
it. The writer of these pages examined great part of the
ground between Al Heimar and the river, in a line with
the Birs, and northward from Al Fleimar towards the To-
webah; and the result was, that though great part of the
country appeared covered with vestiges of former build-
iDgs, he not only failed in detecting any continuous course
of mounds, such as might indicate the direction of the
wall, but actually observed a greater number of these re-
mains eastward of the imaginary line than to the west of it.

Mr. Buckingham is disposed to regard that conical
mound as constituting a portion of the ramparts of Baby-
lon. He probably overlooked the distance between Al
Heimar and the Birs — not less than fifteen miles* — which
would either shut out his Tower of Belus altogether, or
make it nothing more than a corner bastion. Sir Robert

* According to Colonel Chesney, more than twenty.

I

KUiNS or TJABYLON DESCRIBED. 123

Porter, t^^ith better judgment, is disposed to exclude Al
Heimar and all the mounds eastward of it from the space
assigned by Herodotus ; but even this will not remove the
stubborn obstacle, with which every theory for reconciling
ancient accounts with modern appearances is met at the
threshold, the distance betv/een the principal masses of
ruins.

A good deal of stress has been laid upon the probability
of considerable changes having taken place in the course
of the Euphrates ; and there can be no doubt that such
have occurred, though in what direction and to wdiat ex-
tent has not hitherto been ascertained. Its encroachments
)n the mound, called by Mr. Rich " the embankment," by
wdiich so many sepulchral vases have been brought to
vievv^, is obvious ; and through the whole district, the re-
mains of mason-work on its sides, and even in the water,
bear witness to the former existence of building where the
river now flows. Colonel Chesney conceives that he saw
a former bed of the stream in the tract between its present
course and the site of the Birs ; and another gentleman,
who visited and examined that part of the country with
great care, has suggested that there is quite sufficient
space between the Birs and the mound of Ibrahim ul
Khaleel to admit of the river, or a branch of it, having run
between them. In this case, the positions of these two
mounds would identify them as the remains of the Tem-
ple of Belus and the palace, just in the proper situations at
either side of the stream. But the remains of old canals
to the eastward, between the Birs and Hillah, Avould seem
to indicate that the Euphrates must of old, as well as now,
have run in that direction ; and, at all events, we should be
equally at a loss what to make of the gigantic ruins on the
present eastern bank — the Mujelibe, the Kasr, and others
— which must represent some stately fabrics pertaining to
the city.

Another conjecture has been hazarded with regard to
l]]e Birs, namely, that it may be the remains of a temple
of the ancient Borsippa or Bursif, which is mentioned as
being near ancient Babylon, if not once forming a section
of it. In this place, after the downfall of the Empire, and
partial destruction of the great city, a number of the Chal-
dean priests and artificers took up their abode; and thither
also, we learn, Labynetus fled from Cyrus, after the con-
quest by that prince.

124 RUINS OF BABYLON DESCRIBED.

The name Bursif, so easily passing into Birs, seems to
favour this idea, which would also account for the other-
wise unintelligible appellation by which this remarkable
ruin is known ; for the word Birs has no signification in
Arabic or the cognate languages.

Mr. Rich, it is true, alludes to a collection of mounds,
four or five hours south of Hillah, near the village Jer-
bouiyah, known by the name of Boursa, which may lay
claim to being the Borsippa mentioned by Strabo and oth-
er writers. But Buckingham casts some doubt on the po-
sition, and even on the existence of this Boursa; for it ap-
pears, that of all his escort, there was only one man who
pretended to any acquaintance with the place, and even
be had no clear notions respecting it. Sir R. Porter men-
tions a station called Boursa Shishara, two hours from
Kiahya Khan, on the way from Bagdad to Hillah, where
is a true Babylonian mound thirty feet high, with a layer
of reeds between each course of bricks ; and he speculates
on the possibility of this having been the Borsippa where
Alexander halted on his way from Ecbatana to Babylon.

But, if the Birs be pronounced a relic of Borsippa and
not of Babylon, where are we to look for the Temple of
Belus, which, of all the buildings in that metropolis, must,
from its uncommon height, have left the most imposing ru-
ins 1 It has been shown that neither the Mujelibe nor
Kasr can pretend to be its representative, and there is none
other to fall back upon.

There is, indeed, no small difficulty in reconciling the
accounts of historians respecting the state of this celebra-
ted structure from time to time. Herodotus, v/ho describes
it as an eyewitness 430 years B.C., though he alludes to
the destruction of its walls by Darius, and the partial pil-
lage of its shrines by Xerxes, speaks of it as by no means
dilapidated ; on the contrary, he describes its two walls as
still existing, the outer one castellated and 200 cubits high,
and the Temple of Belus as being quite perfect and undes-
ecrated, except by the plunder of its golden image by the
Persian prince. Yet barely a century afterward, Alexan-
der, according to Arrian, found it so encumbered by ruins
that 10,000 men were not able to remove them in two
months; while Berosus, a priest of Belus, who flourished
at the same period, writes a history of the Chaldean cos-
mogony chiefly from the allegorical representations which

RUINS OF BABYLON DESCRIBED. 125

he saw on the walls of this very temple. That it must,
however, have suliered greatly prior to this time, is certain ;
and, in tracing the progress ol decay, we have witnessed a
rapidity of destruction, which is the more impressive, as it
corresponds so accurately with all the denunciations of di-
vine wrath which were hurle(J against the sinful and devo-
ted city. But Providence works by instruments, and it is
striking indeed to trace the Almighty hand in the human
agents who overwhelmed that mighty .city by a rapid suc-
cession of attacks ; nor need we be surprised at the disap-
pearance of a great part of her ruins, when we reflect that
out of them were built, in succession, Seleucia and Ctesi-
phon, Coche, Cufa, Kerbelah, Meshed Ali, Bagdad old and
new, besides many smaller towns and villages. No won-
der that, when the more solid materials were carried off,
the mud and sun-burned bricks, exposed to the action of
rain and wind, should crumble into the soil whence they
were taken.

A late and very acute traveller, Mr. Ainsworth, whose
work has already been referred to, has suggested a change
of names for the several ruins, which he thinks will sim-
plify the investigation. The Mujelibe, he says, ought to
be called Babel; and he applies the former term to the
Kasr, which last appellation he again bestows upon the
mound called by Mr. Rich the embankment. We do not
know to what extent he prosecuted his discoveries upon
the spot ; but it appears to us that, had he inquired minute-
ly, he would scarcely have found grounds on which to rest
his nev/ nomenclature. We think he would rather have
adopted the conclusion held by other travellers, that the
northern mound could never have been much higher than
it now is, and, consequently, that it could not be the Tower
of Belus ; while certainly there is a strong internal evi-
dence that the Kasr, called by him the Mujelibe, repre-
sents the palace and hanging gardens. We think him
greatly in error, too, in the elevation which he assigns to
the several mounds : sixty-four feet to the northernmost, or
Mujelibe of Rich; twenty-eight feet to the Kasr of the
same author; twenty-three feet to the Amran ibn Ali.
In these there can be no doubt of his being mistaken.
The Birs, according to him, belonged to the most westerly
quarter of Babylon, if not to a distinct city, and is there-

126 RUINS OF BABYLON DESCRIBED.

fore more likely to represent Borsippa than the Tower of
Belus.

There is one fact in connexion with the most remarka-
ble of these relics which we cannot dismiss without a few
more observations. All travellers who have ascended the
Birs have taken notice of the singular heaps of brickwork
scattered on the summit of the mound, at the foot of the
remnant of wall still standing. To the writer of this vol-
ume they appeared the most striking of all the ruins. That
they have undergone the most violent action of fire, is evi-
dent from the complete vitrification which has taken place
in many of the masses. Yet how a heat sufficient to pro-
duce such an efiect could have been applied at such a
height from the ground, is unaccountable. They now lie
upon a spot elevated 200 feet above the plain, and must
have fallen from some much more lofty position, for the
structure which still remains, and of which they may be
supposed to have originally formed a part, bears no mark
of fire. The building originally cannot have contained
any great proportion of combustible materials; and to
produce so intense a heat by substances carried to such an
elevation would have been almost impossible, from the
want of space to pile them on. Nothing, we should be in-
clined to say, short of the most powerful action of electric
fire, could produce the complete yet circumscribed fusion
which is here observed ; for that the melted masses have
had some connexion with the building yet remaining can-
not be doubted. Of such a catastrophe we have no record,
unless we accept as such the prophecy of Jeremiah,*
" and her high gates shall be burned with fire;" but there
are many events connected with the history of this city
which remain in total obscurity, and this, we are inclined
to think, must be placed among them. These fragments
are of various hues, brown, yellow, and gray. Although
lused into a solid mass, the courses of bricks are still visi-
ble, identifying them with the standing pile above ; but so
hardened have they been by the power of heat, that it is
almost impossible to break oflf the smallest piece ; and,
though porous in texture, and full of air-holes and cavi-
ties, like other bricks, they require, on being submitted to
the stone-cutter's lathe, the same machinery as is used to

* Chap. 11., 58.

RUINS OF BABYLON DESCRIBED. 127

dress the hardest pebbles. Their specific gravity is very-
great, and they are capable of receiving a very good pol-
ish.

From the statements now made, it is obvious that, how-
ever much has been written on the subject, the locality of
ancient Babylon is as yet but very imperfectly understood :
a circumstance which arises chiefly from the difficulty of
residence, and of making the necessary observations upon
the spot, so that no traveller hitherto has been able to d(v
vote to the examination of the ruins them.selves, as well as
of the circumjacent country, th a t time and attention w^hicli
are indispensable for illustrating so obscure a subject. But
matters will probably not remain long thus. Something
has already been done towards removing the obstacles that
have hitherto existed: the Euphrates expedition has fa-
miliarized the Arabs on the banks of that river with the
sight of Europeans; and we know that even now there are
in those regions travellers peculiarly well qualified by in-
telligence, zeal, and perseverance for prosecuting these in-
teresting investigations. Hence there is good ground to
hope that the secrets of ancient Mesopotamia and Babylo-
nia, historical, geographical, and antiquarian, will ere long
be laid at least as open to the present generation as those of
Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

128 OTHER RUINS OF BABYLONIA AND CHALDEA.

CHAPTER VII.

Other Ruins of Babylonia and Chaldea,

Akkerkoof. — The Site of Accad. — TJmgeyer — According- to some 0])inions,
che ancient Orchoe. — Jibel Sanam. — Teredon. — Workha. — Sunkhera.
— Yokha.— Til Eide.— Guttubch.— Iskhuriah.— Zibliyeh.— Tel Si])lir,
&c. — Waasut or Cascara. — Seleucia and Ctesiphon. — Tauk e Kesra.
— Cupi(tity of a Pacha. — Kalla mal Kesra. — Opis, Situation of, — Me-
dian Wall. — Traditions regarding- its Use, — Sittace. — Sheriat el Bei-
tha. — Samarra. — The Malwiyah. — Larg-e Mosque. — Kaf or Chaf. —
Giaoureah. — Kadesia. — Statue of black Basalt. — Tecreet. — Al Hadhr
or Hatra. — Felugia. — New Fields of Enterprise for Explorers

Next to the ruins just described, and as certainly con-
temporary with them, we must notice the isolated but enor-
mous pile of Akkerkoof or Aggerkoof, called also Tel Nim-
rod, and by the Turks Nimrod Tepessi. Sir R. Porter
says the former name is only applied to the district around
it. It is six miles from Bagdad, and stands upon a hillock
that slopes gently upward from the level of the plain to a
considerable height, above which it rises to an elevation
of about 125 feet. Its general resemblance to the Birs
Nimrod struck Mr. Rich forcibly ; and the mass of the
building, which is solid, is composed of unburned bricks
mixed with chopped straw, having layers of reeds two
inches thick between every five or six courses. These
reeds protrude from the weather-worn edges of the bricks,
communicating to the profile of the edifice a singular ser-
rated look, visible from a distance. In appearance they
are still perfectly fresh, differing only from those that grow
in the circumjacent marshes in being a little darker in col-
our. As in the Birs, there are also here square holes run-
ning through the body of the pile, as if to afford ventilation.
The shape is now so irregular, ov/ing to the effect of time,
that its original form can scarcely be detected ; but it
seems to have been a square, the sides of w^hich faced the
cardinal points. The circumference, taken above the
/Qound of rubbish, is 300 feet, and the diameter at the lar-
gest part about 100. The mound consists of loose sandy
earth, probably drifted by the wind, mingled with fragments

OTHER RUINS OF BABYLONIA AND CHALDEA. 129

of brick, pottery, and half- vitrified clay. Like the Birs, it
has a mound of debris on the eastern side ; and this is sup-
posed to indicate the site of Accad, one of the cities of Nirn-
rod : a conjecture which is thought to be supported by its
position with reference to Babylon, by the name of Akker-
Koof, and the tradition which ascribes it to the mighty hunt-
er. Embankments, and the usual debris, testify to its hav-
' ing been a considerable town ; while its vicinity to Bagdad
accounts sufficiently for the disappearance of its furnace-
bricks and all transportable materials.

The remaining antiquities of Babylonia will not detain
us long, as, though some may represent places of impor-
tance, they do not possess the great interest which attaches
to the capital or to Nineveh. V/e shall mention a few of
the most remarkable.

Following the course of the Euphrates, we find upon its
right bank, about twenty-five miles southeast of Semava,
and ten or eleven from the river-bank, the most perfect ^-
mains of one of those lofty edifices which, like the Birs and
Akkerkoof, are supposed to have been Chaldean temples.
It is called Mugeyer or Umgeyer, which in Arabic signi-
fies " the place of bitumen ;" and as it has not as yet, we be-
lieve, been described, if, indeed, it has ever before been vis-
ited by any modern tra.veller, we shall here introduce an
account of it derived from personal inspection. It is a
huge quadrangular building, rising to the height of eighty
or a hundred feet above the plain, from a great mass of di-
lapidated matter. The lower half was hid from view by
these ruins, out of which the mason-work emerged in two
distinct stories. The sides, which faced the cardinal
points, were on the west full sixty yards in length, and on
the north about forty; there being no means at hand for
more accurate measurement. The structure resembles
that of the Birs, but there w^as no such fine masonry as
appears on the top of the latter. The bricks were coarser
and softer; many were marked with the arrow-headed
character, and in most cases laid together in very thick
beds of bitumen, which bore the impression of the matted
reeds. The workmanship, on the whole, was very good,
and much of it quite perfect, as there have not been any
materials abstracted from it as at Babylon. The mass is
pervaded with small holes as is the Birs; and a circular
one w3^ observed on the top, at present filled with rubbish,

Li

130 OTHER RUINS OF BABYLONIA AND CilALDEA,

but which may possibly descend into the building. The
northerri and western laces exhibited two distinct stories,
the upper diminishing in extent as in some of the Indian
pagodas, which it a good deal resembled ; but the bricks
were so altered by long exposure to the weather, that it
was impossible to 'pronounce whether those that now met
the eye constituted part of the origuiaf outside coating or
not. Looking from the top, vestiges of a wall of no great
thickness could be traced, apparently forming an enclosure
to the building. Its north face, the only one at all perlect,
measured lib long paces; of the rest, only the corners
were visible, and near the southeastern angle rose a pretty
large conical moand, like the ruins of a bastion. There
were many others about it, especially towards the south-
east; and"^the earth was extensively covered with ruins,
among Avhich were fragments of sepulchral vases sticking
out of the ground, flints, pebbles, and numerous pieces of
old copper. The whole character of this edifice testifies
that it must be coeval with the Birs. Mr. xlinsv/orth has
pronounced it to be the ancient Orchoe of the Chaldeans,
of the situation of which we know little ; but there is rather
more reason for believing that city to be represented by the
ruins of Workha, in Chaldea Proper, and to which we
shall soon allude. Mugeyer is also believed to stand on
the banks of the ancient Pallacopas ; but the exact course
of that canal has not been traced in modern times, and there
was nothing seen from the top of the ruin to confirm the
idea. There were, however, one or two lofty mounds ob-
served to the westward, bearing much the appearance of
the place itself when first seen above the horizon ; but cir-
cumstances did not permit us to visit them.

Of the remains to the south and eastward of this place
little is known, although there is every reason to believe
that relics abound in the course of the'^Pallaeopas. Jibel
Sanam, which marks the site of the ancient Teredon, a city
built by Nebuchadnezzar at the mouth of that outlet of the
Euphrates, is described as a true Babylonian mound of
prodigious size, lofty, and of infinitely greater extent than
the Birs, but in other respects resembling those already de-
scribed.

The territory of ancient Chaldea, extending from De-
wannieh and the Euphrates to the Boo je Heirat Canal, is
thickly dotted with immense mounds, among which that

OTHER RUINS OF BABYLONIA AND CHALDEA. 131

of Workha rises pre-eminent; but, from the difficulty of
approaching it. owing to the surrounding lakes and marsh-
es, it has never been examined. We could descry this ele-
vation at a distance of about four miles, but were unable
to reach It. Not far from AYorkha is seen Sunkhera, one
of a large number of mounds forming a sort of circle, built
of fire-burned bricks ; the whole surface being strewed with
scorios, agates and carnelian fragments, and bits of cop-
per, but no glass. The chief one was very large, and from
fifty to sixty feet high ; and the entire circle must have
been more than a mile in diameter. The surface of the
land around it was irregular, raised in heights and hollows;
but whether or not these were sites of buildings could not
be ascertained. In the area were traces of foundations, a
square consisting of houses and courts, which, as they do
not rise above the level of the soil, are probably of recent
date. The rest Avas undoubtedly ancient. To tlie north
and east were several clusters of mounds, the largest of
which was called Yokha, of considerable size, and in the
centre of a wide tract of debris. To the northwest of this
was observed a lofty p3^ram id al mass called Til Eide, sur-
rounded by the relics of old habitations.

Six or eight miles northeast of this last, our attention
was attracted by an elevation, which belonged to a place
that must have been of very great magnitude in its day.
It appeared to have been a quadrangle of at least five or
six miles each way, and of which the building in question
formed the northeastern corner. It w^as a structure like a
great bastion, formed of fire -burned bricks of the usual
size, with la3'ers of reeds between each tier as at the Mu-
jelibe, and rising to a height of at least fifty feet from the
plain, including the tvppeh or hillock of ruins out of which
it springs. It was split from top to bottom into four pie-
ces, and each opening afforded the means of entrance into
the interior, which Avas partially hollowed out ; but wheth-
er by original construction or effected by the rains, is un-
certain.

From the summit may be traced, by irregular heaps and
fragments, the course of the northern and eastern sides,
converging at right angles to each other. The greater part
of the area was bare, as is usual in such cases, and dotted
all over with the black camps of Arab tribes. Following
the line of the north wall for nearly five miles, the country

132 OTHER RUINS OF BABYLONIA AND CHALDEA.

on the norlhern side appeared also covered with debris,
and a boundless extent of them stretched to the west of the
square space ; besides which, there are huge ridges about
the same distance to the south, which the natives call
Hummam. They gave no name to the ruins in general,
but assigned to the country at large the appellation of
Guttubeh. The evidences of an extensive population in
former times were more remarkable here, perhaps, than in
any other part of the Jezirah.

A large portion of this district is low, and, to a great ex-
tent, periodically overflowed, so that the remains were less
conspicuous ; but about thirty miles northward the mounds
again become frequent. Among the most remari^ahle are
those of Iskhuriah, not far from the Tigris ; and Zibliyeh,
southwest of the former, nearly half way between the two
rivers. The first is a name applied by the Arabs to a huge
group, of which the highest may rise to twenty-five or
ttiirty feet above the plain, and are covered with immense
quantities of scoriae and slag-like stones resembling the re-
fuse of a brick furnace. These are either black, porous,
hard, and heovy, or composed of yellow vitrified matter,
being, in some cases, several feet square by six inches
thick. The mounds themselves, except in this particular,
are not very remarkable ; but the size and multitude of the
slabs were perplexing. It was told us that they are formed
into millstones and various other articles; and, in truth,
they might be supposed to have constituted some peculiar
manufactory. The Arab name implies a " stony" place ;
and the tradition regarding them is, that this was the coun-
try of Lot (^Loot), and that Heaven in its wrath showered
them down on the wicked inhabitants. Looking from the
top of the highest of these mounds, the whole region seemed
covered with others of various sizes, insomuch that there
was scarcely a quarter of the horizon without a height of
some sort, all of which must be the remains of towns or
villages.

The line of march, adopted from a camp of the Zobeid
Arabs where we had halted for a night, led, for twelve or
fourteen miles, over a country littered with ruins, to a
group which rose in a circular space covered with bricks
and potsherds. Of these, the principal objects were four

Eyramidal mounds, rising abruptly to a height of forty or
fty feet, and built of sun-dried brick. Two or three miles

OTHER RUINS OF BABYLONIA AND CHALDEA. 135

distant from these was a stiil lofcier structure, consistiDg of
a tower or bastion-shaped building, about eighty leet in
height. The exterior of it was formed of sun-dried brick,
like the Mujelibe, and pierced with holes ; but the interior
was composed of furnace-baked bricks, like those of the
Birs and similar edifices. The walls were plainly perceiv-
ed in one part, and the external coating of sun-dried brick
was deeply furrowed by the rains. The Arabs called it
Zibliyeh, and gave a trivial name to each of the lesser
mounds. The traces of a very large canal and two or
three smaller ones, crossing from north to south near this
place, showed that the district had been extensive and well
cultivated.

These are but a very few of the relics of antiquity tliat
lie scattered over this comparatively small tract, to which
might be added many more, such as Tel Siphr, Atlah, Tel
Medinah, Jera Supli, Mizisthah, Jayithah, and Abu-ghu-
root, proving that this land must have once borne a dense
population, and now possibly represents Beana, Chunduca,
Chumana, Caesa, Birande, Bethana, Tiialme, Forthuda,
Jamba, Rhajia, P^halta, Cliiriphe, and others merely men-
tioned by Ptolemy and Cellarius.

Waasut, the capital of the ancient province of Cascara,
has la^tely been visited by two travellers, Lieutenant Orms-
by and Captain Mignon ; but neither appears to have dis-
covered any remains worthy of notice. It consists of Ibrty
or fifty wretched houses, built of mud and fragments of
brick taken from the old city, which last is strewed around
in the shape of sand-covered hillocks, without a single ob-
ject to give interest to the scene.

The next ruins that demand our attention are those of
Seleucia and Ctesiphon or Ul Madayn, on opposite sides
of the Tigris, nineteen miles below Bagdad. Of the first,
little indeed is left to tell what it was, if we except part of
the north and south walls, of great thickness, and built of
unburned bricks, and an immense extent of mounds, covered
with debris. Of Ctesiphon, besides a portion of the wall,
which resembles that of Seleucia in fabric, there remains
only one very remarkable object. It is known as the Tauii:
e Kesra, or the Arch of Khoosroo, and may be regarded as
the facade of a very magnificent building that appears never
to have been completed. It consists of a wall 284 feet
long, rather more than 100 feet high, and nineteen feet

136 OTHER RUINS OF BABYL0^*1A AND CHALDEA.

thick at the bottom, ornamented, not in ver}^ good taste,
With four tiers of pilasters, iiaving niches Uke windows
rising above one another — the higher ones diminishing in
height and increasing in numbers towards the top. In the
centre there is an archway, which rises to a point, the apex
of which is 101 feet from the ground, and of eighty ieet
span. This gives entrance to v/hat has been a noble hall,
153 feet long, of which the arched roof remains in great
part entire, though there are in it some extensive chasms.
it is plastered and perforated with holes, from whence tra-
dition tells that in the time of Khoosroo there hung a hun-
dred silver lamps. These, no doubt, disappeared at the
period when Ctesiphon was sacked by the Arabs; but
there still remained" a ring of yellow metal in the ceiling,
near the centre of the arch, which tempted the cupidity of
a pacha of Bagdad. He first caused his troops to fire at it
with musket balls, which shattered the roof; but this expe-
dient failing, he sent an Arab up who contrived to run a
rope through the ring, and this being yoked to a number of
bulTaloes, it was at length torn down, and proved to be of
simple brass.

I'here are also the remains of a fort, now intersected by
the Tigris, called l^allah mal Kesra, in which are found
broken sepulchral urns or jars; and, half an hour's march
distant from the Tank, there is a space of 1450 yards
square, surrounded by walls of sun-dried bricks, in which
are likewise seen shattered vases. It is called iDy the na-
tives the Garden of Kesra or Khoosroo.

The next points of interest to the antiquary and geogra-
pher, particularly as connected with the celebrated retreat
of the Ten Thousand, are the site of Opis and the line of
the Median wall. That city is said by Xenophon to have
stood on the northern side of the Physcus, where the stream
was 100 feet broad, having a bridge over it ; and we know
from other sources that it was also on the Tigris. Now
Dr, Ross, who made a journey to Samarra, the ruins of a
Moslem city on the latter river, bounded by two branches
of the Nahrawan canal, found the angle between the north-
western bank of the Physcus and the left bank of the Ti-
gris covered with very ancient mounds, which, in common
with some other inquirers well informied on these subjects,
he believes to be the remains of Opis. But Mr. Ainsworth,
who conceives that the Tigris has shifted its bed a good

OTHER RUINS OF BABYLONIA AND CHALDEA. 137

deal towards the northeast, looks for the ancient junction
of it with the Athem farther west than the present point of
union, where there are certain ruins called Babelin (the
second Babel) ; and these he is inclined to regard as mark-
ing the site of the Opis recorded in the Anabasis and in the
campaigns of Alexander.

Strabo maintains that the Median wall was to be found
on the Tigris as high as the Opis ; and such must in all
probability have been the case, as, had it touched the river
lower down, it would have cut through the Dijeil Canal,
an ancient work, which has its derivation from that stream
immediately below Samarra. According to Xenophon,
it was said to extend twenty parasangs (about seventy
miles) in length ; and in the account of Julian's expedi-
tion, it is mentioned as originating at Macepracta. Now
the distance from the point of junction of the Athem with
the Tigris to Feiugia, which represents the ancient Mace-
practa, is just about seventy miles ; and both Dr. Ross, in
his visits to that part of the country in 1836, and Lieuten-
ant Lynch of the Euphrates expedition, examined a con-
tinuous mound or embankment which, there can be little
doubt, is the remains of this celebrated wall. The former
describes it as a single straight and solid mound, twenty-
five long paces in thickness, and from thirty-five to forty
feet high, running in a line from north-northeast { east,
to south-southwest \ west, as far in the latter direction as
the eye can trace it, but cut off by the Dijeil Canal about
half a mile from the point where he discovered it. On its
western fice there are bastions at every fifty-five paces,
and on the same side a deep ditch twenty-seven yards
broad. The Bedouins told him that it ran in the same line
across the country till it touched two mounds named Ram-
elah, on the 'Euphrates, some hours above Feiugia ; and
that in places far inland it is built of brick, in some points
worn down to the level of the desert. Where Dr. Ross
saw it, near the village of Jibbarah, it was constructed of
the common pebbles of the country, imbedded in a tena-
cious lime cement. The Arab tradition is, that it was
built by INimrod to keep oif the people of Nineveh, with
whom he was at feud. The land in the vicinity presents
numerous remains of ancient buildings; among \vhich the
doctor mentions particularly those of Istabolat as being of

138 OTHER RUINS OF BABYLONIA AND CHALDEA.

considerable extent and very perfect.* Lynch confirms
this account of the Median wall, along the side of which,
he says, he galloped for more than an hour without finding
any appearance of termination .t

This vicinity is thickly strewed with ancient ruins. The
banks of the Athem, and Tigris, and the Nahrawan were
also found by Ross to be crowded with the relics of exten-
sive towns and cities ; and among these, on the right bank
of the Tigris, must be sought the Sittace of Xenophon. It
was twenty parasangs below Opis, and fifteen stadia from
the river; and Mr. Ainsworth conceives that he has dis-
covered it in an extensive series of mounds and embank-
ments, consisting of the usual materials, and stretching
from " Sheriat el Beitha" westward, almost to Akkerkoof;
from which, however, these v/orks are for most part of the
year separated by the overflow of the Euphrates.

The ruins of Samarra, the Sarra-manraa of Abuifeda,
and the Labab,are extensive, and denote that it must have
been a great city in the time of its prosperity, which was
during the reign of the Caliph Motassem, its founder.
The most remarkable specimen is an immense conical
tower of brick, called the Malwiyah, upward of 100 feet
in height ;t to the top of which a man could ascend on.
horseback, by means of a spiral path running round its
outside. It has also a stair in the interior. Close to it are
the remains of a jameh or mosque, of great dimensions,
to which the other is said to have served for the minaret.

It is a quadrangular building, 264 paces by 160, having
walls eleven spans thick, with turrets at short intervals,
and a large bastion at each corner. There are five doors
in the largest and three in the smallest sides ; and here, in
the time of the caliphate, the whole population of Samar-
ra used to assemble for prayer. There are also the re-
mains of the caliph's palace, magnificent walls, arches,
gates, subterranean chambers, and courts, built of brick
and mortar, little of which, however, is perfect except the
great entrance, consisting of a very lofty arch, with small-
er ones on either side.

Besides these, there are Til Allee, a high, sloping mass
of rubbish; a group of mounds named Kaf or Chaf, v/hich
the Arabs believe to be the abode of the seven sleeper,,

' Journal of Geoj^raphical Society, vol. ix., p, 446, t Ibid., p. 473
t Rich considered it to be nearly 200 feet.

OTHER RUINS OF BABYLONIA AND CHALDEA. 139

and of their dog, which is occasionally heard howling on
a Friday night; and Giaoareah, or the palace of the infi-
dels, a large assemblage of rubbish and brick, al] of which
are of a date far more ancient than the Mohammedan era.
At Gaim, six or seven miles south of Samarra, is seen a
square pyramidal building of rough stone and mortar,
from fifty to sixty feet in height, which marks the point of
the lowest derivation of the Nahrav/an Canal. Opposite
to this, on the western bank of the Tigris, are Kadesia, a
perfect heptagon fort, with bastions at every angle, and
seventeen smaller ones, with a gate on each face, the dis-
tance from one bastion to another being ten or twelve
yards. It is built of mud and sun-burned bricks, four inch-
es thick, and the v/alls even now are twenty feet high.
Around it the country is strewed with relics, as well as the
banks of the Tigris on both sides. From a part of these
ruins was taken the lov/er portion of a statue of black ba-
salt in a sitting posture, resembling the figures at Persepo-
lis, and which is now in the possession of Colonel Tay-
lor, British resident at Bagdad. The Arabs say that the
upper part of it is still in the water beneath the bank from
whence the other fragment was dug.

At Kadesia there was formerly a great glass manufacto-
ry, the slag of which is scattered about in large hillocks,
slill affording crystals of almost every colour. The work-
men are said to have been brought from Kadees, a village
of Merve in Khorasan, from whence, also, is derived the
name of the town in Mesopotamia.

About thirty miles north'by west from Samarra lies Te-
creet, which has been already noticed ; and at two days'
journey from thence are the ruins of Al Hadhr, the an-
cient Hatra, which have lately been twice visited at great
personal risk by the indefatigable Doctor Ross, who thus
describes them. They lie about thirty miles west by north
of the ruin Kalah Sherkat, on the right bank of the "Tigris,
nearly ninety miles in a straight line north-northwest of Te-
creet, and two from the western bank of the Tharthar Riv-
. er (the ancient Thirtha). They occupy a space of ground
I upward of a mile in diameter, enclosed by a circular wall of
' immense thickness, with square bastions or towers, at about
sixty paces from each other, built of large regularly-cut
stones. The upper part of the curtains have in most places
been thrown down, along with some of the bastions ; but

140 OTHER RUINS OF BABYLONIA AND CHALDEA.

most of the latter are tolerably entire, having each vaulted
chambers towards the city. Outside the wall is a broad
and very deep ditch, now dry ; and at the interval of 100
or 150 paces is a thick rampart, at present only a few feet
high, which goes round the town. At some distance beyond
the fortilications on the eastern and northern side stand
two loily mounds with square towers on them.

Nearly in the centre of the town stands a quadrangle,
enclosed by a strong thick wall, the sides of which, 300
paces each, face the four cardinal points, and are defend-
ed, like the exterior v/all, with bastions. This square is in-
tersected in the centre by a range of ruinous buildings,
comprising a maze of chambers, gateways, and a single
pillar, reduced to thirty feet in height. Between these ed-
ifices and the eastern wall the ground is clear; but the
space towards the west is partly occupied by a huge pile
of building fronting the east, and part of a wing facing the
north. The ground story of these alone remains perfect,
and consists of a series of vaulted halls of two sizes, from
thirty to sixty feet in height, and above twelve in breadth.
The whole, like every other part of the city, is built of a
brownish-gray limestone, each piece being so closely fitted
in its place, that, if cement has been used, it cannot be
seen ; and almost every one composing the great pile has
cut on it one or more letters, seemingly the builder's
marks. The chambers are adorned v/ith variously sculp-
tured work, each stone at the spring of the arch having
carved on it a human bust in high relief. Others bear fig-
ures of females, apparently in the air, with crossed leet
and loose flying robes, and cornices of foliage and other
devices beneath. In one chamber there is a line of eight
bulls with human heads ; and in others, griffons, serpents,
and other animals, some of which, Ross thinks, bear evi-
dence of having been touched by a Greek or Roman chisel.

The dwelling-houses appear to have been confined to
the western part of the city ; and, though now merely
mounds and hillocks, the doctor believes that an attentive
examination might ascertain the site of every street and
square. A canal crosses the whole eastward of the cen-
tral space; and the dreary aspect of certain detached
buildings scattered thickly beyond it led him to conclude
that it was the Necropolis. He looked eagerly for the
statues said by the Arabs to exist here, but could discover

OTHER RUINS OF BABYLONIA AND CHALDEA. 141

none; and when he desired a Bedouin to point him out the
statue of the woman milking a cow, which had been par-
ticularly mentioned, he led him without hesitation to the
bull monsters just described. Hence he doubts greatly
the existence of any figures here, at least above ground.*

This Hatra appears to have been held during the wars
between the Romans and Parthians by an Arab chief, call-
ed by the writers of those days Barsuma, who took part
with the latter against the invaders. Built upon a mount-
ain and strongly Ibrtified, it is said to have resisted the at-
tacks of Trajan and Severus. According to report, it rose
to a degree of wealth and power that attracted the cupidi-
ty of the last of those emperors, who led an army against
it; but, though he spared no means for reducing it to sub-
jection, his exertions proved vain. It probably owed its
riches to commerce, being, like Pabiiyra, an entrepot ia
the midst ot a wide desert.

When Niebuhr passed this way, he was assured by some
Arabs of the Tai tribe, that among the ruins of Ai Hadr
there are to be found multitudes of petrified bodies ; and
they even pretended to have themselves seen those of muf-
tic, cadis, women, and children in every possible attitude,
wdio, according to the tradition of the place, had all been
turned into stone in a single night. It is possible, as the
traveller suggests, that this may be an exaggerated account
of sculptures which might be well worthy of a visit.

The neighbourhood of Felugia, where is found the south-
ern termination of the Median wall, abounds also in vesti-
ges of ancient habitations ; the remains, we presume, of
the Perisaboras of Julian's expedition, or Ancobar of Ptol-
emy. Nor can there be any doubt that the wild realm of
Mesopotamia, from this wail to the line of the Khabour,
would in like manner, if explored, prove fertile in discov-
eries indicative of a teeming population wherever the soil
admitted of culture : but as yet no traveller has had op-
portunity, or been tempted to brave the perils of the A rabs
and the desert, in order to enter upon this new field of en-
le- prise.

* Journal of Geographical Society, vol. ix., p. 467-470.

142 NINEVEH AND ITS ENVIRONS.

CHAPTER VIII.

Nineveh and its Environs.

Ancient Nineveh nowhere particularly described in Sacred Writ. — Ac-
count of by Diodovus. — Its Walls, — Incidentally mentioned by Herodo-
tus.— By the Prophets Jonah and Nahum as an exceedingly great and
profligate City. — iVIr. Rich's Account of its Ruins. — Visible Remains. —
Tel Koyunjnk. — Sepulchral Chamber and Inscription, &c. — Nebbi Yu-
iius. — Inscribed Gypsum — And Antiques, — Mosque in Memory of the
Prophet Jonah. — Conjectures. — Strabo's Account of the City's Extent.
— Mounds of Yaremjee, Zembii Tepessi, &c. — Vostig-es not numerous.
— Mounds of Nimrod or AI Athur. — Larissa of Xenophon ? — Resin?
— Remains. — Pyramid. — Mr. Rich's Voyag-es down the Tigris to Bag-
dad.— Ancient Sites on the Banks. — His Visit to Mar Mattel. — Villa-
ges of Yezidees and Jacobite Christians. — Ain u Sofra. — Y'czidees.—
Their Pope. — Some Particulars of their Faith and Worship. — Posi-
tion, Appearance, and Description of the Convent. — History. — Estab-
lishment.— View from its Terrace. — Ras ul Ain. — Excursion to Rabbau
Hormuzd — And Al Kosh. — Character of the Yezidees. — Al Kosh. —
Birth and Burial place of the Prophet Nahum. — Ascent to, and A ppear-
ance of the Convent of Rabban Hormuzd. — Establishment. — Aspect
of the Priests and Monks. — Discipline. — Period of Founding. — Grot-
toes.— Manuscripts. — Destroyed. — Chaldean Villages populous. — Con-
vent of Mar Elias. — Churches of Mars Toma and Mar Sheinaoon.

The principal places of Upper Mesopotamia have al-
ready been mentioned, and we shall afterward take an
opportunity of adverting to the antiquities they contain,
when describing the country from the accounts of travel-
lers who have lately visited it. We shall act in like man-
ner with regard to Assyria; but there is one object in that
region w^hich, though now its remains are almost utterly
obliterated, demands more than a passmg notice, as being
associated with our earliest religious impressions, and
forming a prominent point in the ancient annals of the
East: we mean the capital of Asshur, "Nineveh, that great
city."

It is remarkable that neither in sacred nor profane his-
tory have we any very particular description of Nineveh.
In the former, indeed, it is often spoke of as " an exceeding
great city of three days' journey ;" but this description is
incidentally introduced, and its name, for the most part, is

NINEVEH AND ITS ENVIRONS, 143

only coupled with denunciations of vengeance for its
wickedness. Neither in the latter have we anywhere so
elaborate an account of it as is given of Babylon. Diodo-
rus, indeed, informs us that it was still larger than this oth-
er magnificent capital, inasmuch as it was an oblong squa,re
of 480 stadia in circumference. He adds that it was sur-
rounded by a \vall a hundred feet in height ; so broad that
three chariots might conveniently drive abreast upon its
summit ; and dciended by 1500 towers, each rising to
double the height of the Vv^ail. But nothing farther is sta-
ted ; and the accuracy even of this detail may be doubted,
when proceeding from an historian who mistakes so gross-
ly as to place the capital of Assyria upon the Euphrates
instead of the Tlf^ris. Thus, though Nineveh is mention-
ed casually by several authors, including Herodotus, who
says that "he m.eans to return to the subject, but whose
vvork upon it, if he ever wrote one, has not reached our
times, we m truth know nothing more than what we gath-
er from the books of the prophets Jonah and Nahum, that
it was " an exceeding great city ;" and, like most large
cities in those days, so sunk in profligacy and crime as to
excite the wrath of the Almighty.

That the indignation of Heaven did at length burst on
its devoted head, Ave know from the history which relates
its overthrow ; and the account furnished'^ by Mr. Rich,*
who visited its site, and spent many days in examining its
remains, affords pregnant proof of the complete fulfil-
ment of all the denunciations we meet with in the Sacred
Volume.

The ruins of Nineveh, which are situated opposite to
the modern town of Mosul, are comprehended chiefly in an
oblong enclosure, narrowing greatly towards its southern
end, and extending about four miles in length by two in
Dreadth. It is irregularly intersected by the Khausser riv-
fllet, and contains two principal mounds, the one called
Tel Koyunjuk, and the other Nebbi Yunus. There are be-
yond this enclosed space, to the eastward, some long banks
like ramparts ; and several small hillocks scattered around
at greater or less distances in the vicinity. These eleva-
tions are all clothed with turf, or have their summits culti-
vated ; so that an inexperienced eye could not distinguish

* Narrative of a Residenco in Koordistan, &c., 2 vols. 8vo, Loudon,
1836.

144 NINEVEH AND ITS ENVIRONS.

Ihem from natural ground. On the first mentioned of them
there is a small village, and on the second has been erect-
ed a mosque of considerable size, Avhich covers the sup-
posed tomb of the prophet Jonah, and also a diminutive
town, consisting of about 300 indifferent houses, which,
however, do not occupy its whole surface.

The Tel Koyunjuk, according to Mr. Rich, is in height
forty-three feet, and 7G91 in circumference ; of rather an
irregular form, approaching to oval ; its top nearly flat; its
sides very steep ; and its angles quite unmarked by remains
of turret or bastion ; nor does it bear the appearance of
having ever been much higher than it now is. There are,
however, evidences of its having been built upon, at least
round the edges; and stones and bricks are ploughed up
on all hands. At a place where it had been dug into,
he observed masonry of coarse stone and mortar, and a
piece of the same rock, shaped like the capital of a col-
umn, without carving. A flooring or pavement, too, of
small stones rammed down with earth, was seen on Yna.ny
parts of its" surface ; and fragments of pottery, as well as
bricks with bitumen adhering to them, were found among
the debris. While he was there, a piece of the finest kind
of pottery was excavated, covered with beautiful cuneiform
writing, and quite resembling the large cylinders of that
substance occasionally seen at Babylon.

Mr. Rich also mentions that, while a certain Turk was
digging for stones in this very mound, his workmen brought
to light a sepulchral chamber, in which was an inscription;
and among fragments of bone and rubbish, a woman's
ankle-ornament of silver, covered with turquoise-coloured
rust ; another, called a hezil, of gold, made for a child ; a
bracelet of gold beads, quite perfect ; and some pieces of
engraved agate. But the gold and silver were melted down,
the agates thrown away, and the chamber broken up by
the Mussulman traveller. The soft parts of this mound
alone are subjected to the plough.

The one called Nebbi Yunus is estimated by Mr. Rich to
ue about fifty feet high in the loftiest part ; its length from
east to west, 431 feet ; and its breadth from north to soivh,
355. On being dug deeply into, bricks and fragments of
pottery and gypsum, covered with cuneiform writing, are
found in abundance, testifying to the antiquity as well as
the artificial character of the mound. Some of those pie-

NINEVEH AND ITS ENVIRONS. 145

ces of inscribed gypsum were seen built into the walls of
houses ; and one particularly, in a small room occupied
by the women of a villager, was said to be several yards
long, but, except about three feet of it, had all been plaster-
ed over with mud. The stone is rendered more interesting
by the ftict that, having been discovered in its original po-
sition while the cottage was in building, it w^as permitted to
remain just as it was ; so that the characters are seen in
their proper light. Certain narrow, dark, and vaulted pas-
sages, with apertures leading into one another, have been
found on the eastern side of the court of the mosque. They
appeared as if intended for the reception of dead bodies,
and were declared to be very ancient.

It is in this mound that the best and most curious an-
tiques have been discovered. A remarkable little stone
chair, in Mr. Rich's possession, was dug up here, with sev-
eral inscribed bricks and cylinders.

The mosque of Nebbi Yunus, which is a considerable
building with a ribbed conical dome, occupies the site of a
Christian monastery that was erected to commemorate the
preaching of Jonah ; but there appears to be no ground
whatever for the belief that it covers his tomb.

The vestiges of building within the enclosure, besides
Nebbi Yunus and Tel Koyunjuk, our author informs us,
are but slight; and he gives it as his opinion that the
ground thus enclosed contained merely the citadel or royal
palace, or both perhaps, while, if we are to beli'^v'e either
the accounts of ancient geographers or the words of Sa-
cred Writ, the town may, and indeed must, have extended
on all sides to a great distance ; for Strabo says it occupi-
ed the whole space between the Tigris and the Lycus;
and in Scripture it is declared to be a " city of three days'
journey," Accordingly, our countryman, in his research-
es around, perceived numerous traces of building of the
same character as that within its limits ; such are the
mounds of Yaremjee, nearly four miles to the south ; of
Zembil Tepessi, to the southeast; and the vestiges observ-
ed on the way northward to the Convent of St. George.

We have here given a summary of the observations and
researches on the site of Nineveh made by the English res-
ident. It is a scene, as may be gathered even from our
abridgment, which speaks rather to the feelings than to the
senses ; for there is nothing grand or sublime to strike the

M

146 NINEVEH AND ITS ENVIRONS.

eye. There is not there the majestic vastness of the Pyra-
mids, nor the lonely grandeur of the " Throne of Jemshid,"
nor even the scathed and ghastly desolation of Babylon, to
impress the imagination. The dust of Nineveh rests be-
neath a green and smiling sod; but, nevertheless, those
lowly mounds contain all that remains of the second city
of the patriarchal world ; of that great capital which, sin-
ful as were its people, the Almighty, once at least, in his
mercy spared : and who is there that could pass them by
with indifference ']

About six caravan hours below those ruins and the city
of Mosul are found the vestiges of an ancient place, called
Nimrod by some of the inhabitants (according to Mr. Rich,
regarded as Nimrod's own city), and named by others Al
Athur or Asshur, from which the v/hole country received
its appellation. That gentleman regarded it as the Larissa
of Xenophon ; and there appears some grounds for suppo-
sing that it may represent the R^esin of the book of Gene-
sis, for Al Resin, that is, Resin with the Arabic article af-
fixed, might b}^ the Greeks be easily transmuted into La-
rissa. The principal remains found here are a pyramidal
mount of 144 feet in height, which forms the northwest an-
gle of a flat mound, of about 1000 feet north and south by
514 east and west. The area of this platform is somewhat
depressed below the height of the sides, giving the idea of
a wall having surrounded them. The pyramid is steep,
and the top very small ; but its base measured upward of
700 feet in circumference. At the western side of this
were found marks of concrete buildings, such as had been
seen at Nineveh ; and fragments of bricks with cuneiform
inscriptions were scattered about. They were thicker
than those of Babylon. Both to the north and east there
were ruins to be traced; and the hills on the opposite side
were interspersed with mounds. The country was well
cultivated, and sprinkled with villages, one of which still
bears the name of Nimrod, though sometimes called De-
raweish.

Mr. Rich sailed down the Tigris from Mosul to Bagdad
on a kellek or raft, one of the primitive boats of the coun-
try, described by Herodotus as formed of pieces of wood
supported upon inflated skins. On his way he saw nu-
merous sites, indicated by the usual mounds and heaps.
Among the principal of these were Keshaf, at the mouth of

NINEVEH AND ITS ENVIRONS. 147

the 2^b, supposed to be Haditha of the ancient geogra-
phers, Tel Sittcih, Tel Geloos, Mekook, Toprak Kalaa or
Kalaat ul Shirgath,* Tecreet, Tel el Meheji, Samarra, Ka-
desia, and others which we have already mentioned.

"While remaining at Mosul, he was indefatigable in ex-
amining the neighbourhood, and discovered many objects
worthy of attention, among which we may include"^the con-
vent of Mar Mattel, the Chaldean town of Al Kosh, and
Ihe convent of Rabban Hormuzd.

The convent of Mar Mattel or Sheik Muttee is situated
on a mountain about twenty-five miles east of Mosul; and
Mr. Rich, having passed through the alluvial tract in which
the ruins of Nineveh are situated, rode over an undulating
country to Raasheka, a village of Yezidees and Jacobite
Christians, imbosorned in olivfe-trees'. The oil from this
and a similar wood surrounding Baazani chiefly supplies
the city of Mosul, and is much used in the manufacture of
soap. Baasheka is situated just in front of a defile, where
there is a fountain that appears to be an object of venera-
tion to the Yezidees, who in' spring repair thither, and to
another called by them Ain u Sofra, to' make merry, olTer
sacrifices, pla}^ at various games, and to get drunk. '' The
Yezids," it is remarked, " seemingly have Christianity, or
some barbarous remains of it, among them. They admil;
baptism and cii'cumcision ; believe in the metempsycho-
sis; never say 'such a one is dead,' but that 'he is chan-
ged ;' never enter a Christian church without kissing the
threshold and putting off their shoes. Their principal
lur3ing-place is at Bozan, a village at the foot of the
mountain of Rabban Hormuzd, and bodies are carried there
from all parts. It was formerly a Christian village with a
monasterv.

" The Khan of Sheik Khan or Baadli is the pope of the
Yezids. He is descended from the family of the Ommi-
ades, and is esteemed the Emir Hadji of the Yezids. Their
great place of pilgrimage is at Sheik Adi, three hours dis-
tant in the mountains beyond Sheik Khan, and it is saidt to
lia\*e been a Christian monastery. The church, conventi-
cle, or whatever it mav be called, is said to resemble that
at Jerusalem, every different tribe of Yezids having its ov/ii

* Or Shirkat, near Al Hadhr.

t A note informs us that it in reality was a Christian church, dedica-
ted to St. Thaddeus.

148 NINEVEH AND ITS ENVIRONS.

separate station in it. Their peer or sheik reads prayers,
every one at intervals crying out * amen ;' and this is the
wliole of their worship. It is true that they pay adoration,
or at least a sort of worship, to Mellek I'aous, the figure
of a bird placed on a kind of candlestick.* They will not
spit into the fire, or blow out a candle with their breaths.
When the sun just appears above the horizon, they salute
it with three prostrations. When they are taxed by the
Christians and Turks with having no books, they say it is
because God has so peculiarly enlightened their minds as
to render books and a written law unnecessary. Several
numnds of ancient debris were seen in the country around
this village. "t

Next day, proceeding by a path through defiles and over
hills, Mr. Rich reached the convent, which is situated on
the mountain of Makloube, overlooking the course of the
Buinadus or Ghazir-su, and to which he ascended by a
steep path winding up the face of a precipice. This edi-
fice, he observes, "has much the appearance of a strong-
hold, being composed of two large towers, or buildings re-
sembling towers, at each extremity, united by a common
wall. Had this curtain been embattled, and the wall a lit-
tle thicker, it would pass for a very tolerable baron's castle
of the fourteenth century. It is situated on the very edge
of the precipice, and the bare rock rises immediately be-
hind it, in which, indeed, are ensconced many chambers
and parts of the structure. It is, in short, built in the ab-
rupt face of the mountain, like a martin's nest; and the
general plan is not very easy to describe. It consists prin-
cipally of the aforesaid towers, and two courts between
(hem, with an infinity of little detached holes, nooks, and
chambers ; but, from a great many of them now being in
ruins, it is evident that the whole establishment must at
one time have been much more considerable. Indeed, it
formerly seems to have been a place of strength, for Tam-
erlane took it by storm. He assaulted it from the eastern
side of the mountain, and entered just above its southeast
angle. There were then works built on the rock, which
is now unprotected, and commands it. The present habit-
able part, and the church, which is in the southeast angle,

* It is the fig-ure of a cock, and is produced but once a year for the
p!iri>ose of worship.

t Rich's Koordistan, vol. ii, p. 69, 70.

NINEVEH AND ITS ENVIRONS. 149

have been recently fitted up under the protection of the Pa-
cha of Mosul's brother, Hajee Osman Bey; but the skele-
ton of this part of the design seems to have been preserved.
In the highest part of the enclosure up the hill are seen
some lines of large stones, part of the original building.
'I'his convent belongs to the Jacobites, and the abbot is al-
ways a matran or bishop. The present incumbent is an
old man ; and, besides himself, he has only one monk, and
a lad who is educating for the priesthood. According to
the abbot Matran Mousa, the convent was founded in 3!i4
A.D. by Mar Mattei, a saint, and companion of St. George,
wlio lied from the persecution of Diocletian, and took ret-
uge here. Having by his prayers healed the daughter,
named Havla, of the King of the Assyrians, he obtained
permission to build this convent. But this, to the best of
my recollection, is recorded in Assemanni in a much more
authentic manner.*

" The famous Gregory Bar Ilebrreus or Abui Faraj is
buried here.

" From the terrace of the south tower, where we are
lodged, we have a noble and extended viev/, comprising
the whole of Alexander's operations, from the passage of
the Tigris to the arrival at Arbela after the battle of Gau-
gamela. The Bumadus meanders at the foot or southern
extremity of this mountain, and I am now told it rises just
below Amadieh. I can trace the Zab plainly."t

From this elevated position the geographical lines of tiie
country were easily comprehended. The mountains of
Accra, with the loftier peaks of Zagros rising behind
them, are plainly visible in the northeast ; and a place i :
mentioned, called Ras ul Ain— the head of the waterst—
an old convent at the farther extremity of the plain of Na-
okor, through which iiows the Ghazir-su. In the neigh-
bourhood of this establishment there were ibund several
caves and grottoes, partly natural and partly artificial, the
interior of which contained many inscriptions in the Strnn-
ghelo or old Syriac character, in which the more ancierit
manuscripts are written.

* According to Assemanni, it was founded, togetliPr with one to St.
Jonah, in tlu; time of Shaponr, king- of Persia, and was called Chuciita.

t Rich's Koordistan, vol. ii., ]). 73-76.

X Ras ul Ain is a common name for such localities. Query : Can the
Ras ul Ain of Mesopotamia (the ancient Ressaina) have any pretensions
to being the Resin of Asshur or Nimrod ''

150 NINEVEH AND ITS ENVIRONS.

Leaving this place, I\Tr. Rich proceeded to the town of
Al Kosh and the coQvent ofRabban Hormiizd, situated in
a range of subordinate hills in front of the great Kurdish
jNlountains* Crossing the ridge which divides the vrJleys
of the Gomel and the Khausser, he passed the villages of
Seid Khan, Sirej Khan, and Girghiaour to Al Kosh. The
Yezid capital Baadli, the residence of Meer Sheik Klian,
a chief of very ancient family, and recognised as head of
all the Yezidees, lay only three hours distant northeast of
Sirej Khan, where he halted for a night. The country
Yv^as inhabited by Kurds and Yezidees ; and at that village
he and his followers were entertained by the performance
of a musician who played them many national airs. He
speaks of the latter people in terms of high praise. " From
what I have seen and heard of the Yezids," says he, " they
seem lively, brave, hospitable, and good-humoured. They
were delighted at this village to see us, and entertained
our people most hospitably. Under the British govern-
ment much might be made of them."*

The country now became broken and confused, consist-
ing of rPvVines, bare ridges of crumbling sandstone, with
cnly here and there a patch of vegetation where the soil
admitted of it; and it is observed that the Mosul territory
appeared w^ell cultivated wherever it was susceptible of
improvement. After ascending for some time, a gentle
descent brought the party close to Al Kosh, a little way
up the mountain, having on their right a fine extensive
plain, very well improved and studded with villages. Ba-
adli, which is nine miles distant, under the bare hills, near
a defile whence the Gomel issues, is situated in the terri-
tory of Amadieh. On the left, while descending, was seen
a large artificial mound, which gives its name, Girghiaour
(the infidel's hillock), to the place; and several other such
tumuli of greater or less size were scattered about. Of
Al Kosh, which is entirely a Chaldean town, Mr. Rich
tells us but little, as he did not visit it, choosing to proceed
at once to the convent of Rabban Hormuzd. From his
observations, that the Al Koshites are a very stout and in-
dependent class of men, who can muster about 400 mus-
keteers, we gather that it is not either large or populous;
and perhaps it may derive its chief interest from having
been the birth and burial place of the Prophet Nahum,

* Vol. ii., p. 87.

NINEVEH AND ITS ENVIRONS. 151

" the El Koshite," who was of a Jewish family that resi«
ded here during the captivity of Nineveh. Israelites from
all parts come on pilgrimage to his tomb.

Having passed very near this town, the party turned to
the right, where, about a mile higher up, in a rocky defile
or opening in the mountains, was the convent, and which
from thence wore a most imposing appearance. "No-
thing," it is remarked, " was clearly distinguishable but
a heavy square building of a dusky red colour, hanging
quite over a precipice, like some lama pagoda. The dark
clouds rolled over the summit of the mountain almost
d:wn to the convent, and greatly increased the gloominess
of its aspect, and its apparent height. We seemed to be
retreating from the world, and entering on some wild and
untried state of existence, when we found ourselves in the
rocky strait by which it is approached. The situation ap-
peared to be well chosen for devotion, but devotion of a
savage and gloomy character. The hills gradually rose
very soon after the slope had terminated. An immense
torrent, now dry, had brought down prodigious fragments
of rock. Keeping along its edge, we reached, at eleven
o'clock, the entrance of the defile along a rocky and rough
road. This defile expands, and scoops out the mountain
into a kind of wild amphitheatre, in which, not half way
up, the convent is situated. It Avas only the latter part of
the road which was very steep. The red building we had
seen from afar was part of a church, or, rather, churches,
there being several together. All the amphitheatre, from
the top to the bottom, is full of little caves and grottoes,
those near the church, and extending up the rock far above
it, being appropriated to the use of the monks, of whom
there are fifty, only four or five of whom are priests. Each
monk has a separate cell, and the communications be-
tween them are by little terraces. The rocks are craggy
and broken, and of fine harmonious tints, being of free-
stone, of which the church is built. It stands on a plat-
form elevated from the precipice ; but very little of the an-
cient fabric remains.

" We arrived at half past eleven. We were accommo-
dated in rather an airy lodging, in a kind of sacristy or
chapel adjoining the church. Our people established
.hemselves as well as they could in the surrounding caves,
and the horses we sent back to the village.

152 NINEVEH AND ITS ENVIRONS.

'' In the afternoon I went to vespers. The congregation
of rustiCj dark-looking monks, together with the gloomi-
ness and simplicity of the church — which is merely a nar
row arched or vaulted room, with no light but what is ad-
mitted from the small dome — might well remind one of
the solitude of St. Saba. Indeed, the monks were not less
Thebaid in their appearance, being dusky-looking men,
clothed in the coarsest manner like peasants, but more
sombre in their colours, their gown being of a dark blue
cr black canvass, with a common abba or Arab cloak of
brown woollen over it. On their heads they wear a small
scull-cap of brown felt, with a black handkerchief tied
round it. The priests are rather better clothed in black
dresses, with black turbans on their heads. The monks
are of all trades — weavers, tailors, smiths, carpenters, and
masons, so that the wants of the convent are entirely sup-
plied by the convent itself. Their wants are, indeed, very
few, the order being that of St. Anthony, and very rigor-
ous in its observances. The monks never eat meat except
at Christmas and Easter. Sometimes, indeed, if any of
their friends bring them a little as a present, they are not
forbidden to eat it ; but no meat is provided for the con-
vent. The daily food is some boiled wheat and bread,
and even this in small quantities. Wine and spirits are
altogether prohibited; and none but the treasurer is allow-
ed to touch money." To this account the editor adds in a
note, that "the monks live separately and alone in their
cells when not employed at their Avork, and are forbidden
to talk to one another. A bell summons them to church
several times a day; besides which, they meet in the church
at midnight for prayer; again at daybreak; and at sunset,
when they retire to their cells without fire or candle.
Some of these cells are far from the others, in very lonely
situations, high up the mountains, in steep places, and look
diificult to get at by day ; how much more so in dark and
stormy nights ! They are surrounded by wild, plundering
tribes of Kurds, v/ho might come down and murder them
in their different retreats, without their cries for help be-
ing heard; but their poverty preserves them from such at-
tacks. There were several young men among them, who
had retired here, being, as thev told us, weary of the world,
and hoping to find rest in this solitude, and acceptance
with God through religious exercises of a painful and

NINEVEH AND ITS ENVIRONS. 153

mortifying nature. They did not look happy oi healthy,
and we are told they die young."*

The monastery was founded, according to the abbot's
account, by Tomarsa, patriarch of the Chaldeans at Se-
leucia or Ctesiphon, between A.D. 384 and 392. Asseraan-
nit says that Rabban Hormuzd, the bishop, was martyred
about the thirty-sixth year of the persecution, and the six-
ty-sixth of the reign of Shapour ; and it appears that John
Sulaca, who Avas ordained Patriarch of the Chaldeans at
Home in 377, lived at the monastery of Rabban, which
seems to have then consisted of fifty monks. Rabban
Hormuzd is said to have been afterward the residence of
the Nestorian bishop, the Catholic-Chaldean one residing
at Diarbekr.l:

This Hormuzd, who is reported to have been the son of a
king of Persia, and put to death for his faith, is the grand
national saint of the Chaldeans, whether Nestorian or
Catholic. His body was brought from Persia and depos-
ited here.

" The quantity of caves and little grottoes all over the
hollow of the mountain or rocky amphitheatre," continues
the traveller, "is quite surprising. An earthquake filled a
great many of them, and the natural ruin and crumbling
down of the mountain has also obliterated multitudes.
The monks say they frequently discover grottoes in clear-
ing away rubbish. It is not likely that this immense
number of grottoes, dispersed at all heights and distances,
should have been purposely constructed by the founder
of the church ; yet that the greater part cannot be natural
is quite evident on the slightest inspection. Some may
possibly have been made in cutting stone ; but this can-
not be the case with by far the greater number, as their
form testifies, being small, oven-like excavations, with a
little aperture, and sometimes two, for a door and a w^ndov/.
One or two of those which I entered had two stone beds or
niches in the w^all, exactl}^ as if they had been intended
ibr the reception of dead bodies, like those at Kufri. They
may all at one time have served for this, and this immense
amphitheatre have been no more than a dakhmeh or bury-
ing-place of the old Persians. Some of the lost Syriac

* Rich's Koordistan, vol. ii., p. OO-O.S. f Vol. i., p. 525.

i Rich's Koordistan, vol. ii., p. 94, with note to ditto • and Asseman-
fli, vol. 1., p. 528, note.

154 NINEVEH AND ITS ENVIRONS.

and Chaldean manuscripts would in all probability hare
thrown light upon this curious place. There were for-
merly kept in this convent about 500 volumes of old Stran-
ghelo manuscripts on vellum; but they were thrown to-
gether in an old vault on the side of the hill, a part of
which was carried away by a torrent, and the books, being
damaged, were deemed oi no farther value, and, conse-
quently, were torn up and thrown about. Some scattered
leaves were shown to me, which were unquestionably of
the highest antiquity. Manuscripts are fast perishing in
the East, and it is almost the duty of a traveller to rescue
as many as he can from destruction."*

On their way back to Mosul, Mr. Rich and his party
passed through Teliskof, that is to say, " the Bishop's
Mount," where there are some nuns, but no monastery.
These live in the houses of their parents or relations, as
they do at Al Kosk, there being no female establishment.
Prodigious crowds of Chaldean Catholics assembled to see
*^he strangers, taking pleasure, as it seemed, in beholding a
Christian coming among them with something like the ap-
pearance and attributes of power.

These villages are described as large and populous.
The Kiahya of Tel Keif, a town wholly inhabited by that
people, informed our countryman that it contained a thou-
sand houses, in some of which were thirty souls. This
may be overrated ; but it was certainly crowded with peo-
ple, who, like most of the race, were dirty, ill favoured,
and dark complexioned, and all much addicted to the use
of strong liquors.

On his return to Mosul, the traveller visited the remains
of the convent of Mar Elias near the town, and the church-
es of Mar Toma and Mar Shemaoon Sava within it. The
former is now a heap of ruins, having been destroyed by
Kadir Shah, but still exhibiting some interesting remains.
It was founded, according to Assemanni, in the latter end
of the sixth century. The church of Mar Toma is un-
questionably ancient, and is divided into a centre and two
aisles by three heavy-pointed but obtuse arches, supported
by octagonal piers. The great door of the sanctuary was
surrounded bv a border of carved work in marble, contain-
ing figures of Christ and the twelve apostles in medallions,

* Riches Koordistan, vol. ii., p. 94-96.

SUBSEQUENT HISTORY, ETC. 155

with twisted scroll-work. Mr. Rich discovered a stone,
which, on examination, proved to be adorned with an in-
scription in flowered Arabic letters of the age of the Sa-
hibs, containing the very chapter of the Koran particular-
ly directed against Christians. " So here," he observes,
" had these poor people been devoutly rubbing their fore-
heads against a monument, of which, had they known its
import, they would have had the greatest horror and detest-
ation. I believe the archbishop gave orders for its remo-
val from its present place." The other church is very an-
cient, and, like that of Rabban Hormuzd, consists of a sin-
gle room.

CHAPTER IX,

Subsequent History of Mesopotamia and Assyria.

Rennell's Opinion of Xenophon's Retreat. — Advance of Cyrus. — Bat'le
of Cunaxa, and Death of Cyrus. — Truce between the Greek Generals
and the King. — The former advance to the 'Tigris, and cross it at Sit-
tace. — Their March to Opis — And to the Banks of the Zab. — Treach-
ery of Tissaphernes. — Clearchus and other Officers put to Death. —
Farther Attempts at Treachery. — Defeated by the Prudence of the
Grecian Officers. — Xenophon appointed to the Command. — The Greeks
cross the Zab. — Are assailed by Mithradates. — Arrang-ements for re-
pulsing- the Enemy's light Troops. — March to Larissa — To Mespila. —
Struggles during their Progress to the Carduchian Mountains. — Re-
solve to ascend them in Preference to crossing the River. — Are reso-
lutely opposed by the Carduchians. — Abandon their useless Slaves and
Baggage. — Difficulties of the Ascent. — Severe Contests with the Ene-
my— And Losses. — Cross the Centntes, and pass into Armenia. —
Change of Dynasty. — Battle of Arbela. — The Seleucidae. — Arsacidae.
— Appearance of the Romans in Mesopotamia. — Reduced to a Roman
Province. — First Expedition of Crassus. — Embassy from Orodes. — The
Romans driven out by the Parthians. — Second Expedition of Crassus
— Advice of the King of Armenia. — Treachery of Abgarus — "Who con-
ducts them into the i)eserts of Charra?. — Infatuation of Crassus. — Ilis
Army attacked by Surenas. — His Son slain. — The Romans forced to re-
treat with great Loss to ChaiTse. — Again betrayed and surrounded. —
Crassus forced by the Legionaries to negotiate. — Is slain during an In-
terview with Surenas. — The Army destroyed. — Reflections on the
Conduct of Xenophon and Crassus.

Although the history of these provinces, as the seat of
a separate nation, undoubtedly terminates with the con-
quest of Babylon by Cyrus, yet their claim to attention can-
not be held to have ceased with their independent exist-

156 SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF

ence. On the contrary, it will be found that they long con
tinned to be the theatre of the most remarkable events, and
have, in point of fact, been at all times the battle-field on
which the empire of the East has been contended for and
won. We shall therefore present our readers with a short
sketch of the changes they have witnessed^ and briefly de-
scribe some of the more important occurrences of Avhich
they have been the scene.

The first of these which we shall notice is an exploit
that has been pronounced by a high authority* to be " one
of the most splendid of all the military events that haye
been recorded in ancient history" — we mean the retreat of
Xenophon with his Ten Thousand Greeks ; which, as is
well known, arose out of an unsuccessful effort of the
younger Cyrus to dispute the throne of Persia with his
brother Artaxerxes Mnemon. Both these princes were
sons of Darius Ochus, by his queen Parysatis, who, pre-
ferring the younger to the elder, sought to secure for him
the succession. Failing in this, she induced him to con-
spire against the life of the lawful heir, and finally labour-
ed to protect him from the consequences of his unsuccess-
ful attempts. Cyrus, who retired from court to his govern-
ment in Asia Minor, smarting under disgrace and disap-
pointment, resolved on revenge. In order to achieve this,
he maintained an intercourse with the Grecian states on
the opposite side of the Bosphorus, and, having presented
Clearchus, a banished Lecedaemonian, with large sums of
money, succeeded, chiefly through his influence, in levying
an army of 12,800 Greeks, at the head of which, and
100,000 natives, he advanced towards Persia in the year
B.C. 401, in order to pull Artaxerxes from his throne.

It is unnecessary to dwell upon his progress from Sardis,
whence he commenced his march, to the borders of Meso-
potamia, nor on the difficulties he experienced in persua-
ding his Western meicenaries to proceed against the great
king his brother. It is sufficient to state that, having
reached Myriandrus, in the Gulf of Scanderoon, he march-
ed to Thapsacus, a distance of sixty-five parasangs, or
about 260 miles, in twelve days, crossing in his route the
rivers Chains and Daradax, the latter of which is said to
be 100 feet broad at its source, and seems to correspond

* The late Major Rennell.

MESOPOTAMIA AND ASSYRIA. 157

to the Fountain of Fay mentioned by Rennell,* having in
its vicinity the palace of Belesis, formerly governor of
Syria. That town, according to the same author, who
agrees with D'Anville, is identified with El Der, situated
a little above the mouth of the Khabour. But if Beles
represents Barbalissus, the former must be looked for high-
er up ; and recent investigations lead to tlie belief that it
stood some distance above Racca, on the right bank of the
river : a position which will agree with the subsequent nine
days' march of fifty parasangs to the River Araxes or Kha-
bour. From Thapsacus, where they crossed the Euphra-
tes, the account of their march to the Pylse or Gates is
very short. These passes are by most authorities placed
at the termination of the hilly tract below Hit, which prob-
ably represented the Caramande mentioned by Xenophon.

From the Pyloe, Cyrus proceeded through the country
of Babylonia to meet the army of his rival, who had ad-
vanced to oppose him. That he expected not to conquer
without a struggle is known from the reply which he made
to Clearchus, who asked him if he believed the kingv/ould
hazard a battle. " Certainly," said he, " if he is the son
of Darius and Parysatis, and my brother, I shall never ob-
tain all this without a stroke ;" and, accordingly, both
Greeks and barbarians prepared themselves for fighting.
They had need of all their resolution ; for Xenophon states
the reputed number of the Persian host at 1,200,000 men,
and 200 scythe-armed chariots, besides 6000 horse.

Cyrus, having reviewed his troops, which consisted of
10,400 heavy-armed Greeks, and 2400 targeteers, with
100,000 barbarians, and twenty scythe-armed chariots,
marched three parasangs in order of battle, expecting the
enemy would fight that day ; but the policy of Artaxerxes
seems rather to have been to embarrass than overwhelm
his opponent, for he caused a trench to be dug near the
Euphrates by way of fortification, leaving, however, a nar-
row pass through which the invading army were permitted
to pass unopposed. This would appear to have been done
in order to throw Cyrus oflT his guard ; and we according-
ly find that prince riding on the third day in his car, his
soldiers having left their ranks, and many of them laid
their weapons upon sumpter horses or wagons, when Pa-

* Illustrations of the History of the Expedition of Cyrus, &c., 4to,
London, 1816, p. 68.

153 SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF

tagyas, a Persian in his confidence, rode up at full speed,
and informed him thai; the king was actually at hand,
marching in regular order. This news causing an iiprne-
diate bustle, the men ran to their arms, and prepared for
action. It was the afternoon, however, before " a dust like
a white cloud appeared, which soon spread itself like dark-
ness over the plain. When they drew nearer, the brazen
armour flashed, and their spears and ranks appeared, hav-
ing on their left a body of horse, armed in white corslets
(said to be commanded by Tissaphernes), and followed by
those with Persian bucklers, besides heavy-armed men
with wooden shields reaching down to their feet (said to be
Egyptians), and other horse and archers, all which march-
ed according to tiieir respective countries, each nation be-
ing drawn up in a solid oblong square ; and before them
were disposed, at a considerable distance from one anoth-
er, chariots armed with scythes, fixed aslant at the axle-
trees, with others under the body of the chariot pointing
downward, that so they might cut asunder everything they
encountered, by driving them among the ranks of the
Greeks to break them. But it now appeared that Cyrus
was greatly mistaken when he exhorted the Greeks to
withstand the shouts of the barbarians, for they did not
come on with cries, but as silently and quietly as possible,
and in an equal and slow march.

" Here Cyrus, riding along the ranks with Pigres the in-
terpreter and three or four others, commanded Clearchus
to bring his men opposite to the centre of the enemy (be-
cause the king was there), saying, * If we break that, our
work is done ;' but the latter, observing their position, and
understanding that the king was beyond the left wing of
the Greek army (for his majesty was so much superior in
numbers, that, when he stood in the centre of his own army,
he was beyond the left wing of that of his brother), would
not be prevailed on to withdraw his right from the river,
fearing to be surrounded on both sides, but answered that
he would take care ail should go well.

*'Now the barbarians came regularly on, and the Greek
army standing on the same ground, the ranks were form-
ed as the men arrived. In the mean time, Cyrus, riding
at a small distance before the ranks, surveying both the
enemy's army and his ov/n, was observed by Xenophon,
an Athenian, who rode up to him, and asked whether he

MESOPOTAMIA AND ASSYRIA. 159

had anything to command. The prince, stopping hi
horse, ordered him to let them all know that the sacrifice'
and victims promised success. While he was saying
this, he heard a noise running through the ranks, and ask-
ed him what it meant. Xenophon answered that the
word was now giving for the second time. Cyrus, won-
dering who should give it, demanded what the word was.
The other replied, ' Jupiter the Preserver, and Victory ;*
Cyrus rejoined, ' I accept it: let that be the word;' after
which he immediately returned to his post; and the two
armies being now within three or four stadia of each oth-
er, the Greeks sung the Poean, and began to advance
against the enemy; but the motion occasioning a small
fluctuation in the line of battle, those who were left be-
hind hastened their march, and at once gave a general
shout, as their custom is when they invoke the God of
War ; and all ran forward, striking their shields with their
pikes (as some say) to frighten the enemy's horses, so that,
before the barbarians came within reach of their darts, they
turned their horses and fled ; but the Greeks pursued them
as fast as they could, calling out to one another not to run,
but to follow in their ranks. Some of the chariots were
borne through their own people without their charioteers,
others through the Greeks, some of whom, seeing them
coming, divided, while others, being amazed, like specta-
tors in the hippodrome, were taken unaw^ares ; but even.
these were reported to have received no harm, neither was
there any other Greek hurt in the action, except one upon
the left wing, who was said to have been wounded by an
arrow.

" Cyrus, seeing the Greeks victorious on their side, re-
joiced in pursuit of the enemy, and was already w^orship-
ped as king by those about him ; however, he was not so
far transported as to leave his post and join in the pur-
suit; but, keeping his 600 horse in a body, observed the
king's motions, well knowing that he was in the centre of
the Persian army ; for in all barbarian armies the gener-
als ever place themselves in the centre, looking upon that
post as the safest ; on each side of which their strength is
equally divided, and if they have occasion to give out any
orders, they are received in half the time by the army.
The king, therefore, being at that time in the centre of his
own battle, was, however, beyond the left wing of Cyrus ;

160 SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF

and when he saw none opposed him in front, nor any mo-
tion made to charge the troops that were drawn up before
him, he wheeled to the left in order to surround their
army ; whereupon Cyrus, fearing he should get behind him
and cut oiF the Greeks, advanced against the king, and,
charging with his 600 horse, broke those who were drawn
up before him, put the 6000 men to flight, and, as they say,
killed Artagerses, their commander, with his own hand.
These being broken, and the 600 belonging to Cyrus dis-
persed in the pursuit, very few were left about him, and
those almost all persons who used to eat at his table ;
however, upon discovering the king properly attended, and
unable to contain himself, he immediately cried out, ' 1
see the man,' then ran furiously at him, and, striking him
on the breast, wounded him through his corslet (as Cte-
sias the physician sa3^s, who affirms that he cured the
wound), having, while he was giving the blow, received a
wound under the eye from somebody who threw a javelin
at him with great force ; at the same time, the king and
Cyrus engaged hand to hand, and those about them in de-
fence of each. In this action, Ctesias (who was with the
king) informs us how many fell on his side ; on the other,
Cyrus himself was killed, and eight of his most consider-
able friends lay dead upon him. When Artagerses, who
was in the greatest trust with Cyrus of any of his sceptred
ministers, saw him fall, they say he leaped from his horse,
and threw himself about him, w^hen (as some say) the
king ordered him to be slain upon the body of Cyrus,
though others assert that, drawing his cimeter, he slew
himself; for he wore a golden cimeter, a chain, bracelets,
and other ornaments which were worn by the most con-
siderable Persians, and was held in great esteem both for
his affection and fidelity.

" Thus died Cyrus, a man universally acknowledged by
those who were well acquainted wifh him, to have been,
of all the Persians since the ancient Cyrus, endued with
the most princely qualities, and to have appeared the most
worthy of empire."*

The leader of the expedition having fallen in the man-
ner now described, the king attacked the camp of his ene-
mies, which w\as deserted by the barbarians who had been

* Spelmau's Xenoplion, 2 vols. Svo, Cambridg-e, 1776, vol. i., p. 85-95-

MESOPOTAMIA AND ASSYRIA. 161

left to defend it. The Greeks, however, saved a portion
of the baggage, while their countrymen continued pursu-
ing the fugitives until they were thirty stadia distant.
When informed of the plunder of their tents, they return-
ed, put themselves once more in a posture of defence, and
even offered to make another attack; but the natives again
fled, leaving their wearied allies to sleep under arms upon
the field they had so gallantly won, unrefreshed with food,
and uncertain of the fate of their chief

Morning brought them the news of their loss, and the
intelligence that they were alone in the country of their
enemies; for Ariaeus, who commanded the Asiatics in Cy-
rus's army, and who fled on hearing of his death, declined
the crown which the Greeks offered to win for him in
place of the fallen prince, and soon after proved one of
their worst foes.

The king, in the mean time, finding that to destroy this
valiant band w^ould be a task of much danger, attempted
to effect his purpose by treachery, and accordingly sent
persons to negotiate with them for delivering up their
arms. This being indignantly refused, Tissaphernes came
forward as their friend, to mediate, as he said, between
them and his majesty for a safe conduct beyond his do-
minions ; and, after considerable delay, during which food
was provided for the Greeks according to the terms of
truce, they moved across the country from Cunaxa, where
the battle was fought, towards the Tigris. The exact po-
sition of that town is unknown ; but it must doubtless
have stood somewdiere above the present Felugia, the an-
cient Ancobar or Macepracta, because, in the first place, af-
ter the tight, they passed through the Median Wall on their
way to Sittace, which lay east of it. Now this wall ran
from Macepracta, or Ancobar, or Sippara, to Opis or Sa-
marra, at the confluence of the Tigris and Physcus. Sec-
ondly, there are no hills whatever in Babylonia below Fe-
lugia ; and the one of w^hich Xenophon speaks must have
been higher up, and nearer to the Pylse. We come to the
same conclusion, when we reflect that the two large ca-
nals, w^hich they crossed after passing the wall, must have
been those which branched ofl^ below Felugia, and stretch-
ed towards the site of the present Bagdad and Ctesiphon.

Sittace, to w^hich they next came, standing near the
River Tigris, is probably to be looked for at Sheriat el

N

162 SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF

Beitha, above the large village of Kazemeen ; this situa-
tion agreeing well with the distance from the river and
from Opis, as it is given by Xenophon. Here the Greeks
appear to have been needlessly apprehensive that they
would not be permitted to pass the bridge of boats, but be
hemmed in between the river and the canal, and destroy-
ed by hunger or repeated attacks. Next morning, howev-
er, they experienced no interruption in passing the bridge,
which consisted of thirty-seven boats or pontoons ; and
they afterward made four days' march to the Physcus^
where stood Opis, a large and populous city. This Phys-
cus is the Athem ; and the ruins of Opis may be traced at
present, near the junction of that river with the Tigris.
Here the Greeks passed the former stream, 100 feet in
breadth, by a bridge of which no vestige exists, and en-
countered an army marching to the king's assistance un-
der one of his brothers.

From Opis, a march of thirty-five parasangs, performed
in seven days, brought them opposite to Csense, a large city
on the banks of the Tigris. Renneil supposes this to have
been the Senn of Eastern geographers, which he places at
the confluence of the lesser Zab with the Tigris. Of the
former river, or Altun-su of the present day, Xenophon
makes no mention. On the other hand, Caenae cannot, as
Kinneir suggests, be identified with Tecreet, that place
being only between fifty and sixty miles above the Athem,
instead of 120, at least, as indicated by the Grecian histo-
rian. At the Zabatus, which was 400 feet broad — and
which, undoubtedly, was no other than the greater Zab —
the army halted three days, which were passed in suspi-
cious jealousy both by the Greeks and by the barbarians
who accompanied them under Tissaphernes, the officer ap-
pointed by the king to provide for their wants. The result
was a conference, in the course of which he convinced
Clearchus, the Greek general, of his sincerity : a fatal con-
viction, which led to his own destruction ; for, on the very
morning after these solemn assurances, Clearchus himself,
with four other leaders, twenty captains, and two hundred
soldiers, having gone to the tent of the Persian for the pur-
pose of refuting certain calumnies against the loyalty of
the Greeks, the chiefs were seized and afterward executed
by orders of the king, while the soldiers were cut to pieces
by the barbarians.

MESOPOTAMIA AND ASSYRIA. 163

Thus deprived of their officers, and fatally convinced of
the hostile designs of the Persians, the Greeks flew to arms,
on which immediately came forward Ariseiis, Arteazus,
Mithradates, and others, who attempted to excuse the trans-
action by imputing to Clearchus a violation of his oaths ;
adding, that the other generals were safe, and exhorting
the army to surrender their weapons, which were, they
said, the king's property. But the snare was too palpable.
They upbraided Arioeus with his infamous treachery ; chal-
lenged the Persians, as a proof of their sincerity,* to send
back to them Proxenus and Menon, whom they had de-
clared to be alive ; and refused indignantly to abandon
their arms. The royal chiefs retired ; and the Greeks, sad
and dejected, passed the night in painful anxiety. Well it
was for them that they had in their number some whose
minds were more strongly nerved, and capable of exertion
in the hour of danger ; and one more especially, whose
fortitude, energy, and judgment were fully equal to the
fearful emergency in which they stood.

This leader was Xenophon, an experienced soldier of
mature age, but only a volunteer, associated with Prox-
enus by the ties of friendship and hospitality. Unable, as
may be well imagined, under such circumstances, to sleep
soundly, he arose in consequence of a troubled dream.
As soon as he awoke, the first thought that occurred to him
was this: "Why do 1 lie here'? the night wears away, and
as soon as the day appears, it is probable the enemy will
come and attack us; and if we fall under the povv^er of the
king, what can preserve us from being spectators of the
most tragical sights, from suffering the most cruel torments,
and from dying with the greatest ignominy ? Yet no one
makes preparation for defence, or takes any care about it ;
but here we lie, as if we were allowed to live in quiet.
From what city, therefore, do I expect a general to per-
form these things 1 What age do I wait for 1 But, if I
abandon myself to the enemy this day, I shall never live
to see another."*

He accordingly arose, assembled the remaining captains
of Proxenus's part}^, forcibly pointed out to them, the perils
of their situation, and offered either to take the command,
or follow whomsoever they might appoint to lead them in

* Spelman's Xenophon, vol. i., p. 179.

164 SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF

this extremity. The consequence was an immediate feel-
ing of confidence in Xenophon, and an entreaty that he
would assume the direction of afiairs. Before midnight,
the whole remaining officers were assembled ; and to them,
at the request of an old captain, Hieronymus of Elis, he
repeated all he had before said, and suggested what he
thought advisable to be done in their position. The result
was a confirmation of his appointment as general, and the
nomination of other officers in the room of those they had
lost. The night was passed in counsel ; and by break of
day the soldiers were informed of the resolution taken by
the commanders, tendered their oaths, and received in-
structions. The morning found those who had lain down
a prey to doubt and almost to despair, transformed into a
resolute army, determined to defend themselves to the last
extremity, and to make every sacrifice for the common
welfare.

Another base attempt on the part of Mithradates, to en-
trap the Greeks by professions of friendship, was baffled
by the prudence of the generals; and the very next after-
noon saw them, after having burned all their carriages,
tents, and superfluous baggage, across the Zabatus, unas-
sailed, and marching in order of battle. Upon seeing this,
the treacherous King of Pontus threw aside the mask, and
appeared in the rear with some light-armed archers and
slingers, approaching at first as a friend, but discharging
his missiles at the Greeks, and retiring, while these dared
not leave their ranks to pursue the flying enemy.

The loss thus sustained produced some anxiety ; but the
expedient suggested by Xenophon, of selecting the best
Rhodian slingers, and forming a corps of light cavalry to
drive off" such assailants, restored confidence, and proved
its wisdom by enabling them the very next day to inffict a
severe chastisement on Mithradates, who accordingly left
them, for the remainder of the march, unmolested. That
night they reached Larissa, which the general describes as
an uninhabited city, two parasangs in circuit, with walls
twenty-five feet thick and 100 high, and built of bricks.
Near it stood a pyramid of stone, 100 feet square and 200
in height. This station, which, as their two harassed
marches were short, could not have been very far from the
Zab, must almost certainly have been the same of which
Mr. Rich describes the ruins under the name of Nimrod,

MESOPOTAMIA AND ASSYRIA. 165

and which that gentleman supposes to have been the city
mentioned by Xenophon. The pyramid observed by him,
still 144 feet"^high, is doubtless the one that, in the days of
the Anabasis, was probably revetted with stone mason-
work, vestiges of which still remain at the western base.
The name, indeed, is puzzling; and the only way to get rid
of the difficulty is to suppose that this city occupied the site
of the Nimrodian Resin, to which, as already suggested,
the people of the country have prefixed the Arabic article
Al. It is true that Ras^ ul Ain, formerly Ressaina, may,
so far as analogy of sound can be admitted as proof, ap-
pear to have equal, if not superior, claims with Nimrod to
identity with Resin, "which is between Nineveh and Ca-
leb ;" for some persons place Caleb at Hulwan, and oth-
ers near Racca at Callinicum, at the confluence of the Eu-
phrates and Khabour.

If the conjecture of Mr. Rich be well founded, there can
be very little doubt that the ruins of Nineveh must stand
for Mespila, in spite of dissimilarity of name. The march
of six parasangs agrees exactly with the six caravan hours,
or four of a horseman, given by him as its distance (or
that of Mosul) from Nimrod ; and there is neither city of
ancient times, nor any other relics at this day, that can at
all answer to the situation of Mespila. The plinth of pol-
ished stone, full of shells, fifty feet in breadth and height,
and the brick wall 100 feet high and six parasangs in cir-
cuit, can apply to no other remains than those of Nineveh,
which, at the era of the Anabasis, must still have been
great and imposing. The haste of a perilous retreat will
account for some inaccuracy of description, and possibly
of name.

From Mespila they continued their way along the coun-
try on the left of the Tigris, occasionally harassed by the
enemy, whom they always repulsed, until the sixth morn-
ing, when, passing over a hilly tract, they suffered from
the slings and darts of the barbarians, who occupied the
heights. They had already found it necessary to make a
change in the order of march, more suitable to the nature
of the country than the hollow square hitherto adopted ;
and, perceiving that they fought with the light-armed Per-
sians at disadvantage, they made a start in the night, by
which they threw their enemies so far in the rear as to be
allowed to proceed three days without interruption. But

166 SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF

on the fourth, the enemy having, contrary to custom, press-
ed forward during the hours of darkness, occupied a hill
that commanded the road. Encouraged by the indefatiga-
ble Xenophon, the)^ gained, after a desperate effort, a still
higher mountain, which enabled them to attack their pur-
suers with success. The barbarians fled, and the brave
Greeks passed on without interruption, Tissaphemes and
Ariseus shunning their encounter, and turning from the
road as they approached.

These marches and manoeuvres brought them to the
point w^here a range of mountains strikes down to the riv-
er-bank, leaving no room for troops to pass between them
and the stream, which was so deep that their pikes, with
which they sounded, did not reach the bottom. It is very
doubtful what mountains can here be meant ; for a late in-
telligent traveller, Colonel Shiel, a military man too, as-
sures us that the Zaco range, w^hich is by Rennell and
Kinneir supposed to be that in question, does not come
within six miles of the river; and that the intervening
space is by no means so narrow. The Buhtan ridge, men-
tioned by the colonel as about six miles farther north than
that of Zaco, agrees better with the description of Xeno-
phon ; but then there is no mention whatever made of pass-
ing the Khabour, a stream fifty yards wide, knee-deep, and
very rapid in the month of August, which must have been
crossed to reach those hills.

Here, although a Rhodian proposed that the army should
cross the Tigris on rafts of inflated skins, and pledged him-
self for success, the Grecian generals resolved to turn to-
wards the north, and cross the Carduchian Mountains.

In order to avoid interruption from the enemy, they com-
menced their march at night, and, traversing the interve-
ning plain, reached the foot of the hills by break of day.
The natives who inhabited the villages fled to the high
grounds, leaving abundance of provisions behind ; but they
afterward attacked the strangers from the heights, and both
parties sustained some loss. '

JNText day, the supernumerary slaves and sumpter horses
being abandoned, the Greeks prepared for the arduous
march that was before them ; and, in spite of storms and
every other obstacle, they steadily pursued their way, gui-
ded by certain prisoners ; but their progress being necessa-
rily slow, they had the mortification of occasionally losing,

MESOPOTAMIA AND ASSYRIA. IG7

by the missiles of the enemy, some brave men, whose bod-
ies they could neither bury nor carr}^ off. On the follow-
ing morning, having sent a party of volunteers with a guide
to occupy some clilis thatcommanded a pass, over which
lay their road, the rest of the army advanced, though ex-
posed to great danger on account of the immense stones
which the barbarians continually rolled down upon them
from the precipices. At night, they took advantage of a
dense mist to press forward; and, coming up with their
rude assailants, they routed them ; after which they passed
the first mountain. Two others w^ere won in like manner,
with immense toil; and the}^ were congratulating them.-
selves on their success, when their active enemy com-
menced an attack in the rear, and cut off a detachment
v/hich had been left to guard a post. Attempts to treat
with them were made in vain. They recovered some of
the dead in exchange for the guides they had captured;
found plenty of provisions in the villages as they passed
along; but every day was a succession of struggles, attend-
ed with great fatigue and loss ; for the Carduchians, who
w^ere skilful archers, had very long bows, which they drew
by pressing them with their left foot, and the arrows pier-
ced through the shields and corslets of the Greeks. On
the fifth day's march it appears that they reached the plain
of the River Centrites, which is by Kinneir supposed to be
the Nicephorius of the Romans, and the Khabour of the
present day. But it is clear that these two rivers are en-
tirely different, and could not, by any construction, be rep-
resented as forming the boundary between Armenia and
the country of the Carduchians, which last is barely pene-
trated by the Khabour. From this, indeed, it might be in-
ferred that the followers of Xenophon entered the mount-
ains at a point north of the Buhtan range, in w^hich case
the Centrites might be the Betlis chai, w^hich rises among
the lofty peaks northeast of Lake Van, and may therefore
be fairly held as the southern boundary of Armenia. But,
in fact, the description given by the author of the Anabasis,
however graphic, is of too general a character, and con-
tains too few recognisable points or names to be traced
with accuracy, even were we better acquainted than we
are with the geography of that part of the country. It is
impossible, we conceive, to pronounce where the Greeks
made their ascent, or even to identify the river which they

168 SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF

soon afterward crossed with so much boldness and skill in
the face of a very determined enemy. There, however, we
must take leave of Xenophon and his brave soldiers, who
had yet much toil and danger to encounter before they
could attain a sight of their native land. We have ac-
companied them to the confines of Armenia; and such of
our readers as desire to learn their farther adventures, will
find the narrative of their leader w^ell illustrated by the la-
bours of Rennell.

Seventy years after this celebrated achievement, the bat-
tle of Arbela or Gaugamela transferred the empire of Asia
from Darius to Alexander the Great. The events which
led to this revolution belong so entirely to another subject
already handled in this w^ork, that we shall not describe
them here. On the death of the renowned conqueror, Bab-
ylonia and Mesopotamia, together with Syria, passed into
the hands of the Seleucidas, from whom they were in turn
wrested by the Parthian dynasty of the Arsacidae, about the
year B.C. 164. In the possession of these last they re-
mained, until the Mithradatic war led Lucullus in pursuit
of Tigranes into Mesopotamia, when he took possession
of Nisibis, B.C. 68. This was the first occasion on which
a Roman army entered into that remote countr3\

In the year B.C. 64, Pompey reduced Syria to a Roman
province, of which, nine years afterward, Marcus Licinius
Crassus was made proconsul. Being an avaricious as
well as an ambitious man, he regarded with an envious eye
the power and supposed riches of the Parthians ; and, in
spite of the remonstrances of certain tribunes of the peo-
ple, who represented them as faithful allies of the Roman
nation, resolved to invade their country. Accordingly,
having arrived at the seat of his government, w^here one of
his first acts was to plunder the Temple of Jerusalem, he
marched to the Euphrates, which he crossed by a bridge
of boats ; and, taking the Parthians at unawares, speedily
overran Mesopotamia, then a part of their empire. But,
instead of pursuing his success, by making himself master
of Babylonia, and penetrating to Seleucia and Ctesiphon,
he repassed the river in the beginning of autumn, leaving
but 7000 foot and 1000 horse to secure his conquests.

This hasty retreat gave the natives time to recollect
themselves ; and Orodes their king, a warlike prince, im-
mediately assembled a numerous army, while he sent am-

MESOPOTAMIA AND ASSYRIA. 169

bassadors to Crassus to inquire the reason of his unexpect-
ed aggression. This general, who had spent the winter in
extorting money from the Syrians and shamelessly plun-
dering the temples, but who, at the approach of spring, as-
sembled his army in order to recommence the war, when
the Parthian deputies, reminding him of the treaties which
they had entered into with Sylla and Pompey, offered to
forget the past, and to permit the garrison to retire unmo-
lested out of Mesopotamia, upon the single condition of his
ceasing from farther hostilities, haughtily replied that they
should have his answer at Seleucia. The chief of the am-
bassadors, by name Vageses or Vahesis, smiling at this
response, showed the Roman commander the palm of his
hand, and exclaimed, " Sooner, Crassus, shall you see hair
grow here, than be master of Seleucia j" and, without add-
ing another word, retired.

Orodes immediately took the field, leading one half of
his army in person to make a diversion on the side of Ar-
menia, while the other half, under the celebrated Surenas,
marched into Mesopotamia, and soon recovered most of
the cities which the invader had captured in the preceding
year.

This Surenas — an appellation which, we are told by St.
Martin, was that of a great Parthian family, and not a
title — was not only one of the most influential individuals
about the court of his sovereign, but also a consummate
general. The Romans who had the good fortune to escape
from Mesopotamia brought fearful accounts of the num-
ber, strength, and power of the enemy. They assured
their fellow-soldiers that not only were the Parthians per-
fectly well disciplined, but that, while their defensive ar-
mour was so excellent as to resist the heaviest darts, their
weapons were so sharp and strong that the buckler proved
no defence against them. Crassus, considering these re-
ports as the exaggerations of fear, resisted all remon-
strances, and, being re-enforced with 6000 troops by the
King of Armenia, commenced his march, although that
monarch, even while promising him farther assistance,
advised him by all means to avoid the sandy deserts of
the low country. Accordingly, with several legions, 4000
horse, and a great many auxiliaries, making in all about
40,000 men, he crossed the Euphrates at Zeugma, the pres-
ent Kelaat e Room. Pressed by the advice of his officers,

O

170 SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF

he had consented to keep by the river-bank all the way to
Seleucia, when Abgarus, king of Edessa, whom the Ro-
mans believed to be their friend, but who was in reality
devoted to Surenas, unfortunately prevailed on him to al-
ter his plan. The crafty barbarian represented the Par-
thians as already in utter dismay ;- and assured him that,
in the war he was going to wage, feet and wings would
be required to catch a flying enemy, rather than arms to
fight a resolute one, and that he himself was prepared to
lead them to certain victory. Conducted by this treach-
erous monarch, the legions entered first a green plain, di-
vided by many rivulets, which afforded them easy iind
pleasant marching. But, as they advanced, the scene
gradually changed ; the roads grew worse ; and they had
to climb mountains and rocks, which brought them to a
sandy waste where there v/as neither food nor water to be
obtained. While beginning to suspect the honesty of their
guides, a messenger from the sovereign of Armenia ac-
quainted Crassus that the invasion of his own country by
Orodes would prevent him from sending any farther aid ;
but he repeated his advice to avoid the barren plains,
where his troops vv^ould perish with hunger, and take the
mountainous road to Armenia, where he might join forces
"With him against the common enemy. Yet the Roman
commander, with a degree of blindness that appears in-
comprehensible, still put faith in Abgarus, who led them
some days across a burning desert, without hill or tree,
or even a blade of grass, and not a drop of water to quench
their increasing thirst.

To this condition were matters reduced when the scouts
gave information that a numerous army of Parthians were
at hand to attack them. Crassus immediately drew up
his fainting and exhausted men, at first following the ad-
vice of the qu9BStor Cassius, who proposed an extended
line, in order to occupy more ground, but instantly chan-
ged this arrangement, according to the suggestions of Ab-
garus, who, assuring them that the Parthians were but few
in number, advised a compact disposition. So the troops
were drawn up in a square, wdth a detachment of horse
to support each cohort, twelve of which composed the
front on every side. In this order they came to the banks
of the Balissus, the present Belejick,* where most of the

* This would lead to the belief that Crassus did not cross the Euphra-

MESOPOTAMIA AND ASSYRIA. 171

officers were for encamping, in order to refresh the sol-
diers ; but their leader again permitting himself to be de-
ceived, or yielding to the ardour of his own son, only suf-
fered them to snatch a meal as they stood in their ranks,
and then pushed on against the enemy.

Surenas had concealed most of his men, and caused the
rest to cover their armour, so that his force at first seem-
ed very small ; but no sooner did he observe that tHe Ro-
mans had fallen into the snare, than he gave the signal,
v/hen the Parthians, starting up, as it were, out of the
ground, appeared, horse and man, shining from head to
foot in complete steel. Nor had the former time to recov-
er from their astonishment before they found themselves
charged by young Surenas, who, pike in hand, strove to
break through the hostile ranks. But habitual fortitude
and discipline counteracted the effect of surprise. The
assailants, being repulsed, retreated to a safe distance ;
whence they darted on the foe a shower of sharp and
heavy arrows. The light-armed foot and archers advan-
ced to drive them away, but were themselves soon com-
pelled to seek shelter behind the heavy troops ; while the
enemy, approaching still nearer, directed a deadly flight
of missiles into the densely-compacted legions, where not
a shaft failed to inflict a wound. The wings next deploy-
ing, advanced to the charge, 'but all in vain. The Parthi-
an horsemen shot with as much effect while retiring as ad-
vancing ; so that, whether the Romans kept their ground
or gave way, they were equally the butt of those dreadful
shafts.

In vain, too, did the latter expect that those weapons
would be exhausted, and their foes compelled to retreat,
for there were multitudes of camels in the rear, loaded
with arrows, from which the mounted archers ever and
anon replenished their quivers. Hence the bravest began
to despair of saving themselves from an enemy whom they
could neither reach nor avoid. At length the proconsul
sent his son with some chosen troops to attack the enemy,
and procure at least a short rest for the legionaries. The

tes at the tipper Zeugma or Roumkalah, which is scarcely forty miles
from Orfa, and qnite out of the way of the Belejick, and that he must
either have crossed at Beles or the lower Zeugma (Thapsacus), from
whence, as a matter of course, he must have crossed the Belejick in lus
way to the plains where he was defeated.

172 SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF

young Crassus advanced, and, seeing the Parthians wheel
and retreat as he proceeded onward, called aloud, " They
flee before us," and pressed on with the utmost ardour.
But, when they had drawn him to a sufficient distance
from the main bod}^, they returned furiously to the charge,
upon which he halted to meet the shock. But they, oppo-
sing their heavy-armed horse to his front, surrounded him
on alf sides with their light troops, who raised so thick a
dust that none of the Romans could distinguish friend
from foe ; while from the dense cloud issued showers of
arrows, that soon covered with dead bodies the ground
where they had stood. In vain did their young command-
er exhort his men to march up to the assailants. In reply,
they showed him their bodies transfixed with missiles,
their hands riveted to their bucklers and their feet to the
earth, and asked how, in such a condition, they could at-
tempt to overtake the enemy. He then charged their
lieavy cavalry ; and a thousand Gauls whom he had
brought from the "West acquitted themselves with dauntless
courage. They closed with the enemy, and sometimes
pulled them from their horses ; or, dismounting, pierced
the bellies of the steeds from beneath. But at length, har-
assed with heat and thirst, and having lost most of their
horses, the Gauls fell back upon the infantry, who, as well
as themselves, were immediately surrounded again by the
Parthians, and stood as a mark for their shafts.

Retiring, thus assailed, to a rising ground, the younger
Crassus, while his men fell thick around him, indignantly
refused an offer of two Greeks to conduct him safely to
Ischines, provided he would leave his troops ; and at length,
frantic with grief at seeing the bravest of his friends thus
uselessly sacrificed, and unable any longer to use his arm,
which was transpierced by a barbed shaft, he desired one
of his companions to put an end to his life, that he might
not fall alive into the enemy's hands. This example was
followed by most of the surviving nobility who were with
him; while of the remainder, five hundred were made
prisoners, and the rest were cut to pieces.

The unfortunate proconsul, who had retired to a height
in the rear to wait for his son's return or to mark his prog-
ress, was roused from his dream of hope by a messenger,
who told him that the youth would certainly be lost unless
immediate aid were sent to him. Prudence gave way to

MESOPOTAMIA AND ASSYRIA. 173

paternal solicitude and the desire of saving the brave com-
batants ; but, before he had advanced far, he was met by
the victorious Parthians, whose shouts of triumph told a
tale which was dismally confirmed to the unhappy father
by the sight of the young leader's head fixed upon a spear.
It was no time for the indulgence of sorrow. " This mis-
fortune is entirely mine," said he to his dismayed troops;
''the loss of one person cannot affect the victory. Let us
charge— let us fight like flomans: if you feel for a father
who has just lost a son whose valour you admired, let it
appear in your rage and resentment against those insulting
barbarians !"

But it was too late. The faintness of their shout gave
proof that their physical strength and courage were alike
exhausted. Again w^as the air darkened with clouds of
arrows from an enemy whom they could not approach;
and many of the men, in desperation, threw themselves
among the heavy-armed horse to seek a speedier death.
And thus did the fierce attack continue miceasingly till
nightfall, when the assailants retired.

A melancholy night it was to the Romans. Stretched
on the ground, at a distance from his soldiers and his tent,
and shrouded only by his military cloak, their wretched
commander lay writhing under the weight of his shame
and sorrow, insensible to all consolation, and equally pros-
trated in mind and body. One of his lieutenants, Octavius,
after making vain efforts to rouse him to exertion, now
summoned a council of war, in which it was resolved that
the remains of the army should retire in silence, under the
cover of darkness, to the city of Charrse, which w^as held
by a Roman garrison ; a dreadful alternative, as it left the
wounded to the mercy of a savage foe. No sooner did the
movement commence, than the ears of the retreating sol-
diers were assailed by the cries and reproaches of their
wretched companions. Three hundred light-horse desert-
ed, and pursued their way4o Zeugma, where they crossed
the Euphrates without halting, except to tell at Charraa
that Crassus had fought a battle with the Parthians.

The governor, suspecting from their manner that all w^as
not right, ordered his men under arms, and, marching out,
met the proconsul, whom, with his broken forces, he con-
ducted iiito the city ; the wounded and fugitives meanwhile
being put to the sword by the enem}^, and several smaller

P2

174 SUBSEQUENT HISTORY OF

detachments destroyed. Nor did the walls of Charrae long

Erove a protection to Crassus. Surenas, learning that he
ad taken refuge in it, sent to inform the garrison, that if
they expected to obtain any terms from him, both the gen-
eral and Cassias the quaestor must be delivered up to him
in chains. A council of war, which assembled to hear
this report, resolved that it was expedient to remove from
the city that very night, and to seek some other asylum ;
and secrecy was especially enjoined on all the command-
ers. Yet the infatuated Crassus himself betrayed the se-
cret to Andromachus, whom he had pitched upon as a
guide, and who happened to be a creature of Surenas.
Having given due information of the intended movement
to the Parthian chief, he led the devoted Romans by de-
vious ways into a tract of marshy land, till Cassius, sus-
pecting treachery, refused to proceed, and, taking his own
way, succeeded in reaching Syria with 500 horse. Octa-
vius, having been more fortunate in his guides, pursued his
march to the mountains of Sinnaca with 5000 men, and
there intrenched himself

The unfortunate proconsul remained entangled in the
marshes into which he had been misled till morning, when
the rising sun saw him surrounded by the Parthian caval-
ry. In spite of opposition, however, he gained a hill not
far from his lieutenant, who, seeing his danger, flew to his
assistance, and charging the enemy, rescued his forlorn
commander, whom the troops bore ^safely off in a hollow
square, covered by their bucklers. This check appears to
have in some measure disconcerted the pursuers ; and
Surenas, observing them reluctant to attack their antago-
nists in position, resolved to compass his ends by treachery.
Feigning a desire to negotiate, and to put an end to a war
which he said would be rendered more bitter and deadly
should a Roman general be made its victim, he invited
Crassus to an interview, advancing with unbended bow
and open arms.

This time it was not the rashness of the leader, but the
turbulence and fears of the legionaries, rendered outrageous
by their sufferings and situation, that led to a fatal result;
for they compelled him, against his better judgment, to
hold a conference with Surenas. Accompanied by Octa-
vius and Petronius, with a few soldiers, he accordingly de-
scended the hill, where he was met by the Parthian in per-

MESOPOTAMIA AND ASSYRIA. 175

son, mounted on a superb horse. '^ What do I see !" he
exclaimed, " a Roman general on foot, and we on horse-
back! Let a horse be brought for him immediately."
" Be not surprised," said Crassus ; " each comes to the con-
ference after the manner of his country.*' "It is well,"
said Surenas ; " but the articles of peace must be signed
on the bank of the Euphrates, for you Romans do not al-
ways remember your conventions." A gallant steed, with
rich caparison and bit of gold, was then brought and offered
to the proconsul as on the part of King Orodes ; upon
which some of the Parthian officers placed him upon the
animal, and began to scourge it forward with great violence.
Octavius resented the insult by seizing the bridle. His
men flocked around him ; a scuffle ensued ; v/hen, draw-
ing his sword, he killed one of Surenas's grooms, and was
instantly struck down himself by a blow from behind.
The fight soon became general, and ended in the death of
most of the Romans, and of Crassus himself, who thus
fell a victim to an inordinate desire of power or of wealth,
which appears to have utterly blinded his better judgment,
and led him into acts more like those of a madman than
of an experienced leader.

The rest of his army either surrendered to the enemy,
or, dispersing in the night, were pursued and cut to pieces.
To Rome, the misfortune was not restricted to the loss of
30,000 brave soldiers and valuable officers, but involved a
severe shock to her military reputation, which that haughty
nation felt so deeply, that the greatest efforts Avere subse-
quently made to efface the stain, and revenge the insult
offered to her name and arms.

In pondering over this catastrophe and the fate of Cras-
sus, the mind, unavoidably reverting to the very different
fortunes of Xenophon and his Ten Thousand Greeks, is
led to contrast the prudence, the intrepid perseverance, and
admirable conduct of the one commander, with the blind
infatuation and obstinate presumption of the other. Both
alike environed with fierce enemies, in a hostile country,
far from aid, had to depend entirely on their own resources.
In fact, the situation of the Greeks was worse than that of
the Romans, inasmuch as their numbers were smaller,
their foes infinitely more numerous, their distance from
home incomparably greater, and the moral effect, of course,
correspondingly more depressing. It is true that the Per-

176 SUBSEQUENT HISTORY, ETC.

sians of Artaxerxes were inferior to the Parthians of
Orodes in military skill and courage ; but, had Xenophon
suffered himself to be cajoled by the treacherous advice
of Tissaphernes and Mithradates, or been induced to cross
the Tigris into the arid plains of Mesopotamia, we may
be certain that none of his followers v/ouid ever again
have seen their native country. On the other hand, had
Crassus but paid attention to the sound counsel of the King
of Armenia, and taken the mountainous road to that coun-
try, neither he nor his troops would have fallen unavenged
by the arrows of the Parthian horsemen. But, as the bal-
ance of difficulty and danger was all against Xenophon,
so was that of conduct and moral intrepidity in his favour ;
and v/e may be sure that under no circumstances would
Crassus ever have evinced that admirable presence of
mind which, while it preserved the little band of Greeks
in the plains of Assyria, enabled their commander to make
head against the attacks of the bold Carduchian mount-
aineers, in his arduous march across their almost imper-
vious country.

CONTINUED CONTESTS, ETC. 177

CHAPTER X.

Continued Contests between the Romans and Persians.

The Parthians overrun the Country to Antioch, which is twice saved
with Difficulty. — Antony, having obtained the Eastern Provinces of
the Roman Empire, overtaxes Syria. — That Province, &c., overran by
Labienus. — Pacoras defeated by Ventidius and slam. — Antony resolves
to invade the Parthian Empire. — His Success at first. — Takes the
Route of Armenia. — Invests Praaspa, the Capital of Media. — Is forced
to raise the Siege and retreat. — Hardships during his Retreat — Suc-
ceeds m reaching and crossing the Araxes. — His impatient Obstinacy.
— Farther Losses in Armenia. — Augustus Csesar forces Phraates to
make Peace. — Successes of Trajan. — War continued with various Suc-
cess.— Exploits of Shapoor. — Constantius succeeded by Julian. — Juli-
an's Defiance of Shapoor. — His Expedition. — Successful Career. —
Change of Fortune at Ctesiphon. — He is betrayed — Attacked, and kdl-
ed by a Javelin. — Disastrous Retreat of the Roman Army under Jovian.
— Mesopotamia continues the Theatre of War till the Invasion of tiie
Huns. — The Roman Provinces invaded by Nooshirwan. — He is check-
ed by Belisarius. — Victorious Career of Khoosroo Purveez. — Arrested
by Heraclius, who outmanoeuvres and defeats the Persians. — Triumph-
ant Expeditions of Heraclius. — Farther Efforts of Khoosroo. — He is de-
feated at all Points. — Destagerd taken. — Khoosroo put to Death by his
Son Siroes, who concludes a Treaty with Heraclius. — Capture of Cte-
siphon by the Moslems, and Incorporation of the two Provinces with
the Dominions of the Caliphs.

After the defeat of Crassus, the Parthians, elated by
success, crossed the Euphrates, and overran the country as
far as Antioch, which they twice besieged. The first time
it was saved by the valour of Cassius and Cicero, and the
second by the intrigues of Bibulus, the Roman governor,
who created a diversion by promoting a rebellion among
them. But their power and their insolence had arrived
at such a pitch, that the great Julius himself, after having
become master of the Republic, considered them as ene-
mies worthy of his sword, and proposed an expedition
against them, which was only frustrated by his murder.

In the partition of empire that followed, Antony hav-
ing obtained the eastern provinces, and overtaxed that of
Syria, the inhabitants invited the Parthians to invade the
country ; and, accordingly, led by Labienus, one of Pom-
pey's generals, they overran it, as well as Ppjestine and

178 CONTINUED CONTESTS BETWEEN

Phoenicia, even to the gates of Tyre, making great ad-
vances also in Asia Minor. But the bravery and skill of
Ventidius, who served under Marc Antony, put a stop to
their progress, and restored the Roman affairs. He sur-
prised the invader, who tied to Tauris, and sent to Pacoras,
the son of Orodes, for assistance. But Ventidius entirely
defeated the Parthians, put Labienus to death, and forced
the barbarians to recross the Euphrates. In a second at-
tempt they were still more unsuccessful ; for, being de-
ceived by a stratagem, they were utterly routed, Pacoras
himself slain, and most of their army put to the sword.
Unfortunately, perhaps, for the Roman name, the conquer-
or, fearing to excite too far the jealous disposition of his
master, did not push his conquests across the river, nor, as
he might have done, annex Mesopotamia and Babylonia
to the Asiatic provinces, but contented himself with redu-
cing the revolted places in Asia Minor.

Antony had, in fact, already taken umbrage at the great
success of his general, whom, on his arrival in Syria, he
sent to Rome, on pretence that he deserved a triumph, and
he himself immediately assumed the command. The
army, as we learn, amounted to 100,000 men, in a high
state of discipline, and amply provided with military
stores ; while, owing to the disturbances which had recent-
ly occurred in Parthia, where the tyrannical Phraates,
having put his father Orodes to death, had disgusted many
of his nobles, there appeared every reason to hope for suc-
cess. And success did at first attend his steps, for he sub-
dued all the neighbouring states, including Armenia ; but
having, while he attempted to cross the Euphrates, endeav-
oured to throw Phraates off his guard by negotiation, he
found himself baffled by the vigilance of his antagonist,
who had guarded the passes. He therefore proceeded to
attack Media.

But, in carrying this measure into effect, he suffered him-
self, like Crassus, to be deceived and betrayed. Artaba-
zus, king of Armenia, who had his own ends in view, led
the army by such circuitous routes that, fatigued and impa-
tient, Antony left his military engines under his lieutenant
Stratianus, with 10,000 men, while he pushed forward to
invest Praaspa, the capital.*

* The site of this Median capital is not known. It has been placed at
Casbin and at Sultanieh ; but D Anville rejects both these positions.

THE ROMANS AND PERSIANS, 179

To take this place, however, without his battering ma-
chines, he foand to be impossible ; and the Parthians, re-
solving to frustrate his enterprise, pushed past the belea-
guered city, and cut off the whole of the detachment to
whose care they had been intrusted. The consequence
was, that he was forced to raise the siege ; and, after a vain
attempt to conclude a peace, on condition of receiving from
the Parthian monarch the standards and prisoners taken
in the expedition of Crassus, he trusted to an equivocal
promise of safety, and commenced a retreat towards the
A raxes, which, in point of hardship and painful anxiety,
yielded not, perhaps, to that of the Ten Thousand Greeks,
whose sufferings w^ere often in his mind. It is true, he had
but 300 miles to traverse through a hostile country, but his
Avily foe was most powerful and active ; wdiile the troops
under his command were depressed by ill success, and so
much in want of the necessaries of life, that, before the
march was over, a quart of wheat was sold for fifty drach-
mas, and barley loaves for their weight in silver. Thus
situated, in the course of twenty-seven days he was eigh-
teen times attacked by the whole Parthian forces, besides
incidental skirmishes, in which he lost many men ; and
thrice he nearly fell into an ambuscade, from which he was
only saved by the fidelity of his guide, a native of the coun-
try. But so harassing and painful were the circumstances
of the retreat, that his constancy utterly gave way; and,
rushing into his tent, he called on one of his freedmen to
put an end to his life, and conceal his head, that it might
not fall into the hands of the enemy. Nor would he have
altered his intention but for the opportune entrance of the
guide, who assured him that the worst was over. " O the
Ten Thousand !" he frequently exclaimed, as he saw his
men dropping from fatigue, or transfixed by the Parthian
arrows : and when, at length, diminished in numbers,
wounded, and exhausted, they actually recrossed the Arax-
es, the soldiers fell down and kissed the soil, embracing
each other like persons reprieved from death.

But, though Antony in this desperate enterprise displa}^-
ed many of the good qualities of a general, and succeeded
in rescuing the remains of his legions, the impatient obsti-
nacy which led him into his embarrassments was more
disastrous to Ronie than even the total failure of Crassus.
Nor did his infatuated imprudence end here ; for, eager to

180 CONTINUED CONTESTS BETWEEN

rejoin his mistress, the celebrated Cleopatra, instead of
halting in Armenia to refresh his troops, he led them,
without stopping, over its snow-covered mountains, and
thus added to their previous misfortunes the loss of 8000
men. In short, scarcely one third of his army returned to
Syria.

Some time afterward, Augustus Caesar, too powerful for
even the Parthians to contend with, compelled Phraates to
conclude a peace, one condition of which was the surren-
der of all the standards and prisoners taken from the Ro-
mans in their several expeditions. After the death of that
emperor, the treaty was frequently violated, particularly
by the first Vologeses, who ascended the throne about A.D.
60, and made war upon the Europeans with various suc-
cess. But Trajan completely turned the tide of con-
quest against them, by first overrunning Mesopotamia and
Assyria, and, secondly, by placing in the hands of Par-
thanaspates the sceptre of Parthia, thus rendering the whole
country tributary to Rome. It is true that matters did not
continue long on this footing, and even Mesopotamia was
frequently abandoned and recovered, till at length the
power of the Arsacid^ was utterly broken by Ardeshir
Babegan, called Artaxerxes in the West, who founded the
new dynasty of the Sassanide's.

In the frequent wars which raged between the Romans
and Sassanians, Mesopotamia still continued to be the
great field on which the prize of victory was contended for;
and the city of Orfa (Edessa) witnessed the utter defeat of
the Emperor Valerian by Shapoor. Odenathus, the chief
of Palmyrene, husband of the celebrated Zenobia, revived
the drooping fortunes of Rome ; and though the imprudent
rashness of Galerius subjected him to the mortification
of a defeat near the banks of the Euphrates, he soon re-
trieved his error by utterly destroying the army of Nar-
ses, and depressing that monarch to the condition of a vas-
sal.

The result of these victories was a treaty of peace, by
which Mesopotamia and five provinces of Assyria became
united to the Roman Empire. The second Shapoor, dis-
tinguished in Persian history by the name of Zoolactaf, a
brave and successful warrior, disputed this arrangement;
and his efforts to reconquer the fine country lost by Narses
rendered the Mesopctamian plain once more a scene of

THE ROMANS AND PERSIANS. 181

devastation. But he lost, iii the protracted siege of Nisi-
bis, the advantages he had gained in the battle of Singara;
and a Scythian invasion forced him to an unwilling truce
with Rome. A successful expedition to the banks of the
Oxus, however, enabled the warlike monarch to return
with his ranks re-enforced by a large body of veterans ;
and, had he not wasted the flower of his troops and the best
of the season in a tedious investment of Amida, he might
have wrested the w^hole region from the Roman arms, as
he did the important strongholds of Sinjar and Bezabde.

The efibrts of the aged and weak Constantias were un-
able to retrieve the losses in those provinces ; but wdien
Shapoor was informed that the purple had descended on a
younger and more resolute monarch, the celebrated Julian,
he condescended to make overtures of peace. The pride
of the Eastern prince was astonished by the firmness of the
new emperor, who sternly declared that he w^ould never
consent to hold a peaceful conference among the flames
and ruins of the cities of Mesopotamia ; and w^io added,
with a smile of contempt, that it was needless to treat by
ambassadors, as he himself had determined to visit speed-
ily the court of Persia.

In the spring of A.D. 363, accordingly, passing through
Bercea (now Aleppo) to Hierapolis, the appointed rendez-
vous of the Roman troops, he crossed the Euphrates by a
bridge of boats, and advanced immediatel}^ to Charrce.
From hence he despatched 30,000 men, under his kinsman
Procopius, and Sebastian, duke of Egypt, towards Nisibis,
to secure that frontier; afterward, with the assistance of the
King of Armenia, to ravage Media and Adiabene, and
then to meet him under the walls of Ctesiphon, whither,
by advancing along the bank of the Euphrates, he hoped
himself to arrive. But the Armenian proved as faithless
to Julian as his predecessor had been to i\ntony, and w^heu
the day of need arrived, he appeared not. The emperor, a
month after his departure from Antioch, arrived at Circe-
sium, the extreme limit of the Roman dominions ; for the
Khabour had for some time been regarded as their bound-
ary in this direction. Sixty-five thousand eflective and
well-disciplined soldiers crossed this stream, accompanied
by all the requisite engines and muniments of war, laden
upon 1100 vessels of various descriptions and burden,
w^hich floated simultaneouslv down the Euphrates. Fol-

182 CONTINUED CONTESTS BETWEEN

lowing nearly the tract of Cyrus the Younger, he spared
Anatho, denounced a heavy doom upon Thilutha, should
he return victorious, and, committing great havoc, in spite
of the presence of a hostile army which hovered round his
legions, in fifteen days arrived at Macepracta, where, after
a hot assault, he look and razed the ill-fated town of Per-
isabor.

The fortress of Maogamalcha, reputed impregnable, was
his next object of attack; and, while the inhabitants v/ere
deriding the assciilants, and singing the praises of Shapoor,
a mine, which was silently pushed into the body of jhe
place, admitted 1500 chosen men. It was forthwith taken;
and the revenge of the soldiers was satiated by a bloody
massacre.

Controlling by a manly address the insolent complaints
of his army, he next led them against Ctesiphon itself,
bringing his fleet across the narrow isthmus of Babylonia
by means of a cut between the Nahr Malikah and a chan-
nel opened for the same purpose by the Emperor Trajan.
By a bold manoeuvre, he passed the Tigris itself in the
night, making good his footing on the farther bank, in spite
of the enemy's opposition. Here, however, the fortunes of
Julian changed. His anxious looks towards the northern
plains of Assyria failed to discover the advance of his
troops under Procopius ; he was therefore forced to relin-
quish the intention of besieging Ctesiphon ; and, rejecting
with a foolish obstinacy the pacific overtures of Shapoor,
he resolved, like Alexander, to carry the war into the heart
of his enemy's country, and force him in the open field to
contend for the dominion of Asia.

But the emperor, however vigilant, appears to have
been open to imposition. A Persian noble, w^ho placed
himself in the dangerous position of a spy, by pretending
friendship, gained an influence over him ; and through his
advice, as it appears, he was induced to burn his fleet, and
the greater part of his magazines. The former mighl
have been useless for remounting the Tigris; but he speed-
ily had to deplore the loss of his provisions. JNo soonei
did he leave his camp before Ctesiphon, and turn his face
towards Media, than flames arose in every quarter: the
crops were burned with fire; the cattle were driven away:
the inhabitants everywhere disappeared ; the desolated
country could no longer supply food to its invaders ; and

THE ROMANS AND PERSIANS. 183

they were soon reduced to the scanty supply which they
had saved from their stores. The spy and his associates
disappeared when their work was accomplished, dissipating
the visions of victory which Julian had entertained ; and
in their room were seen bodies of Persian horsemen, who
harassed his army as soon as he began to retreat towards
the banks of the Tigris. Next morning he was surround-
ed by vast numbers of the enemy, who proved only the
vanguard of that mighty force w^hich Shapoor had sum-
moned from every province of his dominions. This prince
now resumed the tactics which had ruined Crassus and
Antony, compelling the Romans to retreat under a show-
er of darts, and harassed by constant attacks. A severe
skirmish took place at Maronga, though the famished le-
gionaries could scarcely sustain their arms. After a night
of alarming visions, as Julian led his army through a hilly
tract, the heights and passes of which had been occupied
by the enemy, he v/as informed that his rear was sudden-
ly attacked. " " The heat of the weather had tempted him
to lay aside his cuirass ; but he snatched a shield from
one of his attendants, and hastened, w^ith a sufficient re-
enforcement, to the relief of the rear-guard. A similar
danger recalled the intrepid prince to the defence of the
front ; and, as he galloped between the two columns, the
centre of the left was attacked, and almost overpowered,
by a furious charge of the Persian cavalry and elephants.
This huge body w^as soon defeated by the w^ell-timed evo-
lution of the light infantry, w^ho aimed their w^eapons
with dexterity and effect against the backs of the horse-
men and the legs of the elephants. The barbarians fled ;
and Julian, who w^as foremost in every danger, animated
the pursuit with his voice and gestures. His trembling
guards, scattered and oppressed by the disorderly throng
of friends and enemies, reminded their fearless sovereign
that he was without armour, and conjured him to decline
the fate of the impending ruin. As they exclaimed, a
cloud of darts and arrows was discharged from the flying
squadrons, and a javelin, after rasing the skin of his arm,
transpierced the ribs, and fixed in the inferior part of the
liver. Julian attempted to draw the deadly weapon from
his side, but his fingers w^ere cut by the sharpness of the
steel, and he fell senseless from his horse. His guards
flew to his relief, and the wounded emperor was gently

184 CONTINUED CONTESTS BETWEEN

raised from the ground, and conveyed out of the tumult of
the battle into an adjacent tent. The report of the melan-
choly event passed from rank to rank; but the grief of the
Romans inspired them with invincible valour and the desire
of revenge. The bloody and obstinate conflict was main-
tained by the two armies till they were separated by the
total darkness of the night. The first words that Julian
uttered, after his recovery from the fainting-fit into which
he had been thrown by loss of blood, w^ere expressive of
his martial spirit. He called for his horse and arms, and
was impatient to rush into the battle. His remaining
strength Avas exhausted by the painful effort ; and the sur-
geons who examined his wound discovered the symptoms
of approaching death. He employed the awful moments
with the firm temper of a hero and a sage ; the philoso-
phers who had accompanied him in this fatal expedition
compared the tent of Julian with the prison of Socrates ;
and the spectators, whom duty, or friendship, or curiosity
had assembled round his couch, listened with respectful
grief to the funeral oration of their dying emperor."*

Such was the end of the Emperor Julian : a man whose
gallantry and virtues render still more dark the stain of
apostacy which has obscured his character. The army,
perplexed and confounded at an event so disastrous, eager-
ly adopted the first suggestions offered; and Jovian, who
possessed not a single title to the choice, was elected his
successor. The death of his able opponent renewed the
hopes of Shapoor, who attacked the Romans repeatedly,
always inflicting a heavy loss, until, after encamping at
Samarra and Carche, they pitched their tents at Dura, on
the fourth night after the fall of their leader. An attempt
to cross the Tigris at this place spent in vain two precious
days ; but the fainting spirits of the fugitives were here re-
vived by the unexpected sound of peace. The Persian,
who felt that his very success was ruinous, and that, though
he might annihilate the Roman army, it must be at the ex-
pense of his own, condescended to offer terms ; and, after
craftily tantalizing the invaders during four days — a delay
that exhausted the constancy of the irresolute Jovian as
well as the scanty provisions of his troops — he vouchsafed

* Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roraan EmjJre, by the Rev. H. H,
Mibnan, 8vo, Lend., 1838, vol. iv., p. 186-188.

THE ROMANS AND PERSIANS. 185

to specify, as the terms, the cession of the five provinces
which his grandfather had given up to Rome, with the im-
pregnable city of Nisibis, and some other of the strongest
places in Mesopotamia. With these humiliating condi-
tions the emperor complied. He crossed the river unas-
sisted, but unassailed by the haughty conqueror ; and the
loss which his followers sustained in this passage was not
inferior to the carnage of a day of battle. He had next
to traverse two hundred miles of desert, enduring all the
pangs of thirst and hunger ; and the pathless waste was
strewed with the bodies, the arms, and the baggage of his
soldiery. A small supply of food was forwarded to the
lain ting squadrons on their march ; at Thilsphata, their
imperial master received the generals of Mesopotamia ;
and the poor remains of a splendid army at length found
repose beneath the walls of Nisibis.

For nearly two centuries after this time, the same re-
gion continued to be the theatre of battle, passing partially
from hand to hand, according as the throne of eitJier em-
pire was ably or weakly filled.

The invasion of the Huns had perplexed both powers,
and forced them alternately to withdraw their forces from
this quarter, in order to repel another and more dangerous
foe. But the first Khoosroo, known in the East by the
name of Nooshirwan, and who mounted the throne of the
Sassanides in the reign of Justinian, A.D. 531, resolving to
extend his dominion towards the West, took the field, and
with a large army overran Syria and Cilicia. Antioch
was burned to quicken the negotiations for a peace, in
which he dared to demand an annual tribute and subsidy
from Rome. But, while taking city after city with fright-
ful rapidity, his career was checked by the genius of Bel-
isarius ; and, after various fortunes, a treaty was once
more concluded, to be broken soon after, Avhen Khoosroo
found he could recommence the war with a prospect of
success. His last pitched battle with the Romans was
fought at Malatia, with a result that would have remained
doubtful had he not retired in the night, conscious of a
loss, the greatness of which his opponents had not the
means to estimate.

The last successful inroad upon the imperial provinces
waLi made by the no less celebrated Khoosroo Purveez, a
prince whose subsequent fate belied the proiidse of his

186 CONTINUED CONTESTS BETWEEN

earlier career. Syria was rapidly reduced; Antioch was
taken ; and the capital of Cappadocia, with the holy city
of Jerusalem, fell before the arms of this victorious mon-
arch. Egypt again owned a Persian master. "His west-
ern trophy was erected, not on the walls of Carthage, but
in the neighbourhood of Tripoli. The Greek colonies of
Cyrene were finally extirpated ; and the conqueror, tread-
ing in the footsteps of Alexander, returned in triumph
through the sands of the Libyan desert. In the same
campaign, another army advanced from the Euphrates to
the Thracian Bosphorus; Chalcedon surrendered after a
long siege ; and a Persian camp was maintained above
ten years in the presence of Constantinople."*

But the day of reverse at length arrived. Heraclius,
aroused from sloth or despair, made gigantic efforts, and
evinced a knowledge and conduct in warlike affairs which
he had never been suspected to possess. Concluding a
peace with the Avars, who had advanced to the gates of
Constantinople, he mustered his troops at Issus, adroitly
drew the Persians, who occupied Cilicia, into a general
action, defeated them, marched through Cappadocia, and
wintered his army on the fertile banks of the Halys. The
spring saw him again in movement. Sailing from Con-
stantinople to Trebizond, he gathered together his soldiers,
and, while the enemy was fruitlessly insulting the capita],
he suddenly made his appearance at Tauris, in the heart
of the Persian territories. At the head of 40,000 men,
Khoosroo himself retreated before the emperor, who pur-
sued his victorious career till the approach of the cold
months, when he retired to the plains of Mogam. The
succeeding campaign carried his army to Casbin and Is-
pahan, where never yet had Romans been seen. The rest
of the season was marked by a series of triumphs ; and
another winter of repose only prepared his troops for new
successes. Traversing the mountains of Kurdistan, and
passing the Tigris, the emperor deposited his spoils and
captives at Diarbekir, and informed the senate of Con-
stantinople of his safety and success. Crossing the Eu-
phrates by a ford, he next advanced against a multitude
of barbarians who defended the passage of the Sarus,
overthrew and dispersed them, and, marching through

THE ROMANS AND PERSIANS. 1S7

Sebaste in Cappadocia, the present Sivas, reached the
coast of the Euxine, just three years from the time he left
it on his long- and glorious expedition.

But the ambition of Khoosroo was not yet humbled, nor
his resources exhausted. Hate and a thirst of revenge ex-
asperated the one, a wide realm and a host of tributaries
supplied the other ; and a treaty formed with the Chagan
of the Avars gave him additional ground of hope. Three
armies were simultaneously raised : the first, of 50,000
" Golden Spears," was destined to oppose Heraclius ; the
second was stationed to prevent his junction with the
troops of his brother Theodorus ; the third was directed
to act with the Avars, who advanced with 100,000 men to
besiege Constantinople. The preparations and arrange-
ments of the emperor were not less activ^ and earnest;
but v/e must refer our readers to the pages of the Ro-
man historian for an account of the deliverance of his
capital. Himself, with 70,000 men, flew to the recovery
of Syria, Mesopotamia, and Armenia ; while his intrigues,
or the insane jealousy of the king, produced the defection
of Sarbar, the generalof his third division, and neutralized
the opposition he would have made to the Roman arms.

Traversing the country from the Araxes to the Tigris,
Heraclius met and overthrew the army of Khoosroo on
the plain of Nineveh, in a battle that raged from daybreak
till late at night. Those of the Persians who were not
killed in the action dispersed, and the victorious Romans
continued their march unopposed through Assyria to Des-
tagerd. Their wa^^ was marked with fire and blood : they
spoiled and destroyed the country in the very wantonness
of vengeance. But " the recovery of 300 Roman stand-
ards, and the deliverance of the numerous captives of
Edessa and Alexandrea, reflect a purer glory on the impe-
rial arms."

The passage of the Arba or Diala could scarcely have
formed an obstacle to arrest the career of Heraclius. The
rigour of the season — for it was winter — and the fame of
an impregnable capital, may have had their influence. Be
that as it may, the Roman emperor stopped short of Ctesi-
phon ; and, passing through Seazurus, the present Shahra-
sour, he crossed Mount Zara of Zagros — probably Avro-
man, and reached Gandzaca, now Tabreez, most fortu-
nately before a fall of snow, which lasted thirtv-four davs.

188 CONTINUED CONTESTS, ETC.

But the pride of the Persian had not yet sunk to the lev-
el of his fortune. In spite of his disgraceful flight from
Destagerd, he commanded a new army to be raised, and a
new camp to be formed behind the Arba; and rejecting all
pacific overtures, and even solicitations, from a conquer-
or whose retreat had inspired the vanquished with some
confidence, he thought only of continuing the struggle.
But his will was no longer the law in Persia ; a conspira-
cy of his nobles, headed by his son Siroes, raised the lat-
ter to the throne, and sent the aged monarch to a bloody
tomb. A treaty was formed between the new sovereign
and Heraclius, who returned to enjoy his well-merited tri-
umph in Constantinople.

The death of Khoosroo occurred A.D. 628. Nine years
afterward, Ctesiphon, his capital, which had been spared
by the Romans, was sacked and destroyed by the v^ictori-
ous followers of Mohammed. In another year the whole
of Syria was wrested from Heraclius, now aged and fee-
ble, by the grasp of the invincible Moslems. The walls
of Edessa and Amida, of Dara and Nisibis, which had re-
sisted the arms and engines of Shapoor or Nooshirwan,
were levelled in the dust ; and Mesopotamia and Assyria,
with the rest of Western and Central Asia, became thence-
forth integral parts of the vast dominions of the caliphs
and their successors.

PRESENT STATE OF MESOPOTAMIA. 189

CHAPTER XI.

Present State of Mesopotor/iia,

Bncking-ham's Account of Bir. — Orfa. — Mosque and Pool of '* Abraham
the Beloved." — Mos<iues. — Gardens. — Population. — Manufactures. —
Castle. — History. — Haran. — Division of Opinions in regard to its Iden-
tity with the Haran of Genesis. — March to Mardin. — Plundering Arabs.
— Mardin described. — Ceremonial of the Syrian Cliurch. — March to
Diarbekir. — Wadi Zenaar. — Ai)proaoh to Diarbekir. — The City descri-
bed.— Walls. — Mosques and Churches. — History.— Population. — Sin-
jar Mountains. — Dara. — Nisibin. — Sheik Farsee. — Extortion. — Ac-
count of Nisibin. — More Extortion. — Journey to Mosul. — Appearance of
Mosul. — Description. — Houses. — Bazars. — Coffee-houses.— Church-
es.— Population. — Government. — Trade. — Climate. — Extent according-
to Mr. Southgate. — Sinjar District visited by Mr. Forbes. — Yezidee
Robbers subdued by Haifiz Pacha. — Til Afar. — Bukrah. — Mirka. — Kir-
si. — Kolgha. — Samukhah. — Sakiniyah. — Description of the Country.
— Geographical Observations.

We shall now proceed to give some idea of the present
state of Mesopotamia and Assyria, as described by mod-
ern travellers. Beginning with the former of these prov-
inces, and taking Mr. Buckingham, one of the most recent,
as our guide, we cross the Euphrates at Bir. This city,
known as the Birtha of antiquity, stands on the eastern
side of the Euphrates, just below a bend of that river,
which is there about the width of the Thames at Blackfri-
ars' Bridge, and flows to the southward. It contains about
400 houses, five mosques, and from three to four thousand
inhabitants. The hill on which it is situated, and from
which it is built, is of a hard, chalky substance, so that
the whole presents a glaring white mass. A number of
caves and grottoes are found among the rocks, which do
not, however, appear to have been sepulchral, and are now
used by the inhabitants as dwellings, being closed up with
masonry in front. In the centre, on a height, appears an
old fortification ; and the walls and towers of a large cas-
tle still crown the perpendicular cliff that faces the water.
Mr. Buckingham also observed here many architectural
relics in the Roman style. The streets are narrow, though,
from their steepness, and the nature of its materials, the

190 PRESENT STATE OF MESOPOTAMIA.

town is unusually clean. The caravan crossed the river
on large flat-boats, each carrying four camels, a few hor-
ses and asses, with eight or ten passengers, besides about
two tons of merchandise. He saw none of those rafts,
buoyed upon inflated hides, formerly used on the Euphra-
tes between Armenia and Babylon ; but men and boys of-
ten passed the stream upon a sheep or goatskin filled with
air, embracing it with their hands, and propelling it with
their feet, and carrying their clothes on their heads.

From Bir the traveller departed on the 1st of June for
Orfa, under the protection of a caravan. The way lay over
an uninteresting country of swelling ridges, scantily covered
with grass, interspersed in the hollows with a few patches
of corn, but without a tree or bush to relieve the monotony
of the scene. He compares its appearance to that of the
undulating waves of the ocean when subsiding after a tem-
pest. The thermometer at sunrise was 78° ; at noon, in
the sun, 102^ ; 96'^ in the tent ; at sunset, 88"^ ; and at mid-
night, 76^ ; but the air was dry, fresh, and pleasant. This
plain was sprinkled with tents of Turkoman hordes.

On the fourth day of June he reached Orfa, which was
approached by a broad paved road, and through an exten-
sive cemetery. This town, which is the capital of Diar
Rabiaa, is seated on the eastern side of a hill where it
slopes to the plain, so that its v/estern side rises slightly
above the opposite quarter. The wall is between three and
lour miles in circuit, forming an irregular triangle, though
Niebuhr thinks it bears a greater resemblance to a square.
It is well filled with houses, having few open spaces ; but
the streets are narrow, and constructed with a paved cause-
way on each side of a central channel for water. The ba-
zars are amply supplied, and separated, as usual, into de-
partments for the various commodities that are sold or
manufactured. The khans or caravansaries are numerous,
some of them excellent, and laid out upon a plan calcula-
ted to supply the traveller with every necessary : lodging,
stabling, food, and water for all purposes are in abundance,
and served in the most convenient manner.

Of mosques, distinguished by minarets, there are about
fifteen; among which that of Ibrahim ul Khaleel is the
most beautiful, though not the largest. This structure,
which has received its name from the patriarch Abraham
the Beloved, or Friend of God, stands by a lake called

PRESENT STATE OF MESOPOTAMIA. 191

Birket ul Ibrahim ul Khaleel, which is 225 paces long by
twenty-five broad, and five or six feet deep. It is filled
from a clear and copious fountain that rises in the southwest
quarter of the city. At the end where a canal commences,
a room has been built overhanging the stream ; and at the
other extremity, the waters run under a bridge into a
smaller channel, which separates into m.any branches, and
are thus dispersed throughout the town. On the south
side of the canal is a causeway, and behind it fine gardens,
full of mulberry-trees. The one half of the northern bank
is occupied by the grand facade of the mosque, which rises
from its waters. The centre is a square pile, from which
spring three large uniform domes, with a lofty minaret as-
cending from amid a cluster of tall cypresses. At each
end of the edifice are flights of steps, leading doAvn to the
water's edge through a series of open arcades. The wings
are terminated by two solid masses of building similar to
each other ; the whole forming one of the most regular
structures in Turkey. The lake is full of fine fish, which,
being held sacred, and thereby protected, are very tame, and
multiply exceedingly.* Bathing, however, is not prohibit-
ed, for many men and boys were seen swimming about in
it. Another fountain in the vicinity appears to be used in
the same way by the females. It is called the Ain el Zil-
gah, and is a delicious place, bordered with gardens and
shady walks.

There are four or five public baths at Orfa, some of them
very commodious, with numerous well-supplied coflee-
houses and cook-shops. Ice from the summits of Mount
Taurus was plentiful, and sold for a farthing a pound.
The fruits of the season were the white mulberry, quinces,
and apricots; grapes, pomegranates, and pistachio nuts
had not yet come in; nor were there either lemons, oran-
ges, or melons to be seen. The environs are embellished
by many pleasant gardens ; and, from Mr. Buckingham's
account, the inhabitants appear to have great enjoyment
in them, passing much of their time in giving entertain-

* Mr. Buckingham appears inclined to derive the veneration for these
fish from the ancient Syrian worship of Dag-on or of Venus under the
form of one ; but the fact is, that in most of the fountains of the East
which are held sacred, the fish are always preserved with care, as parta-
king of the sanctity which belongs to the hallowed spring.

192 PRESENT STATE OF MESOPOTAMIA.

ments, or sitting imder the shade of the trees, smoking,
playing on the guitar, and not unfrequently drinking.

The population is stated to be about 50,000, among Vv'-hom
are 2000 Christians, chiefly Armenians and Syrians, who
have separate quarters, and 500 Jews ; both of these class-
es are merchants and traders. The costume of the Mos-
lems resembled that of Damascus, being very gay and
lively, exhibiting a profusion of bright shawls, fringes, tas-
sels, and embroidery. The women wore white outer robes,
with veils of black gauze or horsehair projecting several
inches from the face.

The manufactures are limited to a few coarse articles
of apparel, such as woollen and cotton cloths. The for-
mer resembles the stuff' used for sailor's jackets, and is
generally of the native brown of the wool, though some-
times dyed with indigo. The latter are of the nature of
English dowlas, and are worn either undyed or coloured.
When printed, which is done with blocks like those of the
Chinese — a tedious and imperfect process — they are used
for women's gowns or robes, for shawls to veil the head,
bed and sofa covers, and the fronts of the large cushions
that form a Turkish divan ; but the slowness of the opera-
lion renders the article very expensive. They also make
a few substantial carpets, haircloth, silk bands and tapes,
with some very good saddlery and smith-work.

All classes are subject to that boil or eruption common-
ly known as the " bouton d^Aleppe,'^ and which in many
cases greatly disfigures the countenance. It is attributed
by some to the quality of the water, by others to the ex-
cessive use of raw vegetables, and the large quantities of
ice consumed by all classes ; but the true cause still re-
mains unknown. Strangers residing for any considera-
ble time in the place are equally liable to it with the na-
tives.

The castle is situated on the summit of a rock, on the
southwestern side of the two springs. The ascent to it is
by a steep winding path, and the enclosure is nearly a quar-
ter of a mile long by 100 yards broad ; but it contains only
ruins, among which some fragments of Corinthian columns
and other remains indicate the site of ancient fabrics. Two
of the pillars are still erect.

The government is conducted by a mussellim, who is
deputy of the Pacha of Diarbekir.

(

PRESENT STATE OF MESOPOTAMIA. 193

Mr. Buckingham enters at great length into the history
of this ancient and important city, which in various ages
has been known as " U r" of the Chaldees, Edessa and Cal-
lirrhoe of the Greeks, and sometimes as Iloha, from Or-
rhoa, of the Arabs, which is abbreviated into Orha and
Orfa. This last appellation is used by all the Turks, and
most of the Kurds and Arabs in the neighbourhood. It
appears at one time also to have been named Antiochia,
from Antiochus Nicator, which Benjamin of Tudela has
corrupted into Dakia.

Among the places of note in the neighbourhood, the
traveller mentions Haran, about eight hours' distance from
Orfa ; and agrees with most geographers in considering it
as identical with the Charree or Carrhse of the Romans, and
the Haran or Charran of the Old and New Testaments.
Mr. Beke, in his Origines Biblicce,* inclines to dispute the
last point, and to transfer the Haran to which Abraham
removed from Ur of the Chaldees to the neighbourhood of
Damascus.

For ten days our countr5anan was detained in Orfa, ow-
ing to reports that the road to Mardin was beset by preda-
tory tribes of Arabs — the Wahabees, and afterward the
Aneizas — who were plundering all travellers and mer-
chants. But he appears to have passed the time not un-
pleasantly, being feasted both by Turks and Christians.
On the 15th of June, the caravan, upon hearing that the
Arabs had removed, took their departure.

After passing through some rich corn-grounds, they en-
tered a dreary waste, called Burreah, or " the open land,"
observing in their way the towers of Haran, distant about
fifteen miles in the southwest^ and being frequently alarm-
ed by parties of horsemen. The second day saw them
ascending a path among bare hills, pierced with caves and
grottoes here and there, from the top of which they enjoy-
ed, both towards the east and west, an extensive view of
plains intersected by ridges of rocks. From the stony soil
rose a luxuriant growth of wild poppies, with many a use-
ful as well as poisonous herb ; venomous reptiles and in-
sects being very abundant. A few trees were once or
twice observed ; but the land, though bare, was fertile. On
the third day the caravan was stopped by a party of Beni

* Page 124.

194 PRESENT STATE OF MESOPOTAMIA.

Melan Arabs, who had taken post upon a plain between
the roads to Mardin and Diarbekir, and who laid them un-
der contribution, or, rather, plundered them of a considera-
ble sum by way of tribute. Mr. Buckingham, in his turn,
was forced to surrender 1000 piastres, besides 250 more to
redeem a favourite sword. The Arabs then gave the par-
ty a plentiful feast, though somewhat rudely served ; after
which, when retiring to their caravan, they found it had
been visited in their absence by a party of Turkoman
horse. This being an interference with their prey, the
Arabs attacked the interlopers, and a battle ensued, which
terminated in the recovery of the plundered goods, and in
the entire defeat of the intrusive marauders. The vic-
tors, it appeared, had shifted their ground from the south-
ward, having been driven from their own haunts by the
more powerful tribe of Aneiza.

The remainder of the march to Mardin lay over a wide
plain, covered with long grass resembling wheat in ear,
and thickly sprinliled with black, porous stones. On the
north and northeast were Karahjah Dag and an elevated
ridge, on which was the city whither they were bound.
Passing through the town of Koach Hassar, containiDg
5000 dwellings, chiefly occupied by Christians, they reached
Mardin by a very steep ascent, which is seldom attempt-
ed by those who, merely passing along the road, stop at
the village of Soor in the plain below, where they pay the
usual transit-duty. From this village an hour carried the
travellers to the foot of the hill, and another hour to the
town upon its summit, by a very precipitous and neglected
]oad. Mardin, or Kelaat el Mardin, which is translated
1 y some the " Madman's Castle," stands on the top of a
limestone cliff, the perpendicular sides of which assist in
fl^rming the defences. Here resides the mussellim, with
his family, servants, and a guard of fifty soldiers. Below,
on the eastern and southern face of the hill, the town is
surrounded by a wall leading down from the two sides of
the castle, and with it embracing an irregular ascent of
about two miles. The houses are placed in ranges above
each other, like the seats of a Roman theatre ; and the
streets, which run along the slope of the hill, are, for the
same reason, so many successive causewayed terraces
with lateral intersections, these last being in fact flights of
steps. The houses, which are built of stone, are of indif-

PRESENT STATE OF MESOPOTAMIA. 195

ferent masonry ; the terrace-roofs are all flat ; and in the
paved courts of the upper stories are large wooden stages,
railed around for evening parties, and for sleeping on du-
ring the summer months. There are eight mosques, but
only one of them large, which has a fine minaret and a
ribbed dome, and is said to have been once a Christian
church. The population is about 20,000, of which two
thirds are Mohammedans, the remainder Jews and Chris-
tians. There are also some families of another religious
sect, called Shemseeah^ who, as their name implies, are un-
derstood to be worshippers of the sun ; although, from
having been protected by the Syrian patriarch against Sul-
tan Murad, who purposed to put them to death, they are
erroneously regarded as forming part of his flock. This
benevolent priest, however, has never been able to obtain
the smallest disclosure on the subject of their religion, as
they say such a breach of their rules would be visited
with the severest punishment by their fellows. They
amount to about 1000 families. The governor of this
place is a mussellim, and dependant on the Pacha of
Bagdad.

Mr. Buckingham visited a convent named Deer Zaflfer-
any, near Mardin, where the patriarch resided. His ho-
liness received the traveller with much hospitality, and he
had thus an opportunity of witnessing the service of the
Syrian Church, which in many respects resembled the
Catholic ceremonial. The worship was celebrated with
great pomp in the Syriac language by the bishop himself,
most superbly dressed in robes of gold-embroidered satin,
and assisted by inferior priests in garments of correspond-
ing splendour. But while, thus sumptuously clad, he ofli-
ciated in a glare of lights before an altar loaded with gold
and silver, there stood behind him a young man, meanly
clad in Turkish breeches, a coarse patched jacket and
tarboosh hanging over his shoulders, who leaned with one
hand on the patriarch's crosier, while with the other he
held an incense-pot and perfumed his holiness from time
to time, uttering the responses alone in a loud voice and
very harsh manner. All the offices of the priesthood were
performed in a deep recess, across which a curtain was
drawn when any change was going on, in order to pro-
duce the proper mysterious effect upon the audience. Du-
ring the elevation of the Host, all the people uttered loud

196 PRESENT STATE OF MESOPOTAMIA.

groans, the boys within screamed vociferously, so as quite
to drown the voices of the priests ; and this confusion of
tongues was still farther increased by the clash of brazen
cymbals behind the scenes, so shaken as to resemble peals
of loud thunder.

After service the pilgrims v»^ere called forth, and al],
with heads bare, were invested in succession with a robe
of one of the officiating clergymen. A cross was then
placed in the right hand, and a taper in the left of each,
and all the male part of the congregation walked before
them uncovered, the females standing respectfully at some
distance. They first encompassed the altar, kissing the
curtains, the book, and candlesticks as they passed, and
then saluted the cross borne in the hands of the pilgrims,
beginning with the eldest, an old man of eighty, and end-
ing with the youngest, a boy not more than ten years of age.
The convent was placed, like those near Mosul, on the
side of a hill, with high cliifs behind it, all pierced with
caves and grottoes, evidently sepulchral.

Finding that the caravan was likely to be detained at
Mardin, and there being no other means of travelling from
thence in safety to Bagdad, Mr. Buckingham resolved to go
to Diarbekir, in the hope of finding in that place some Tar-
tars in the service of government. Descending from the
hills into the pleasant Wadi Zenaar, or the " Vale of the
Girdle," and then crossing a ridge of hills on the north,
they followed the course of another valley, the Wadi Ber-
man — both fertile, well wooded, and cultivated — till it led
them into a tract of limestone hills, sprinkled v/ith brush-
wood, rising nearly to the height of 1000 feet. Another
descent brought them to a waving plain that continued to
the banks of the Tigris. Being well entertained at Poor-
ang, a Kurdish village of about 100 families, next morn-
ing they crossed the river, 100 feet broad and easily forda-
ble. One hour's ride carried them to a point from whence
the town of Diarbekir burst upon their view in a very in-
teresting and pleasing manner. It is a fortified city, placed
upon a commanding eminence, strong by position as well
as art, and presenting a noble group of towers, domes, and
minarets. The lofty mountains of Kurdistan, rising in the
east, added to the grandeur of the scene, which was far-
ther embellished by gardens, bridges, and summer-houses;
and the river, flowing at the foot of the hill on which the

PRESENT STATE OF MESOPOTAMIA. 197

town is built, completed the picture of beauty, wealth, and
ci\rilized comlbrt which the whole country displays.

The rock on which Diarbekir stands is basaltic, and ri-
ses from the western bank of the Tigris. The form of the
town is nearly a circle of about three miles in circumfer-
ence. It has four gates, and a citadel at the northeast an-
gle overlooking the river, and afibrding a noble panoramic
view on all sides, from the lofty hills of Armenia towards
the north, to the waving country that intervenes between
itself and Mardin on the southeast. The walls, which are
high and strongly built, are defended by towers at irregu-
lar intervals, ail constructed of basaltic rock, which gives
them so gloomy an appearance as to have suggested the
Turkish appellation of Kara Amid, or the Black Amid.
These ramparts are in tolerable repair, and there is a for-
midable battery of guns to the north; but the citadel itself
is now in ruins, while the dismounted cannon are half
buried in earth and grass.

There are fifteen mosques with minarets, and several
others either with or without domes ,• five Christian church-
es of the various sects, and a Jewish synagogue; more
than twenty baths, fifteen caravansaries, some of them very
fine ; and numerous bazars, well supplied, but rather mean
in their appearance.

The population, according to the latest estimate, amounts
to about 50,000, chiefly Osmanlis, of all professions : Ar-
menians, Catholics, Syrians, Greeks, and a very few Jews,
make up the rest. The city is the capital of a pacha of
three tails, who derives his appointment from Constantino-
ple ; and he has at all times had under his command a con-
siderable military force. Since the Kurdish war, and as
long as the Turkish territories were threatened by Ibrahim
Pacha from Syria, Diarbekir was the headquarters of a
large army.

This celebrated place, the Amida of antiquity, was, as
we have seen, demolished by Sapor (or Shapoor) in the
fourth century; was again destroyed by the Persians in
A.D. 505; and afterward sacked by Tamerlane and sev-
eral succeeding Mohammedan conquerors. Hence it is
not surprising that few vestiges of its former greatness re-
main ; still, however, there are fragments of Ionic columns
and other relics, which obviously pertain to the period of
its ancient glory and prosperity.

198 PRESENT STATE OF MESOPOTAMIA.

Diarbekir appears to have at all times been a place of
considerable trade and skilled industry. Buckingham
mentions not less than 1500 looms at work, 500 printers
of cotton, 300 manufacturers of leather, 100 smiths, and
150 makers of ornamented pipe-stems alone, besides those
employed in forming clay balls and amber mouthpieces.

Mr. Brant, the British consul, who visted it in 1835,
speaks of its having formerly contained not fewer than
40,000 families, employed numerous artisans, and enjoyed
an extensive trade with Bagdad in Indian, and with Alep-
po in European produce. But he adds that, within twen-
ty-five years, in consequence of the depredations of the wild
Kurdish tribes in the vicinity, who almost held the place
in siege, commerce had declined, and manufactures dwin-
dled to a very low condition. Hence the number of houses
was reduced to about 8000, of which 6300 were occupied by
Turks, 1500 by Armenians, eighty-five by Catholics, sev-
enty by Greeks, and fifty by Jews. Since the establishment
of Reshid's authority in the pachalic, matters had begun to
mend a little; and nothing but the removal of the depress-
ing causes now mentioned is wanting to render Diarbekir
a great commercial city.

Returning to Mardin, Mr. Buckingham pursued his
travels to Nisibin, intending to overtake a caravan which
he found had left that place the previous day. The track
lay to the southward of east, along the plain which stretch-
es" by the foot of the Jibel Mardin. On the right were the
distant mountains of Sin jar, rising to a great height in the
centre, and tapering down at either end till they sink into
the plain. On the left hand they observed a large ruined
town called Benaweel, near which, in the same direction,
but not in sight, lay Dara or Kara Dara, a very important
fortress during the wars between the Romans and Persians.
The ruins of this celebrated place consist, it is said, of
military fortifications, walls, cisterns, and excavated sep-
ulchres; but no traveller* has visited it very recently. Its
name seems to vouch for its antiquity, as it appears to have
been derived from Darab, an appellation of some of the an-
cient kings of Persia.

After a brisk ride of forty miles, the party reached the

* Mr. Rich did visit Dara, but his account of it has not been given to
the public

PRESENT STATE OF MESOPOTAMIA. 199

town of Nisibin, where they found the caravan undergoing
a heavy extortion, under the name of custom, at the hands
of Sheik Farsee, chief of the whole country from hence to
Mardin, in which the Englishman and certain Tartars who
had joined him were included. This city, not less cele-
brated than Mardin or Amida, and even, on the ground of
tradition, claiming Nimrod for its founder, appears to have
been esteemed in former times as of the first importance.
Its name has been held equivalent to the Hebrew or ChaJ-
daic w^ord which signifies "a military post;" but some de-
rive it from a Syriac term which denotes "a place of col-
umns." It is situated in a level plain on the western bank
of the Mygdonius, now the river of Nisibin, and still ex-
hibits a considerable extent of ruins, among which a small
temple of ordinary fabric, having five columns standing; a
long, level bridge of Roman architecture, on twelve arches ;
and a European building, now called the Church of St.
James ; with the citadel, a heavy, square structure, are the
chief The present town contains not more than 100 hou-
ses, built among the ruins, and w^iich are chiefly inhabited
by Mohammedans, Arabs, and Kurds, under the govern-
ment of Sheik Farsee.

From this station the traveller pursued his course, in
company with the Tartars and caravan, across the plain
of Sinjar, level like a sea, with rocks and islets scattered
over its surface. As they pitched their tents near the hills,
they were again alarmed by the appearance of fifty Avell-
appointed horsemen, followers of Khalif Aga, the most
powerful chief between Orfa and Mosul. The result was
a farther levy oi black moAl, to the amount of 2500 piastres,
or i:i25 sterling, besides presents and a considerable ex-
;" tent of secret pillage.

I In proceeding over the Berreah or open land, the dark
" basaltic rock, sometimes porous and sometimes solid, again
made its appearance, and continued till hid by a sheet of
cultivation which was then under the sickle. " The whole
tract was called Belled Chitteea, and there were several
small Kurdish villages scattered over it. From their
night's resting-place at Chehel Aga, the lofty mountains of
Al Jeudi were in sight ; but the remainder of the road to^
Mosul was reported so dangerous, that the caravan came
to the resolution of hiring eighty Yezidee horsemen to con-
voy them in safety. The weather was burning hot, the

200 PRESENT STATE OF MESOPOTAMIA.

thermometer at two P.M., under the shade of a double
cloak, being 118°; the glare of the desert plain was over-
whelming; while the snow-covered mountains of Kurdis-
tan seemed to mock their distress. The consequence was,
that, on reaching a stream, the banks of which were so
high that the cattle could not get to the water, they broke
from all restraint, and camels, horses, and men plunged
pell-mell into the ravine, where some were drowned, and
much luggage was lost. From this point the caravan, ma-
king its way over a succession of small calcareous hills,
reached the ruins of Eski, or old Mosul, by noon of the
4th of July. There they rested only till night, after which
our countryman continued his progress along with the
Tartars to Mosul, which he reached on the morning of the
6th.

The first appearance of this place disappointed his ex-
pectations, there being little of the magnificence he had
pictured to himself from the descriptions he had heard. He
approached it through a succession of barren plains and
miserable villages; and, on entering the gates, it struck
him as the worst built and altogether the least interesting
city he had yet seen in the East.* Nor does this impres-
sion appear to have been improved by the two days' exam-
ination which he devoted to its edifices. The general as-
pect is mean ; the streets being narrow, irregular, and un-
paved. Nor, with one exception, did he see either the fine
bazars, mosques, or palaces which might be looked for in
such a town. The houses are chiefly constructed of small
unhewn stones, cemented with mortar, and plastered with
mud; and the walls are generally sloped, like the Egyp-
tian temples, having the angles towards the streets round-
ed ofl^. Timber being scarce, they have, for the most part,
vaulted roofs, on which the terraces are formed. The door
and window plates are usually made of marble taken from
the neighbouring hills. The style of the arch is the point-
ed Gothic ; sometimes the flatter Norman ; seldom the Sar-
acenic.

The bazars, though, with one exception, not so fine as
those of Cairo, are numerous and well supplied, but dirty
and deficient in symmetry. In one are sold the produce
and manufactures of India and Europe.

* Vol. ii., p. 20.

PRESENT STATE OF MESOPOTAMIA. 201

The coffee-houses are large, some having an avenue a
hundred yards long, shaded with matting, and furnished
with benches on either side for the accommodation of
company. There are about thirty baths, but none com-
parable to those of Cairo, Damascus, or Aleppo. Of
mosques there are not fewer than fifty, of which twenty
are large ; but the most extensive, which is remarkable for
a very lofty minaret, is in ruins.

Of Christian churches there are fourteen : five belong-
ing to one set of Chaldeans, and four to another; three of
Syrians ; one of Jacobites ; and one of Roman Catholics.
The most conspicuous have already been described.

The population is estimated at nearly 50,000, of whom
the greater number are Mohammedans, in equal propor-
tions of Arabs, Turks, and Kurds. Of Chaldeans there
are said to be about 1000 families ; 500 of Syrians, 300 of
Jacobites, and 300 of Jews.

Mosul is the seat of a pacha of two tails, who, though
his government is small, receives his investiture from
Constantinople. His military force, when the traveller
was there, did not exceed 1000 men, chiefly cavalry; but
the amount fluctuates according to circumstances. The
city is surrounded by a wall, though without cannon. It
has a castle towards the river, small and ruinous, on an.
island formed by the waters of the Tigris, which are let
into a wet ditch on the outside.

The trade, once very considerable, has, like that of the
whole country, sunk to small dimensions. Gall-nuts from
Kurdistan, and Indian goods from Bussora, form the chief
staple ; and the only manufacture carried on is that of
coarse cotton cloths, which, being dyed blue, are used by
the lower classes.

Mr. Niebuhr observes that the climate is reputed to be
very healthy ; the air and water excellent ; but that the
winter is sometimes very cold. As a proof of this, he
states, that the Tigris, about ten years before his visit, had
been actually frozen over, and continued so several days.
Close to the city there are a number of mineral springs,
so strong as sometimes even to taint the waters of the riv-
er with a sulphureous flavour. In most respects the ac-
count of Buckingham agrees entirely with that of the Ger-
man traveller.

202 PRESENT STATE OF MESOPOTAMIA.

The Rev. Mr. Southgate,* in 1838, was struck with the
extent of this city, but still more with the numerous ruins
that met his eye while walking through the streets; the
effect, he says, of a famine, which was followed by the
plague. One hundred thousand persons, he was informed,
were cut off; a number which certainly exceeded its pop-
ulation at any one time. According to his estimate, at
that period it contained 40,000 souls. In other respects,
his account coincides with those already given.

Since the foregoing portion of this chapter was written,
an account has been published in the Journal of the Roy-
al Geographical Societyt of a journey made from Mosul
to the Sinjar Hills by Mr. Forbes, from which, as it throws
light upon a part of Mesopotamia hitherto unexplored by
Europeans, we extract the following particulars :

The Sinjarli Yezidees being merciless and incessant
plunderers, it became necessary for Hafiz, commander of
the Turkish forces, and pacha of Diarbekir, in order to
prevent a great part of his government from becoming a
desert, to reduce them to subjection. This object, after an
obstinate resistance, he accomplished in 1837, and appoint-
ed a musellim to watch over them on the part of the sul-
tan, permitting them, however, the exercise of their own
religion, customs, and laws. The danger of a visit to
their country being thus much diminished, Mr. Forbes, af-
ter considerable importunity, obtained from the Pacha of
Mosul permission to go thither; and, having secured the
attendance of a Yezidee sheik, on the 12th of October,
1838, he left Mosul.

During the whole of the first day's march, the way lay
along the banks of the Tigris to the village of Ameidat ;
from whence the party, starting on the morrow, proceeded
nearly due west to the town of Til Afar, through a rather
flat country, scantily clothed with dry grass and thorny
shrubs, in which they passed several deserted villages.
Til Afar, the only inhabited place in the wilderness be-
tween Mosul and Sinjar, contains about 1000 houses, of
which only 700 are inhabited. It is built in four divisions,
upon as many steep and rugged hills of limestone rock,
from the base of the highest of which issues a stream of

* Narrative of a Tour through Armenia, Kurdistan, Persia, and Mes-
opotamia, 2 vols. 8vo, London, 1840, vol. ii., p. 237, 238.
t Vol. ix., p. 409-130.

PRESENT STATE OF MESOPOTAMIA. 203

water that turns several rude mills, but, by being used for
irrigating the neighbouring gardens, is soon entirely ab-
sorbed. Rain-water for d] inking is collected in cisterns.
There is no bazar, and but a few shops, belonging to the
most common class of artisans; such as blacksmiths, car-
penters, dyers, and tobacconists. The gardens supply a
few vegetables, with figs, pomegranates, and mulberries ;
-and there is a good deal of land cultiv%ted every cold sea-
son in the plain, which, however, is very stony and barren
in appearance. This place was formerly the resort of all
the robbers in the country ; but, since its subjugation by
Hafiz Pacha, their occupation is at an end, and it is now
governed by a Turkish zabit.

Having v/ith some difficulty procured mules here, Mr.
Forbes proceeded across the plain in the sa.me direction
to Bukrah, the nearest Yezidee station on the hills, pass-
ing through the ruined village of Inbarah, on the banks of
a small stream. Bukrah, which is pleasantly situated on
the northeastern shoulder of the mountain, among large
plantations of fig-trees, consists of sixty-five houses, con-
taining about 500 inhabitants. The dwellings rise in rows
one above another, and the whole side of the hill, to the
very summit, and to the extent of several miles on either
side, is covered with vineyards and fig-gardens. The cul-
tivated ground is laid oat in flat terraces supported by low
stone walls, and w-ater is procured at the base of the ac-
clivity and near the border of the plain, where there is a
considerable tract of w^heat and barley. Between these
fields and the village was the thrashing-floor, formed of
stifi', hard clay. The house to w^hich the travellers were
taken was particularly neat rud clean, and the inhabi-
tants, though inquisitive, were civil and attentive.

From this place Mr. Forbes ascended to the summit of
the hill, 1600 feet above the plain, by a steep path winding
among huge fragments of rock, and scattered plantations
of figs and vines. The view was extensive and grand,
comprehending the magnificent vale of Mesopotamia, with
Mount Masius in the horizon.

On the 16th he and his attendants left Bukrah on asses
— neither mule nor horse being procurable — and proceeded
by a very bad road through the valley formed by the outer
and inner hills, lined on either hand by fig-plantations,
which grew in a thin and scanty soil, from which large

204 PRESENT STATE OF MESOPOTAMIA.

blocks of stone everywhere protruded. After passing for
eight miles through cultivated ground of this kind, they
reached Mirka, a village consisting of three divisions,
with a population of 1200 souls. From thence, continuing
their journey westward, they observed a number of ruin-
ed villages, one of which, Teppah, stands at the source of
the Saluk, a fme stream, which, however, afier w^atering
a considerable tract of land, is lost in the desert. In the
evening they reached Sinjar, at one time the principal
tOAvn of the district, but now reduced to about eighty hous-
es. Here were seen an arched building, with round tow-
ers, in the Roman style of architecture ; and in the plain
below, many Mohammedan edifices and tombs, one of
which, a fme octagonal minaret of yellow brick, with
Arabic inscriptions after the manner of the earlier ca-
liphs, was not less than forty feet high.

Returning to Bukrah, W'hich they again quitted on the
20th, the party took a westerly course, leading through the
villages of Nuksi, Yusufah, Keichkah, Gundagaili, Haldi-
nah — each containing from fifteen to twenty-five houses —
to Nogri and Amr, in the latter of which they halted for
the night. The way lay through a continued plantation of
fig-trees ; and they saw several mezars, or tombs of Yezidee
saints. The gardens continued through the whole valley
between the outer and inner hills ; the former terminating,
or, rather, being interrupted for a space, through which the
plain reached to the base of the mountain, which is clothed
to the top with dwarf oaks and shrubs.

They halted on the 21st at Kirsi, a miserable place, con-
sisting of thirty decayed houses, and divided into two parts
by a stream which runs through the dale where it is situa-
ted. Their lodging was a mere open shed ; but their host,
though a truculent-looking personage, received and treated
them kindly enough. The people were hospitable, and
less inquisitive than usual. This day considerable appre-
hension was occasioned by the appearance of several par-
ties of the Aneiza Arabs ranging the plain below.

The travellers ascended the ravine in which the village
stands to the source of the rivulet just mentioned, a ride of
an hour and a half, through very beautiful and romantic
scenery, and thence to the village of Kolgha, where there
is a sculptured niche, three feet long by one broad, with a
basin-shaped cavity at the bottom, respecting which the

PRESENT STATE OF MESOPOTAMIA. 205

Yezidees have neither knowledge nor tradition. Mr.
Forbes suggests that, as these hills were once probably in-
habited by Christians, this may have been a baptis-mal
font.

The next stage carried the party to the village of Sa-
mukhah, in a westerly direction along the base of the
mountains, and past the remains of several small towns
or hamlets, surrounded by scenery similar to that just de-
scribed. This place contained 130 houses, and about 1000
inhabitants, and was imbosomed in extensive fig-gardens,
which ran a long way up the mountain side. It has no
running stream or open spring, but abundance of water is
procured from wells.

On the 24th of October they crossed^the range of hills,
ascending the valley or ravine behind Samukhah by a very
steep path among extensive fig-gardens. A thick oak for-
est stretched beyond these to the very summit, which is
here about 1500 feet above the plain ; whence they descend-
ed by an almost impracticable path to the miserable village
of Sakiniyah, containing about 350 inhabitants, the fields
belonging to which looked from above like a small patch
on the edge of the waste. After halting here to refresh,
they returned to Samukhah.

Having completed the survey of every place and village
worth notice in the hills, Mr. Forbes with great difficulty
procured mules to carry him to Nisibin, distant eighty
miles, which he reached on the evening of the second day
without accident, though not without alarm from the wan-
dering Arabs. The country resembled that between Til
Afar and Bukrah; and the party crossed some marshy
ground impregnated with salt, as also the Hassawi, a reedy
stream, •'^rhich, rising in Mount Masius, flows into the Kha-
bour.

Mr. L orbes sums up his account of this hitherto unknown
tract by observing that the eastern extremity of the Sinjar
Hills is eighty-three miles distant from Mosul, and their
western point seventy from Nisibin. The desert around
them is covered with grass and thorny shrubs, and includes
extensive tracts of barren salt marsh. Southward of Mo-
sul it is dry and sandy, but improves towards Mardin, and
near Koach Hassar the soil is very fertile.

The mountainous district of Sinjar, fifty miles long, and
from seven to nine in breadth, has been variously subdivi-

206 PRESENT STATE OF MESOPOTAMIA.

ded by Arabs and Yezidees. The northern section, called
Shamali^ though smallest, is by far the most populous,
well culti\^ated, and fertile. It contains sixteen villages,
while that named Kibli, or the southern, can boast but of
nine. Figs and grapes, which are the principal fruits, are
good of their kind, especially the former, as they are small
and of the white variety.

Mr. Forbes denounces the general inaccuracy of our
maps, and particularly as regards Sin jar, the Lake of Kha-
tuniyah, and the course of the Hawaii. No stream what-
ever runs from the northern or eastern sides of the Sinjar
Hills more than a few miles into the desert ; while towards
the northwest, on the way to Nisibin, the first rivulet is the
Hassawi, from Aznowar in Mount Masius, which, flowing
southwest, joins the Jakhjakhah or Mygdonius. The Lake
of Khatuniyah, said to be two hours and a half in length,
and one and a half broad, with its village, is situated about
thirteen miles west-northwest of Samukhah. The Kha-
bour, rising at Ras ul Ain, directs its course to the neigh-
bourhood of Khatuniyah, where it is joined by the united
waters of the Mygdonius and Kokab, and soon after by the
Hawaii. It then runs southward, passing close to the Sin-
jar Hills on its way to the Euphrates. The source of the
Hawaii is two hours northwest of Khatuniyah ; and, after
proceeding two hours in the direction of west-southwest, it
falls into the Khabour.

PRESENT CONDITION OF ASSYRIA. 207

CHAPTER XII.

Present Condition of Assyria.

Portion of Kurdistan included in Assyria. — Nestorian Christians of Jewar.
— Sort. — Colonel Sheil's Journey to Jezirah ibn Omar. — Plain of Me-
diyad. — Jezirah ibn Omar described. — Its Chief. — Swimming- the Ti-
gris.— Skirt the Mountains to Accra and the Zab. — Change of Scenery.
—Cross the Zab. — Erbile (Arbela). — Altun Kupri. — Kirkook. — Kufri.
— Antiquities. — Tooz Khoormattee. — Kara Tei'p6, — Aspect of Lower
Assyria. — Sug-raniah Pass, and View from it. — Pachalic and Pacha of
Solymaneah. — Present State of the Town. — The Bebeh Tribe of
Kurds. — Climate. — Shahrasour. — State and Chief of Rewandooz. — His
Rise and Character — Pachalic and Pacha of Amadieh. — Dr. Ross's
Description of the Meer, his Camp, Government, Army. — Scheme of
executive Justice. — Fate. — Town of Rewandooz. — Nestorians of
Jewar. — Their Origin — Numbers — Government. — Face of their Coun-
try.— Antiquities at Shahraban. — The Zendan. — Kasr Shireen. — Ha-
oosh Kerek. — General Meanness of Sassanian Rains. — Kelwatha.—
Pachalic of Zohab. — Sir e Pool e Zohab. — The ancient Calah or Ilui-
wan. — Antiquities there. — Royal Sepulchre.

That part of Kurdistan which properly belongs to As-
syria comprises only the small stale of Sert, Jezirah ul
Omar, part of the pachalic of Amadieh, the government
of Rewandooz, and the pachalic of Solymaneah. The
very remarkable community of Nestorian Christians, who
inhabit the vicinity of Mount Jewar, may also be consider-
ed as more properly appertaining to this province than to
Persian Kurdistan, as the waters from that elevation cer-
tainly flow into the Tigris.

Sert, Isert, or Sered, supposed by D'Anville and others to
represent the ancient Tigranocerta, was, when visited by
Kinneir, governed by a chief subject to the Prince of Zok
— a place between Betlis and Diarbekir — so powerful that
it was said he could bring no fewer than 20,000 men into the
field. In 1836, when Colonel Shell passed through it,
Reshid Pacha had succeeded in establishing the sultan's
authority over the ruler of Sert, whose territory he had at-
tached to the government of Diarbekir. The town is de-
scribed as being situated in a large undulating plain with-
out a single tree, and surrounded at a considerable distance

208 PRESENT CONDITION OF ASSYRIA.

by high mountains. It is two miles and a half in circuit,
encompassed by a wall with' various bastions, but ruinous
in many places, and having no ditch. A large portion of
the enclosed space is void of buildings ; and the houses
were understood not to exceed 1000, occupied by Kurds,
Armenians, and Nestorians. There w^ere three large and
several small mosques, two churches, five baths, and one
caravansary. The governor's residence is an extensive
edifice, sunk in a deep moat which can be filled with wa-
ter, and has fortifications in abundance. The houses are
arched, having very thick walls built with stone and lime.
In the midst of each field may be seen a small building,
intended for the protection of the property.

Colonel Shell's object was to get from Sert to Jezirah
ibn Omar; but the shortest road through Buhtan, a wild
and very mountainous district, being impracticable, owing
to the rebellion of its prince, w^ho still held out against Re-
shid Pacha, he was advised to accompany a party of
troops belonging to the latter, w^ho were to go round by the
Tigris. They, however, departed without him ; and he
v/as under the necessity of hiring a number of mules to
relieve his fatigued horses and cattle. A laborious ride
brought them to the village of Til, where a chief belong-
ing to the district of Sert gave him and his attendants a
good breakfast. While sitting at this meal, they heard
several shots, which he afterward learned proceeded from
skirmishing parties firing at each other across the river.
Near this point they passed the Tigris. 150 yards in breadth,
very rapid, and waist-deep. High mountains rose on each
hand; but there were several villages, which were sur-
rounded with cultivation, and abundance of vineyards,
rice, cotton, melon, and cucumber grounds. Near one,
called Chelek, they left the river, which they did not see
again till they reached Jezirah ibn Omar. The road was
stony, and often very bad ; the hills were covered with
wood, chiefly stunted oak, fir, holly, and a few elms, with
raspberries, barberries, and a profusion of small plants.

The plain of Mediyad, of immense extent, though cum-
bered with rocks, is crowded with villages, and covered
with unirrigated cultivation, although the stones were in
some places piled in heaps fifteen feet high. Its inhabi-
tants are Kurds and Yezidees. After rising to the summit
of a ridge, a descent of 1500 feet conducted the travellers

PRESENT COiSDiTION OF ASSYRIA. 209

to the vast plain that stretches almost uninterruptedly to
Bagdad and the Gulf. On this were many mounds scat-
tered, with i'orts on their tops and villages below ; others
were entirely bare and solitary. Many of the hamlets had
been destroyed by the military operations of Reshid Pacha.

Jezirah ibn Omar, that is, the Island of the Sons of
Omar, is surrounded by the Tigris, and presents a town
of the same name, the ancient Bezabde. It occupies near-
ly the whole surface, which is about two miles and a half
in circumference, and is encompassed by a low ruinous
wall of an oval shape, without a ditch. The arm of the
river which forms the island was at that time (August 3)
not more than a few yards broad, and only ankle-deep. It
was formerly spanned by a bridge, of which live arches
still remain ; both it and the walls being built of square
black stones. The main stream, more than 100 yards
broad, flows on the other side, and was formerly crossed
by a bridge of boats. Shut in between high banks, the
heat is extreme ; not a tree enlivens the vicinity ; and the
town, ruined by plague, cholera, and the army of Reshid
Pacha, presents a scene of utter desolation. It had been
the seat of a Kurdish chief, who used to plunder or levy
contributions on all caravans. Macdonald Kinneir was
imprisoned and heavily fined by this savage, who thought
fit to set Reshid at defiance; upon which the pacha seized
his capital, and, for this reason, he was now in rebellion
in the opposite district of Buhtan. Not a soul was to be
found in the town, nor a hovel to shelter the travellers ;
wherefore, swimming their horses across the Tigris five
miles below, they continued their descent upon the left or
Assyrian shore.

Colonel Shell, being desirous to join the army of Re-
shid Pacha, left the road to Mosul on the right, and, keep-
ing close to the foot of the hills, pursued his way by A I
Kosh, Akereh, and Zebari to the Zab, whicli he crossed
at a small village on its western bank. Al Kosh has been
already described. The party passed through many Yez-
idee villages, and found the people uniformly civil and
hospitable. The road, though hilly and bad, is practica-
ble even for cannon ; the heat and glare were excessive,
but there was no want either of cultivation or inhabitants.
Akereh is a town of 500 houses, surrounded by fine gar-
dens, and defended bv a vcrv strong castle on a rock which

11

210 PRESENT CONDITION OF ASSYRIA.

projects fi-om the El Khair range of mountains ; but the
garrison surrendered to Reshid on finding theaiselves with-
iQ range of a couple of guns brought to bear on them irom
the plain.

The country here presented a delightful contrast to that
which the travellers had just left. Villages were enscon-
ced in clefts of the rock, surrounded by trees and gardens,
and torrents gushing from the hills crossed the path : the
El Khair Mountains became lower and more verdant,
v/hile grapes, figs, and walnuts grew wild in the val-
leys. On the 14th August they passed the Zab, 100 yards
broad, rapid and deep, upon a raft composed of inflated
skins and branches of trees, guided by two men, each with
large calabashes under his arms, to assist him in swim-
ming.

Erbile, the celebrated Arbela, is a large artificial mount,
sixty or seventy feet high, 300 yards in length by 200 in
breadth, crowned by a brick wall with bastions and a few
small guns. Beneath there is another town ; but both are
very ruinous, and there are no remarkable remains ex-
cept those of an immense brick pillar, which is probably
Mohammedan, standing alone in the plain. When the
place belonged to the Meer of Rewandooz — v/ho took it
from the Pacha of Bagdad — and was visited by Dr. Ross
on his way to Accra, it was prosperous and flourishing ;
but resistance having been made to the sultan's troops who
attacked it, a siege took place, a mine was sprung, the
garrison surrendered, and the town suffered severely for
its imprudence, although it is still said to contain about
6000 people. The plain, which extends to Altun Kupri,
though much covered with small stones, is capable of pro-
ducing fair crops, and is in some parts well cultivated.
In May, when Ross passed it, the surface was adorned
with flowers and rich verdure, which, however, soon fade
tinder the parching heat.

Altun Kupri, the "Golden Bridge," is situated on an
island in the Lesser Zab, which is crossed by the bridge
that gives its name to the place ; and the town, which was
taken by the Meer of Rev/andooz, reverted to the pacha on
the fall of that chief It once contained 8000 inhabitants,
but has been greatly thinned by plague and famine.

The road from hence to Kirkook, the Corcura of Ptole-
my, lies over a stonv plain, intersected with numerous

TRESENT CONDITION OF ASSYRIA. 21 i

ridges, but also interspersed with patches of cultivated
land, like most of Lower Assyria. The town is by Buck-
ingham divided into three portions. The lirst, in which
there is a castellated mount resembling that at Arbela,
contains about 5000 inhabitants, all Moslems. There the
governor resides ; and the minarets of three mosques are
seen from below. The second portion, which is spread
out under this castle, affords dwellings, it was said, to
10,000 souls, a mixture of all descriptions of people — Ar-
menians, Nestorians, Syrians, Christians, and Moslems.
It possesses all the caravansaries, coffee-houses, and ba-
zars, having also a large cemetery attached to it. The
third portion, which is rather a suburb, being at the dis-
tance of four furlongs, is small. The population of the
whole, which was then probably overrated at 15,000, is
now not half that number. The most remarkable objects
about Kirkook are the naphtha wells, which abound in its
vicinity, and the subterranean fire which bursts forth at a
place called Baba Gurgur. The former are situated in
the low gypseous hills about three miles northward, many
of them in the bed of a small stream which issues from
the rocks. They are nearly three feet in diameter, some
of them eight or ten feet deep, and emit a very disagreea-
ble smell. The naphtha, which is perfectly black, liquid,
and in quantity inexhaustible, is sent all over the country
for various purposes, besides that of giving light. Baba
Gurgur is a small spot, whence in the night sulphureous
flames are seen to arise, particularly after rain, no doubt
from the evolution of sulphuretted hydrogen gas. But at
all times, by thrusting a stick into the soil, a blaze bursts
forth, sufficiently powerful to boil water or cook meat.

The character of the country as far as Kufri is similar
to that already described ; plains, either gravelly or of
rich alluvium, intersected by rocky and gypseous ridges,
green with luxuriant pasture in spring, and brown in sum-
mer and autumn. The town, which is neat-looking and
walled, is situated at the mouth of a ravine, where a little
stream forces a passage through a range of gypseous hills
of a singularly barren and forbidding appearance. About
half a mile eastward of this place, in the bed of the rivu-
let, Mr. Rich found some ruins called Kara Oghlan, which,
on examination, he considered to be Sassanian, the re-
mains of buildings resembling those of Kasr Shireen.

212 PRESENT CONDITION OF ASSYRIA.

Among them were ornaments in gypsum, coloured earth-
enware, jars, sepulchral urns, coins, and antiques ; and the
inhabitants ascribe their origin, as usual, to the ghiaours
or infidels. Sepulchral chambers, like those of the Nak-
shi Rustam in Persia, were observed farther up the course
of the small river. Eski Kufri, an old site, two hoars
southwest of the present town, exhibits a great extent of
mounds, fragments of urns, and vestiges of buildings like
those of the Kasr Shireen. One of the mounds resembled
the Mujelibe, with sides almost perpendicular, except
where furrowed by the rains. It was fifty-seven feet high,
about 960 feet long from north to south, and nearly as
much from east to west. In it was found a vault, with
fragments of urns, human bones, and fine pottery ; but the
time did not admit of a strict examination.

On the road from Kirkook to Kufri, and in the same
gypseous hills, is situated Tooz Khoormattee, just where
liie Ak-su pierces them. Here, too, are naptha pits, which
are productive and valuable, and generally found at the
edge of the gypsum debris on the side of the streams.
At this place, the date-tree, which is uncertain in point of
produce at Kufri, bears particularly well ; though Buck-
ingham states that the heat at three P.M. was 125°, and
the wind suffocating.

After passing Kara Teppe, where there is a succession
of low hills, the country becomes rich as far as the foot
of the Hamrine range. These consist of several ridges
of sandstone rocks, and, as we have seen, extend far on
either side to the northwest and southeast. From the
southern side, the country to Bagdad is entirely alluvial
and very fertile, comprising the districts of Khalis and
Khorasan, the richest, perhaps, in the pachalic.

The following description* of the appearance of Lower
Assyria, and of the pass which leads to it from Solymane-
ah, may convey to the reader a tolerable idea of the as-
pect of this country.

The passt is very striking. The mountains, of which
I have spoken as forming the boundary between the high-
lands of Kurdistan and the plain of Assyria, which ex-
tends to the Tigris, here form a line running about south-

* From Travels in Kurdistan and Mesopotamia, by the author of thii
work.

t That of the Sugramah.

PRESENT CONDITION OF ASSYRIA. 2IJ

east and northwest, and are composed of many strata of
limestone and calcareous conglomerate, with intervening
beds of gravel and indurated sandstone. One of these
strata, of enormous size and great heii^ht, rises on their
northeast face, and, running straight as a line for forty or
lifty miles, perhaps, separates them from the irregular val-
ley in which we had been travelling. Its crest rises thin
and sharp ; and the angle of its dip is so near a right an-
gle, and its face is so free from soil, that, at a little distance,
you would take it for an unbroken precipice of sheer hard
rock.

Yet, continuous as it appears, the ledge is not unbroken.
There are gaps in several places, made by the streams
which rise in the range, and which have forced outlets for
their waters. Before one of these we now stood, collecting
our forces, watering our horses, and tightening the bands
of our loads, preparatory to grappling with the ascent
w^hich awaited us. The ledge or stratum I have mention-
ed narrowed to an apparent thickness of not many yards,
and shooting up at once, like a gigantic flagstone on end,
from the broken ground at its foot, had been shattered and
severed to an extent which above might be 100 yards, but
beneath was only sufficient for the passage of the stream.
A bridge, under which the waters find their way, and which
affords to travellers the means of crossing the boundary,
unites the dissevered stratum, the wounded sides of which
rise in the most grotesque and ragged forms to the height
of several hundred feet. Just beyond, other strata, divided
in the same manner, but with less prominent edges, rise in
forms to the full as picturesque ; and the whole was spot-
ted with oak bushes, rich in their autumnal tints. It form-
ed, on the w^hole, a wild and grotesque rather than a mag-
nificent landscape; for it lacked that moisture and conse-
quent verdure which is so essential to beauty in mountain
scenery. Still it was striking. The ascent occupied an
hour and a half; and at length we stood on the top, look-
ing back, on one hand, to the wild mountainous country we
had passed; on the other, over the lower lands w^e had yet
to traverse before we could reach the celebrated capital of
the caliphs. Lmoer^ I say, not level; for the country over
which our eyes roved was anything but level, although in
relative altitude far inferior to that which we had left.
Low ridges of dark craggy hills rose in succession, the ter^

214 PRESENT COJMDITION OF ASSYRIA.

mination of which we could not discover from the thick-
ness of the atmosphere ; and tiie space between the ridges
appeared in like manner to be intersected by small hil-
locks and ravines. It was a black and dreary prospect ;
yet this was the land of Assyria Proper, the cradle of
mighty empires, and the birthplace of the greatest mon-
archs of the olden time. Certainly no one, regarding it as
w^e now did, would have imagined this scorched and rocky
desert to be the country of the great Semiramis or the lux-
urious Sardanapalus, however fit he might esteem it for
the abode and domain of " Nimrod the mighty hunter."
Yet such, as we saw, is, I believe, the greater part of the
country on the left bank of the Tigris, near the hills, from
Mosul or Nineveh down to Khanekin and Mendali, the
southern boundary of the ancient prov^ince of Assyria.
Around Mosul, Erbile, Kirkook, and some other places,
there is, no doubt, a circuit of richer country ; but a large
proportion of the whole is desert, and scarcely fitted by na-
ture to be otherwise.

From Zallah, a march of twenty-two to twenty-four
miles led us to Ibrahim Khanchee. The first six miles
were over one of the most singularly stony tracts I ever
saw ; but the quantity of herbage that had, nevertheless,
sprung up in spring and summer, was astonishing. A por-
tion of this still remained, while the greater part, having
been set fire to, had left a Vvdde black surface, thickly
speckled with the gray stones, and not a leaf or bush in
view : a most unlovely prospect. We were now fairly in
the country of ancient Assyria, and verily there was little
in its aspect to suggest ideas of a vast and powerful em-
pire. One's reason refused to be persuaded that the wide
tracts of gravel and black earthy hillocks that lay stretch-
ed around us, with the rock protruding from their sides and
summits, intersected with dry ravines, all obviously unpro-
ductive save of a scanty pasturage, could ever have been
the theatre of those mighty events which history relates —
where hosts of innumerable warriors struggled for victory
and empire. Such are the impressions made upon a trav-
eller's mind by the first sight of Assyria in the end of au-
tumn ; nor does the prospect brighten on a more lengthen-
ed acquaintance.

The pachalic of Solymaneah, which we are supposed to
have just quitted, consists principally of one large irregu-

PRESENT CONDITION OF ASSYRIA. 215

lar plain or valley, extending from the district of Khoee
on the Zab, to the extremity of Shahrasour, which includes
the southwest side of "the Kurdish Hills, with their subor-
dinate glens ; while towards the plain it stretches as far as
the governor could enforce his authority. The Pacha of
Solymaneah is the head of the Bebeh *^Kurds, an ancient
family or clan descended from a chief called Solyman
Baba or Bebeh, who lived as feudal lord at Pizhdur, a dis-
trict in the mountains on the frontiers of Persia. They
were cadets of the Soran tribe, and survived the fall of
their chief Before the time of the great Solyman, pacha
of Bagdad, all the low country from Altun Kupri and Er-
bile, on the one hand, to Zengabad, Mendali, and Bedraee
Jessan, was in possession of the Bebehs; but, being worst-
ed in their disputes with that great warrior, they were driv-
en farther into the hills. The Bebeh ascendency increas-
ed again in the time of Abdulrahman, whose mie com-
menced A.D. 18, but who had to maintain himself against
the attacks of the Persian prince of Kermanshah as well
as against the Pacha of Bagdad, but who, after various
fortunes, succeeded in establishing his independence. Un-
fortunately, his two sons, Mahmoud and Solyman, entered
into a contest with one another for the chieftainship, which
terminated in the destruction of their country ; for at length
the aid of Persia was called in, and the prince royal, too
happy to grasp at the obvious means which such an appeal
presented to him of obtaining virtual possession of the dis-
puted territory, sent his troops to assist Solyman, who has
lately been recognised as the sovereign under Persian pro-
tection ; a whole regiment, with a party of artillery, being
quartered at the town of Solymaneah.

Even during Mr. Rich's visit at that place, the family
troubles had begun, and the pacha's perplexity was often
a subject of concern to that gentleman, who speaks of the
rebel chief as a very amiable person. His distress, how-
ever, though aggravated by the death of his second son, a
delightful child, by no means occasioned any relaxation
in his efforts to amuse and entertain his English guest,
who bears high testimony to his kindness and hospitality.

At that time the country was tolerably well peopled and
prosperous. The town, which is only of recent origin
(the capital having formerly been at Karacholan), con-
tained 2000 houses, chiefly belonging to Mohammedans ;

216 PRESENT CONDITION OF ASSYRIA.

six caravansaries, five mosques, and as many batlis.
Since that period, Vv^ar, extortion, cholera, and plague
have wrought a miserable change. The following is a
later sketch of the condition of this once prosperous pa-
chalic :

A couple of marches had brought the travellers from
Sardasht, a town apon the Ak-su (which rises near Lahi-
jan), to the neighbourhood of Solymaneah. Only a single
inhabited village had been seen in all that w^ay, though
the ruins of many w4iich had been latel}^ abandoned met
the eye on ail sides. The approach to the capital is thus
described : If the depopulation on the road was depress-
ing, there was little to cheer us on approaching or enter-
ing the town. I never beheld a more miserable collection
of hovels and ruins. We rode through a mass %f rubbish
up to what had been the pacha's house, or palace^ if yoa
will. It was as in utter ruin ; uninhabitable except in one
small corner, where his harem was bestowed. He himself
occupied a tent outside the town. I had sent a man for-
ward to secure for us a lodging. After a while he Ibund
us picking our way among the rubbish and broken walls,
seeking for some one who might tell us where anybody
might be found. He led us to the place appointed for us
— a perfect wreck — through a labyrinth of mud heaps
which had once been houses. It had been the residence
of some great man, a relative of the pacha, who at this
time was absent at Tabriz. It was well for him. Such
as it was, we had it all to ourselves. It was one great
mass of mud ; a dozen open spaces that had once been
chambers, surrounding a large rambling hall, with a great
square hole in the middle, intended as a water-cistern.

On the following morning I strolled out to see the town.
Certainly my first impressions of its wretchedness were in
no degree weakened by farther observations ; all was mis-
ery, and filth, and abomination. Not one decent habita-
tion was to be seen. None of the people, high or low, have
had the heart — or means, perhaps — to repair their ruined
houses ; so that the huts that have arisen upon the ruins
of the old ones are of a meaner description than usual. I
was told that there were still from 1000 to 1500 families
residing in Solymaneah ; but, to judge from cippearances,
I should think even the first number overrated.

The dominant trine of this pachalic, the Bebehs, may

PRESENT CONDITION OF ASSYRIA. 217

amount, it is said, to 4000 families; but their subject
tribes are larger and more numerous. The Jaffs are sta-
ted to exceed 10,000 houses, and to be able to send forth
2000 horsemen and 4000 musketeers ; while the Hama-
dawnuds, the Tohtiawnuds, the Jelalawnuds, the Daioos,
and many others, all claim the protection of the Pacha of
Solymaneah. Besides these, which are nomades, there
are the fixed inhabitants of the villages, who, before being-
thinned by plague and misery, formed a considerable body ;
so that the state, though not very extensive, yet possessing
a very large proportion of rich soil, might, if under good
government, be not only prosperous, but powerful.

The climate of Solymaneah is by Mr. Rich said to be
intensely cold in winter, especially when the easterly wind
prevails. Snow sometimes lies on the ground for six
weeks or two months. The weather in summer is pleas-
ant, except Avhen the same wind blows, w^hich it does with
violence, sometimes eight or ten days successively. This
unwelcome breeze is called the sherki^ and, coming from
the mountains by which the valley is surrounded, and
which in winter are covered with snow, and in summer
baked in the sun's rays, is either very cold or very hot, ac-
cording to the season, and is much dreaded. Singular
enough to say, its range extends but twelve or fourteen
miles in any direction. The district of Shahrasour, where
a great deal of rice is grown, is said to be extremely un-
healthy ; and Mr. Rich's party found Beestan, situated in
the hills, equally so.

Towards the southeastern extremity of Solymaneah,
where it opens out into a wider plain, are 'seen mounds
marking the sites of ancient buildings, w^hich give their
name of Shahrasour to the district and that part of the
valley. These, or some of them, certainly represent the
Seazurus, which was visited by Heraclius in his march
after the defeat of Khoosroo Purveez and capture of Des-
tagerd ; and Mr. Rich intended to go thither and examine
them. This, however, he was prevented from doing, and
the task remains still for some future traveller to com-
plete. From natives it is seldom possible to gather any
certain information on such subjects ; but the present wri-
ter did hear thus far, that on the plain, which is bounded
by very rugged mountains, there are five or six positions
presentiiig ancient ruins ; one called the K/uiUak, or lor-

218 PRESENT CONDITION OF ASSYRIA.

tress, a large and lofty mound ; Yasseeii Tepeh, GoolumbeVf
Arbut, and Kharabek were also mentioned; and it was said
that stones of great size, and bearing inscriptions, had been
occasionally dug up. A Boot Khaneh, or image-temple,
was also spoken of as existing in the same plain, in which
was a slab covered with unknown characters. Mr. Rich,
who heard nearly the sam>e account, entertained no doubt
that Arbut, where the most considerable mounds are met
with, is the ancient Shahrasour, though he admits that all
the Kurds deny there ever was a city of that name, w^hich
they maintain applies to the district onlj.

The state of Rewandooz, the ruler of w^hich rose lately
into much importance, was formerly very small, consist-
ing of not more than a dozen villages, governed by a petty
chieftain, who acknowledged allegiance to the Pacha of
Solymaneah, his neighbour. This personage, Meer Mus-
tapha, resigned the care of his little province to his son
Mohammed, because, as some say, he discerned in the
young man the symptoms of a superior greatness and good
fortune, which he, rather inclined to quiet and contempla-
tion, did not desire to pursue. Others pretend that this
self-denial on the part of the father was brought about by
the son, from motives of ambition. They also insist that
the total blindness which soon after fell upon the old man
was produced by the meel^ or red-hot pencil held to the eye-
balls— a common operation in the East. But the last as-
sertion, at all events, is false, because the abdicated ruler
himself told Dr. Ross, who had been sent for by the prince
to cure his parent, that the calamity had been occasioned
by his own imprudence, in placing a cap of snovv^ upon his
head when overheated by ascending a mountain.

Mohammed, who, at the time of that gentleman's visit in
1833, was about forty-five, began his career by taking a
small fortress called Seetuc, near Ooshnoo, from Persia.
He would soon have been forced to abandon his conquest,
but immediately after broke out the war with Russia,
which, obliging the prince-royal to withdraw all his troops
to oppose tiie more powerful foe, enabled the Meer of Re-
wandooz to extend his territories at the expense of his
neighbours. Solymaneah, torn by civil broils, could op-
pose no effectuarresistance to this warlike chieftain, who
accordingly wrested place after place from the pachalic
until he had taken Kirkook and Erbile, and made himself

PRESENT CONDITION OF ASSYRIA. 219

master of the whole country as far as the vicinity of Mo-
sul. He then attacked the pachalic of Amadieh, a fertile
and populous district, lying in the mountains that over-
hang the Assyrian plains ; a region proverbial for its fer-
tility and beauty. The pacha, who, according to Mr.
Rich, is of the family of Bahdinan, the noblest among the
Kurds, and v/ho, as having some connexion with the ca-
liphs, assumes a peculiar sanctity as well as dignity, lived
in greater state than all other chiefs, and arrogated the
most profound obsequience. No one dared to use the same
pipe, cup, or bath ; he always sat alone ; and dined so
strictly m private that none of his servants were allowed to
see him eat. Sometimes he even rode out with a veil
over his head, to prevent profane eyes from looking on his
august countenance. But, when in want of money, he
sunk these high honours, and begged from the chiefs un-
der his authority in the form of a stranger soliciting hos-
pitality.

This ruler, of a high line and ancient family, was una-
ble, however, to resist the arms of the Meer of Rewan-
dooz, who could now, as was asserted, muster from 30,000
to 50,000 hardy musketeers, kept by him in constant pay.
By means of these, as well as by sowing dissension in the
pachalic, he first overran the country, and then, by a similar
p^^ocess, having seduced a nephew of the reigning pacha,
he got possession of the capital, Amadieh. At the time of
Ross's visit, however, he was encamped, with about 10,000
men, before Accra, a very strong fortress which he had
just taken by assault, not having as yet proceeded against
the metropolis.

The doctor describes his camp as having few preten-
sions to military order. Each ashayer^ or clan, was pitched
around its chief, in separate groups at will, so that the
whole were spread to an extent which, according to the
rules of European tactics, would have accommodated
50,000 men. The only approach to regularity was in the
disposition of his personal guards, a body of 3000 war-
riors, well armed, who were encamped close to his tent.
Yet there was no want of a certain species of discipline :
not a sound was heard ; and every man could, at the ap-
pointed signal, be at his post in five minutes. The men,
of their own accord, were continually exercising at marks;

220 PRESENT CONDITION OF ASSYRIA.

and from 100 to 200 of the soldiers, invited from different
tribes, dined every evening in their sovereign's pavilion.

The pacha is described as a benevolent and .pleasing-
looking man, fair, marked with the small-pox, and blind
of an eye, which was opaque and depressed. His beard
was about twelve inches long, of a light-brov/n colour, the
lower half being uncombed, and quite felted together,
though, in other respects, he was rather tidy in his dress.
He was lame of one leg, from the kick of a horse, and
spoke with a weak voice.

But the most singular circumstance respecting this chief
is the great moral change which he effected in the provin-
ces which he had subjected to his sway. Instead of being,
as formerl}/-, a community of robbers, who could not see a
traveller pass without attempting to plunder and strip him,
and who, as they said of themselves, would " cut a man's
throat for an egg in his hand," there is not a theft commit-
ted in the country. The practice of robbery was cut short
by a summary process. Whoever was caught possessing
himself of the goods of others, was punished on the spot,
or put to death without mercy. For the first offence, ac-
cording to circumstances, an eye, a hand, or the nose was
the forfeit; for the second, some sev^ere mutilation ; but the
third offence was always punished with death. This de-
cree, fearlessly and unsparingly enforced, has had so pow-
erful an effect, that, were a man to see a purse of gold upon
the road, he would not touch it, but give notice to the head
of the next village, who would take care of the property,
and report to the chief in person. A striking instance ot
the meer's inflexible adherence to stern justice is given in
his behaviour to his own favourite brother, who, in riding
by a poor man's garden, had plucked a pomegranate with-
out asking its owner's permission. Upon hearing of this,
he charged his relative with the theft, which was not de-
nied. The chief sternly rebuked him, as if it had been a
heinous crime, and demanded which hand he had made use
of to perpetrate the act. The young man held forth the
hand. " And with which finger did you first touch the
fruit ?" " With this," said the culprit. " Then let that
finger be cut oft" immediately," said themeer; and the sen-
tence was carried into execution on the spot. Nor was he
less unrelenting on such occasions to strangers. A tribe
of the Tace Arabs had settled in his territory, having been

PRESENT CONDITION OF ASSYRIA. 221

driven across the Tigris by the Jerbah; and he had grant-
ed them permission to reside there on condition of observ-
ing the rules of his government. For some time the sheik
did so ; but, getting tired of inaction and an honest lite,
and being tempted by the appearance of a small caravan,
his habitual propensities proved too strong, and he plun-
dered it. But, ere the evening of the next day — before he
had well counted his gains — half a dozen Kurds rode up
to his tent, and, without either explanation or ceremony,
struck off his head at his own door, and then quietly with-
drew.

The career of Mohammed was rapid and fortunate, so
long as his enterprises were carried on against contermi-
nous states and pachas ; but the condition of Kurdistan,
and the disorders of its inhabitants, in a country so nearly
bordering upon Syria — then occupied by Ibrahim Pacha's
troops, who threatened farther encroachments on the sul-
tan's territory — had forced the Porte to send an army into
these parts under Reshid Pacha. Though the meer, had
he been faithfully served, might, secure in his mountainous
regions, have defied the whole troops of the empire, yet,
when the inhabitants found themselves actually opposed to
the arms of the sultan, to the Sanjak Skereef — the holy
banner, which all true Sonnees regard as the palladium of
their faith — the hereditary reverence for this venerated
symbol overcame their fear or regard for their military
chief, and they fled, or refused to fight against the sacred
ensign. Their leader, now powerless and despairing, gave
himself up to the Ottoman general, by whom he was sent
in chains to Constantinople. After a few month's deten-
tion, the Porte, acting, or pretending to act, on the sugges-
tion of certain European advisers, sent back the meer, as
was understood, complimented with a khelut of investiture
to the government of his own territories, as being more
likely, from this act of leniency, to prove faithful to his
sovereign. But he was not destined to reach his home, for
on the way he was put to death — no doubt by secret orders
— and his brother succeeded to his dominion and to his ha-
tred of the Osmanlis.

Dr. Ross, who travelled through his territory in May and
June, 1833, speaks in high terms of its beauty and improved
condition, which ofiered a strong contrast to the desolate
state of the country still under the Turkish rule. The vil-

222 PRESENT CONDITION OF ASSYRIA.

lages were often hid in perfect forests of gardens ; and the
hills, where not under corn, were covered with low oak,
wild almond, and other shrubs. Rewandooz itself is a
poor town of 2000 houses, surrounded by a ibrtilied wall,
in a hollow of the mountains on the southern bank of the
greater Zab. It commands a rude bridge formed over that
river, resting on two stone piers, and covered with branches
of trees and earth. The stream not being fordable, cara-
vans cross at this point, which enables the meer to levy a
considerable income by way of impost on the transit of
merchandise.

Not more than three days' journey westward from Oo-
roomia of Persia, and little more than one from Rewandooz,
lie the mountains of Jewar, and the country* inhabited by
a race of Christians of the Nestorian creed. They are said
to have retreated from Mesopotamia into those wild regions
late in the sixteenth century, in consequence of a schism
or feud between two rival patriarchs. The most prob-
able accounts fix their numbers at about 14,000 families,
who, though divided into three or more separate tribes,
form a sort of commonwealth under certain patriarchal
chiefs or bishops, by them termed khaleefeJis. Of these, the
principal, named Mar Shemaoon, resides at Kojannis, a
monastery among the mountains, where he maintains great
state, and exercises over his subjects a perfect authority
in temporal as well as spiritual affairs. But every village
has its khaleefeh or priest, who acts also as magistrate j
besides which, mention is made of intermediate prelates,
who are said to reside at other places, and command high
respect.

These tribes are represented as being rich, and living in
great comfort, their country abounding in all sorts of prod-
uce, both vegetable and mineral. They pay a nominal
respect or obedience to the Hakkari Kurds, the chief of
whom resides at Julamerik. But, in point of fact, they are
quite independent, very jealous of their freedom, and well
able to defend it ; for they can muster 12,000 musketeers,
while their territory, a cluster of lofty mountains intersect-
ed by deep ravines, is singularly defensible. These chasms,
the beds of rapid torrents, are spanned by a single tree,

* This is by some called the Teearee country ; but the name properly
applies to one of the tiibes of these Christians, not to the countiy.

PRESENT CONDITION OF ASSYRIA. 223

which, either being removed or let down at one side, the
approach of an enemy is absolutely debarred.

Nor is it alone the singular character of its people and
the wildness of its scenery that render this country so in-
teresting ; for here probably are to be found the most an-
cient manuscripts of the Syrian Church, particularly on
biblical subjecis. It is satisfactory to be able to add, that
these treasures are now in a fair way of being brought to
light, as an expedition, lately sent out by the Royal Geo-
graphical Society of London, for the purpose of discoveries
in those regions, have been instructed to direct their espe-
cial attention to ecclesiastical records.

There is yet one district of Assyria undescribed, which
possesses no mean claim upon the attention of the anti-
quary: that, namely, which is embraced between a linp
drawn from the pass of Kerrend to Kufri on the one hand,
and by Mendali to the site of Ctesiphon on the other. It
is rich in vestiges of antiquity, though most of the re-
mains hitherto traced are only of the Sassanian era. It
was first explored by Mr. Rich, and subsequently, to a cer-
tain extent at least, by Major Rawlinson. The former
gentleman, leaving Bagdad, crossed the Diala at Bakouba,
a large village, on his way to Shahraban, in the vicinity of
which many of the antiquities are found. Five miles to-
wards the south lie the ruins called the Zendan^ or prison ;
but at a point about half way, the guide conducted him to
a place called Eski Bagdad. Here are the remains of a
town as large as Ctesiphon, the walls in the same style,
the southwestern parts being the most perfect, and the in-
ferior filled with rubbish. Between these ruins and the
Zendan were seen two parallel Sassanian walls, running
northeast and southwest, 600 feet long, and about as much
apart, of the same composition as the structures at Seleu-
cia, having between each tier of bricks a layer of reeds.
Mr. Rich pronounces these ruins to be certainly much old-
er than Islamism, and has little hesitation in considering
them to have belonged to the Destagerd of Khoosroo Pur-
veez, which was taken by Heraclius.

The Zendan is described as a very interesting ruin,

built with great solidity of burned brick and mortar. In

form it is an oblong square, 1600 feet long by about for-

1 ty-seven feet broad,* and not less than sixteen feet ten

* Rich's Koordistan, vol. ii., p. 254.

224 PRESENT CONDITION OF ASSYRIA.

inches high. On the eastern side there are twelve round
towers or buttresses, in the curtain between each of which
are three pairs of loopholes. The western side presents
only a dead wall, with a niche ten feet six inches high,
with pointed arches opposite each tower on the other side.
The last niche, being the only perfect one, was forty-one
feet and a half deep, and terminated in a narrow passage
faced with a dead wall. On the northern side are four
towers, but quite in ruins. Towards the south are the re-
mains of some other buildings, and on the west the whole
country is covered with broken bricks. Not one of these
have inscriptions, nor are there any unburned bricks or
reeds to be seen. Mr. Rich concludes that this singular
ruin must have been a royal sepulchre. It is remarkable
that a Chinese copper coin was found here.

Crossing first the Hamrine range to a wide level, called
Deshteh (a word signifying the plain), the party reached
Kizzelrebat, where there are mounds and vestiges, but of
little interest ; and then, winding through a range of low,
broken hills, they descended gradually into the plain of
Khanekin, which, though very gravelly, is green, partially
cultivated, and tolerably productive. From this point to
^i^asr Shireen, the road lies among eminences of loose
conglomerate, with occasional sandstone ridges ; and at
the latter place the ruins of Khoosroo's palace are to be
seen. These, however, present more to disappoint than to
please the traveller ; for nothing now remaining bears the
appearance of grandeur either in dimension or design.
'' On the brow of the hill behind the caravansary," says
Mr. Rich, "is a square enclosure like a fort, and surround-
ed by globiilar-loo^Kmg buildings, if I may be allowed the
expression, one of which remains perfect in the inside.
It is of small dimensions, and something like an inverted
cone. The architecture is of the rudest description, and
se(jms merely to be composed of round, large pebbles,
heaped together without any attention to order, in an im-
mense thick bed of coarse mortar." There are the frag-
ments of a bridge of the same architecture over a torrent
near the town. To the north of this is a square building
facing the cardinal points, fifty-three feet in every direc-
tion, and about forty high, with an arched doorway in
each face. The roof, which was a dome, has fallen in.
The building is of the same rude masonry just described,

PRESENT COJNDITION OF ASSYRIA. 225

but had been faced with coarse red bricks, with which the
windows and doors are also pointed. On the north and
south are small square courts, with little cells on each side
of them, but quite ruined ; and on the east is a long series
of narrow apartments, which seem to have been vaults.

This may have been the portico of some edifice, often
in ancient times of greater dimensions, and formed of
more solid materials than the buildings to which it led.
Mr. Rich mentions another ruin about the centre of the
town, which he considers the principal one in point of su-
perficial extent. It appears to have been a large platform,
supported by arches forming cells, and very narrow pas-
sages. On the western end of the south side are the ruins
of what seems a portico, with a gate at each extremity.
The north side is open, displaying various cells and com-
partments. On the east and north the platform is entire,
and has on each side a double staircase, underneath which
the vaulted support on which it rests may be clearly seen.
The longest side does not exceed 200 feet, and from eight
to ten feet in height. Another enclosure v/ithin the town,
with an arched gateway built of large pieces of sandstone,
and fifteen feet broad, may, it is thought, have been a tank
or reservoir in front of the palace. Besides these princi-
pal ruins, there are the remains of walls and courts, ex-
tending, as the people of the country say, to an immense
distance, as well as traces of aqueducts. But the mount-
ainous character of the whole region shows that this can
only have been, what tradition calls it, a hunting-seat of
the great monarch ; and Mr. Rich is undoubtedly right
when he concludes that it is not at Kasr Shireen, that is,
the Palace of Shireen (mistress or wife of Khoosroo), that
we are to look for Destagerd.

Turning westward from this place, the traveller next
pursued his way ten or twelve miles " over wild hills and
among Kurdish tribes" to Haoosh Kerek, a ruin much
like Kasr Shireen, but less decayed, so that the plan was
more comprehensible. The building which bears that
name consists of a platform supported on vaults or cells,
which are a great resort of robbers, and are blackened in-
ternally by the smoke from the fires of those who frequent
them. It is an oblong square, of which the northern side,
including the remains of what is called the Kasr, measured
340 feet, the length from east to west being about double

S

226 PRESENT CONDITION OF ASSYRIA.

that from north to south. It is a multitude of small rooms
in ruins, all built of round pieces of sandstone, with which
the country is covered. There are some other edifices,
similar in fabric and character, but meriting no minute de-
scription. Mr. Rich considers this, as well as the Kasr
SJiireen, to have been one of the monarch's many hunting-
seats and parks, but observes that neither these, nor any-
thing else that he had seen of Sassanian erection, are cal-
culated to give any high idea of their taste or magnili-
cence. '' When richly painted, gilded, and ornamented,
they might have been w^orth seeing : in their present slate
of ruins they are certainly not imposing." Assuredly, ex-
cept the arch and hall at Ctesiphon, there are no Sassani-
an remains that convey to the beholder any idea of much
magnificence and taste; and though, doubtless, the sculp-
tures on the rocks at Shapoor, Naksh e Roostum, Tauk e
Bostam, and Bessittoon, are curious, they dwindle into in-
significance when compared with the stupendous struc-
tures of Egypt, Greece, and Rome, or even with the ven-
erable remains of Persepolis.

These are the principal vestiges of antiquity in this dis-
trict ; others are mentioned, but of less importance, and
therefore need not be more particularly noticed. Kelwa-
tha, a heap of extensive mounds at the confluence of the Di-
^ ala and Tigris, has been already alluded to. Among these
Buinences was picked up a small, thin brick, of nearly
four inches long, on w^hich was impressed a figure, tolera-
bly well executed, of a female arrayed in the Babylonish
dress, with a flower in one hand, and an animal of some
sort in the other. The dress is flounced up to the waist,
and the hair falls back in long curls.

In describing the R.iver Diala, mention has already been
made of the pachalic or district of Zohab, which occupies
a triangle at the foot of the ancient Zagros, bounded on
the northwest by the course of the current, there called
the Shirwan, on the east by the mountains, and on the
south by the stream of Hulwan. Although forming one
of the ten pachalics dependant on Bagdad, it was wrested
from that government about thirty years ago by the Per-
sian prince of Kermanshah, and has never since been re-
stored. It presents an irregular surface of hills and plains,
much of it being capable of culture, but is at present, for

PRESENT CONDITION OF ASSYRIA

Oi

the most part, overrun by the Eeliaiit tribes of Gouran and
Sinjabee, and some other Kurdish and Arabian clans.

In the plain of Hurin in this pachalic, at the foot of a
lofty summit called the Sartak, Major Rawlinson found
the remains of a cit}^ apparently of the most remote an-ti-
quity. The foundations, composed of huge masses of stone
unhewn, and walls of most extraordinary thickness, aro
now all that can be seen; and that gentleman inclines to
refer them to the Babylonian ages. Two fursucks south
of Hurin, in a mountain gorge, the seat of a village named
Sheikhan, there is a small tablet sculptured on the rock,
exhibiting the same sort of device as is seen in the Baby-
lonish cylinders ; an armed figure stands upon a prostrate
foe, while another kneels with hands fastened behind, as if
praying for mercy ; an upright quiver of arrows is placed
by the victor king ; and the tablet is closed by a cuneiform
inscription, written in that complicated character which is
nowhere seen except on bricks and C3dinders. The tablet
is only five feet long by two broad, and rather rudely exe-
cuted.^

A remarkable mountain, projecting from the lofty range
of Dalahu, rises to the height of 2000 feet, so close behind
the town of Zohab as quite to overhang it. This in an-
cient times was converted into a fortress which might be
deemed impregnable. On three sides the hill ascends with
a very abrupt slope from the plain to within 500 feet of the
summit, the rest being a perpendicular scarp, which has
been farther strengthened by building. On the fourth side,
where it is united to the larger mountain, a wall, which,
to judge by the part now remaining, must ha.ve been fifty
feet high by twenty thick, and flanked at regular intervals
by bastions, together with a ditch of most formidable di-
mensions, has been drawn across from scarp to scarp, a
distance of above two miles, thus enclosing a space often
square miles. At the northeast angle the scarp rises in a
rocky ridge to join the Dalahu range; and the pass here,
which conducts to the fort, is farther strengthened by a wail
and two formidable castles. This is the stronghold of Hoi-
wan or Hulwan, where Yezdegerd, the last of the Sassa-
nians, retreated after the capture of Ctesiphon by the
Arabs, and it is called Banyardeh or Kalah Yezdegerd.
Near the little village of Zardeh there are the remains of
two palaces, the Harem and tlie Diwan Khaneh of the

228 PRESENT CONDITION OF ASSYRIA.

same sovereign, both resembling in material and architec-
ture the Sassanian buildings at Kasr Shireen and Haoosh
Kerek.

Zohab has by some been regarded as the representative
of Hulwan, the ancient Calah and the Halah of the Israel-
itish captivity. But Major Rawlinson denies the correct-
ness of this conjecture, and attributes that honour to the
town of Sir e Pool e Zohab, which is eight miles south of
the present Zohab, and situated at a point where the river
bursts through the rocks which bound on the southwest the
valley of Bishiwah. This, he asserts, is the Chala of Is-
idore of Charax, which gave its name to the district Cha-
lonitis. On the authority of Assemanni,* it was called in-
differently Calah, Halah, and Hulwan by the Syrians, who
established a metropolitan see at this place in the third
century, while to the Arabs and Persians it was known
by the last of those titles. But we must refer to Major
Rawlinsont himself for the proofs on which he founds his
conclusions, and pass on to a short notice of the antiquities
found there. In the gorge through which the Hulwan for-
ces its current, there are several sculptured tablets of Sas-
sanian origin ; but over one of these, on the rocks to the
left, there is a bold and well-executed bas-relief of the Ka-
yanian times — that is, of the age of Persepolis and Bessit-
tom. A mile and a half from the gorge is seen a line of
broken mounds, resembling those at Nineveh and Babylon,
and therefore probably belonging to the Chaldean ages, as
well as avast assemblage of such eminences, which appear
to mark the sites of the principal edifices of the ancient
city. One of these is upward of fifty feet in height ; and
in several places brickwork, of the peculiar Babylonian
character, is exposed to view. But the most remarkable
monument is a royal sepulchre at the corner of the up-
per gorge, two miles distant from the sculptures, and pre-
cisely resembling in character the tombs of Persepolis. At
the top of an artificial scarp, seventy feet in height, has
been excavated a quadrangular recess, six feet deep, eight
high, and thirty wide. In the centre of it is the opening
into the tomb, the interior of which is rude, containing on
the left hand the place for depositing the dead, with niches

* Bibliotheca Orientalis, vol. iii., p. 346 ; vol. iv., p. 753.
t .Toiimal of the Royal Geograpliical Society, vol. ix., part i., p. 35,
London, 1839.

PRESENT CONDITION OF ASSYRIA. 229

for lights, as usual, but no carving nor ornament of any
sort. At the entrance are two broken pillars, which have
been formed out of the solid rock, one on either side ; the
base and a small piece of either shaft appear below ; and
the capitals still adhere to the roof On the smooth face
of the scarped rock is an unfinished tablet, representing the
figure of a Mobid, or high-priest of the Magi, clothed in his
pontifical robes, wearing the square-pointed cap, and lap-
pets over his mouth, which is the most ancient dress of the
period of Zoroaster. This tomb is called Dookani Daood,
or David's Shop; the Jewish monarch being supposed by
the Ali Ullahis, and, indeed, by other Orientals, to have
followed the calling of a smith or armourer. There are
several other Sassanian ruins and spots consecrated by lo-
cal tradition near this place, and many objects in the
neighbourhood interesting to the comparative geographer
and antiquary. At Deira, Gilan, and Zarna, along the
foot of the Zagros range, Major Rawlinson discovered ves-
tiges either of Babylonian or Sassanian cities ; but to de-
scribe these would prove inconsistent with our limits. Of
the rest of the country at the base of the hills, all the way
to the borders of Khuzistan, little can be said in addition
to what we have already observed, namely, that it is
swampy and uncultivated, and occupied either by the Lour
tribes of Pushtikoh, or by the Beni Lam Arabs.

230 MODERN BABYLONIA.

CHAPTER Xlll.

Modern Babylonia.

Bagdad. — Its Origin, Position, and History. — Walls — Gates — Mosquea
and Shrines. — Impressions on entering- the City from Persia. — Banks
of the Tig-ris, — Boats. — Bazars. — Market-places. — Sketch by Bucking-
ham.— Private Houses. — Domestic Habits. — Women. — Georgians and
Arabs. — Population. — Establishment of Daood Pacha. — Plague in Bag-
dad.— Its rapid Progress. — Exposure of Infants. — Inuiidation. — Condi-
tion of the Pacha. — Instances of sweeping Mortality. — Fate of Caravans
and Fugitives. — Subsequent Calamities. — Present Population. — Cos-
tume.— White Asses and black Slaves. — A. Battle within the AV alls. —
Insubordination at Kerbelah and NejefF Ali. — Sketch of a March in
Babylonia. — Camp of the Zobeid Sheik. — His Tent — And Entertain-
ment.— Expenditure of an Arab Chief. — March towards Sook el Shi-
ook. — Arab Bravado. — Hospitality. — Madan Arabs. — Their Houe^s—
And Flocks of Buffaloes. — The Montefic Arabs. — Their Reed liu^s.--.
Sook el Shiook.— Interview with the Sheik of the Montefic.

We must now take a glance at Modern Babylonia ; and
the first object in it which attracts attention is Bagdad, the
City of the Caliphs, and the present capital of the pachalic.
The Persians, as we learn from D'Herbelot,* claim for their
Mahabadian kings the honour of founding this city, and
attribute it to Zohauk ; an obvious confusion of their own
traditions with the Scriptural account, which assigns Bab-
ylon to Nimrod. They add that it was enlarged by Afra-
siab, who called it Bagdad, or the Garden of Dad — the idol
whom he worshipped. But there is little doubt that, in
point of fact, the true founder was Almansor, second ca-
liph of the Abbassides. That prince, disgusted with his
former abode at Hashemiah, near Cufa, began, A.D. 760,
to build the metropolis in question ; but it was not finished
until four )^ears afterward, when he bestowt^d on it the
name of Dar ul Salam, the Dwelling of Peace.

It appears to have been erected on the left bank of the
river,t of a circular shape, enclosed by two walls, which
were flanked by towers ; and in the centre there was a

* Bibliotheque Orientale. See the word Bagdad,
t Kinneir says the western side, in which he differs from D'Herbelot
Geographical Memoir of the Persian Empire, London, 1813, p. 246.

I

MODERN BABYLONIA. 233

castle which commanded the neighbouring country. It
would farther appear that the same Almansor, desirous to
avoid as much as possible all contact with the rabble of
his new capital, built on the western side of the Tigris a
suburb named Karkh, joined to the eastern part by a bridge,
and in which were the bazars and public markets. This
city rose to its highest pitch of grandeur during the reigns
of the celebrated Haroun al Raschid and his immediate
successors ; but, in the fourth century of the Hejira, the
power of the caliphs having declined, we find Bagdad ta-
ken from them, first by Ali Buiyah, the second of the Dile-
mee dynasty, in A.D. 945, and afterward by Togrul Beg,
the first of the Seljuk sovereigns. But these were com-

Earatively slight calamities ; for, though the glory of the
ouse of Abbas had departed, their capital remained rich
and populous until the Mogul invasion, under Zinghis
Khan, swept like a deluge over Asia, and overwhelmed
the prosperity of every town on its fair plains in a tor-
rent of human blood. In A.D. 1253, the stern Hoolaku,
grandson of Zinghis, marched against the devoted city,
which was defended by Mostasem, when, not only was it
taken, and the caliph and his two sons put to death, but
the inhabitants also were subjected to a general massacre,
which by some historians has been swelled to an incredi-
ble amount.*

The ruined city remained in the hands of the Moguls
until A.D. 1392, when it was taken from Sultan Ahmed
Ben Avis, of the race of Hoolaku, by the great Tamer-
lane, The former prince, however, having succeeded in
repossessing himself of the capital, it was again attacked
and reduced by the enraged Timur, w^ho punished the in-
habitants by putting the most of them to the sword. In
the contest between the Turkomans of the White and
Black Sheep, which distracted the Persian empire during
the ninth century of the Hejira, it passed more than once
from hand to hand until A.D. 1508, when Shah Ismael, of
the Suftaveans, made himself master of it. During up-
ward of a hundred years it continued to be an object of
contention between the Turks and Persians, till at length,
in A.D. 1637, it was finally taken by Amurath IV., who

* Some say 17,000,000 ; others are contented with 800,000 : either
aaiouKt inijtlies exa^^g-eratioa.

234 MODERN BABYLONIA.

annexed it to the Ottoman empire, and in the possession
of that power it has ever since remained.

In the course of these revolutions, the position, shape,
and extent of Bagdad were so greatly changed, that it is
scarcely possible to point out the original site. The pal-
ace of the celebrated Haroun is supposed to have stood
on the v/estern side of the Tigris ; but from the fact that
the Turks under Tamerlane swam the river from its east-
ern shore to reach the city, we arc led to presume that the
chief portion of it was then to be found on the opposite
bank.

Such, however, has not been the case in more recent
times. The present city is still intersected by the Tigris,
though by far the larger and most important part is that
whicii occupies its left, or northeastern side; the shape
being nearly that of an oblong square, and the circuit
aboMt five miles. It is surrounded by a high wall built of
bricks and mud, and flanked with towers of different ages,
some of which owe their origin to the successive caliphs.
There are six gates and entrances, three on each side of
the river; seventeen large and 100 small towers on the
eastern bank, and thirteen on the other. On several of
these are cannon mounted, but chiefly unserviceable; and,
besides several large breaches in the wall, occasioned by
the effects of the inundation of 1831, it is altogether in bad
repair. Outside there is a dry ditch, but which cannot be
considered available as a defence.*

Besides the six gates of entrance towards the land, tJiere
is one on each side opening to the river, and orie al>o
which is called the Gate of the Talisman, the handsorue^tt
of all, originally built by Caliph al Naser. It was by this
approach that Amurath entered when he took the cily, but
it was built up, and has remained closed ever since. "VVilh-
in the w^alls there are said to be 200 mosques, six colleges,
and twenty-four baths. Of the first, many of which are
attached to the shrines of saints, those of Sheik Abdul
Kader, Sheik Shehab-u-deen, Sheik aboo Yacoob Moham-
med, Sheik Maroof Kerkhee Habeebi-ajamee, Biskir e
Haafee, Hooksam ibn Mansoor, Sheik .Tunaeed e Bag-
dadee, are the most important. The cathedral mosque of
the caliphs, Jamah el Sook el Gazel, has been destroyed,

* Kiimeir's Memoir, p. 248, 249

MODERN BABYLONIA. 235

with the exception of a curious but rather clumsy mina-
ret. The Jamah el Merjameeah, though chiefly modern,
has some remains of rich old arabesqae work, and its gate
is fine. The Jamah el Vizier, on the bank of the Tigris,
near the bridge, has a grand dome and lofty tower, and
the great mosque in the square of El Maidan is stiil an
imposing building. But, on the whole, there are few struc-
tures deserving of notice ; and it may be remarked as sin-
gular in so celebrated a capital, that not above twenty-four
minarets and about a dozen domes, none of them remark-
able for beauty or great size, are to be counted within the
precincts of the western division. The college of Caliph
Mostanser is now the custom-house. The palace of the
pacha, on the river-bank, at the northwest end of the
western division, never magnificent, is now in utter ruins ;
and his highness lives in the citadel, which, though con-
taining the arsenal, the mint, and public offices, is hardly
in better order. Beyond the walls and near the Hillah
gate is seen a singular hexagonal edifice, with a still more
strangely formed tower, which covers the tomb of the
beautiful Zobeide ; and there is another ancient structure,
said to have been erected by the celebrated Alp Arslan,
one of the bravest of the Seljuk monarchs. It is con-
structed like a kibleh, and is supported on four pillars ;
on one side is fixed a black stone, around which are Cufic
inscriptions nearly illegible.

Such are nearly all the buildings or objects that arrest
the attention of a stranger in modern Bagdad; but4he fol-
lowing sketch of first impressions as made upon the au-
thor when entering the town, may possibly be useful in
conveying to his readers some idea of the place.

To those who come from Persia, especially when they
have been sickened with a succession of ruins and other
tokens of desolation such as had met our eyes, the first
sight of Bagdad is certainly calculated to make a favour-
able impression, which does not immediately wear off.
The walls in the first place present a more imposing as-
pect, constructed as they are of furnace-baked bricks,
strengthened with round towers, and pierced for guns at
each angle, instead of the mean-looking, crumbling enclo-
sures which surround the cities of Iran. Upon entering
the town, the traveller is moreover gratified by the appear-
ance of the houses, which, like the walls, are all built of

236 MODERN BABYLONIA.

good bricks, and rise to the height of several stories ; and
though the number of windows they present to the street
is far from great, yet the eye is not constantly offended by
the succession of irregular, mud-built structures, divided
by dirty openings, undeserving even of the name of alleys,
that make up the aggregate of a Persian city.

In riding along them, particularly in dry weather, one
is impressed with the idea that the substantial walls to the
right and left must contain comfortable dwellings, w^hile
the iron-clinched doors with which the entrances are de-
fended, add to this notion of security.

Nor are the streets of Bagdad by any means totally un-
enlivened by apertures for admitting light and air. On
the contrary, not only are windows to the street frequent,
but there is a sort of projecting one, much in use, which
overhangs the path, and generally belongs to some cham-
ber, in which may be seen seated a few grave Turks smo-
king away the time ; or, if )^ou be in luck, you may chance
to lind yourself illumined by a beam from some bright
pair of eyes shining through the half-closed lattice. These
sitting-rooms are sometimes thrown across the street, con-
necting the houses on either side, and affording a pleasing
variety to the architecture, particularly when seen, as they
often are, half concealed by the leaves of a date-tree that
overshadows them from the court within. There was
something in the general air, the style of building, the for-
eign costume, the mingling of foliage, particularly the
palm leaves, with architectural ornaments, w^hen seen
through the vista of some of the straighter streets, which
excited in the mind of the author a confused remembrance
of other and better-known lands. Such were the impres-
sions received from what he saw in passing through the
town ; and the banks of the river exhibited a still more
striking and attractive scene. The flow of a noble stream
is at all times an interesting object ; but when its margin
is occupied by a long range of imposing, if not absolutely
handsome buildings, shaded by palm groves, and enliven-
ed by hundreds of boats and the hum of thousands of busy
labourers, and its current spanned by a bridge of boats,
across which there is a constant transit of. men, horses,
camels, and caravans, the combination forms a picture
that can hardly fail to produce a very agreeable emotion.
And such, undoubtedly, is the view of the Tigris from

MODERN BABYLOiNIA. 237

many points on its banks, which command the whole
reach occupied by the present city.

The first sight of the river did not certainly fulfil the
author's expectations, for he had imagined a broader chan-
nel. With the appearance of the town from thence he
was agreeably surprised; few blank \valls are seen, as
most houses have numerous lattices and projecting win-
dows overlooking the stream ; and there is a handsome
mosque, with its domes and minarets close to the bridge —
itself a pleasing object — with a certain irregularity and
loftiness in the line of buildings on the left bank, which
impart a pleasing variety to the view. The right or west-
ern bank is by no means so picturesque in point of archi-
tecture, but its large groves of date-trees, mingled with
houses, render it also a pleasing object from the more
populous side.

Among the objects that add interest to the water scen-
ery of Bagdad are the various sorts of boats which are
seen swarming on the Tigris. Those which trade be-
tween that city and Bussora are vessels of many tons bur-
den, with high, square sterns, the after-part being covered
with a deck, so as to form a cabin for the accommoda-
tion of passengers. The bow is low, but rises above the
water somewhat in the form of those Arab daws which are
observed in the Persian Gulf They have but one mast,
which rakes forward, and on which is hoisted a long yard
bearing a large square sail. They also have a bowsprit,
on which a jib is set.

The dawlc^ which is used chiefly for carrying firewood,
is built in the form of a crescent, the horn forming the
bow being the most curved. The breadth exceeds a third
of the length ; and the sides, which are flat, fall at an
acute angle to join a keel or floor of two feet broad. The
frame is made of various sorts of light timber and nar-
row plank, rudely joined together with slight iron fasten-
ings, and the whole is thickly coated with bitumen. The
rudder is made of spars formed like a large X ; the tiller
a crooked spar, being fixed along the top, while the end is
applied obliquely to the horn of the stern. A tall, thin
mast, bending forward, and secured by a single shroud aft
and amidships, supports a light yard and a triangular sail.

The farradeh is a long, flat-bottomed wherry, made of
planks, sewed or nailed together like the one just mention-

238 MODERN BABYLONIA.

ed, coated also with bitumen, and moved by poles or pad-
dles. Some are so large as to hold thirty armed men.

The gooffah is a round, basket-shaped vessel, from six
to ten feet in diameter, formed of branches of the date,
pomegranate, or osier tree steeped in water, closely wat-
tled or bound together with leaves, and thickly coated
with bitumen. It is moved by a paddle, and with greater
speed than could be expected.

The other Assyrian raft, called the kellec'k^ is formed of
a collection of spars tied together, and placed upon a lay-
er of inflated skins. It is steered with a large oar, but can
only float down stream. Most of these specimens of na-
val architecture are precisely the same as they are descri-
bed to have been by the writers of antiquity. ^ There are,
besides, a variety of canoes and small boats used in the
rivers and canals all over the country.

In the bazars of Bagdad there is just cause for disap-
pointment. It is not, however, want of extent, for they
are often very crowded; but there is in their construction
a poverty of design and meanness of execution, with an
appearance of dilapidation, which, though doubtless at-
tributable in part to recent misfortune, arise chiefly from
original defect. Some, and among these a very extensive
range, the work of the late Daood Pacha, are well built
of fire-brick and mortar, with lofty arcaded roofs, but oth-
ers are very ruinous, and have coverings rudely foiTned
with beams*^of wood, on which are spread thatch of date-
tree branches or reeds. The shops themselves are poor,
and frequently in disrepair; many are unoccupied, and in
most places there may be traced that air of neglect and
of reckless squalidity which so strongly indicates the ad-
vance of complete decay.

In various parts of the town there are open spaces,
which, from particular descriptions of goods being sold,
have thence received their names, as the " thread-market,"
the '' muslin-market," or the " corn-market," Of these,
the largest and the gayest is one close to the northwest, or
Mosul gate ; but none of them has any pretensions to
splendour, or even to cleanliness. The last mentioned is,
in fact, the great place of the city. Horses are here expo-
sed for sale ; it is surrounded by coffee-houses, which are
constantly filled with an assemblage of all sorts of people,
sirioking and drinking. It is also the general place for

I

MODERN BABYLONIA. 239

exhibition, and even of execution, for here criminals are
punished with decapitation, hanging, or mutilation ; and
sometimes passengers are greeted with the sight of a head-
less trunk, exposed for the day as a warning to evil-doers.
The grave Turk, however, insensible to the horror of the
sight, smokes his pipe quietly, or passes by with indiffer-
ence, simply muttering " Allah il uUah." This place of
many uses contains little more than an acre of ground.

The following sketch, given by Buckingham, is so true
and lively, as far as it goes, that we are tempted to insert
it.* " The interior of the town offers fewer objects of in-
terest than one would expect from its celebrity as an Ori-
ental empormm of wealth and magnificence. A large
portion of the ground included within the walls is unoccu-
pied by buildings, particularly on the northeastern side ;
and even where edifices abound, particularly in the more
populous quarter of the city, near the river, a profusion of
trees are seen ; so that, on viewing the whole from the ter-
race of any of the houses within the walls, it appears like
a city arising from amid a grove of palms ; or like Avhat
Babylon is supposed to have been, a walled province rath-
er than a single town.

" All the buildings, both public and private, are con-
structed of furnace-burned bricks of a yellowish-red col-
our, a small size, and with such rounded angles as prove
most of them to have been, used repeatedly before ; being
taken, perhaps, from the ruins of one edifice to construct a
second, and again from the fallen fragments of that to
compose a third. In the few instances where the bricks
are new, they have an appearance of cleanliness and neat-
ness never presented by the old. The streets of Bagdad,
as in all other Eastern towns, are narrow and unpaved,
and their sides present generally two blank walls, win-
dows being rarely seen opening on the public thorough-
fare, while the doors of entrance leading to the dwellings
from thence are small and mean. These streets are more
intricate and winding than in many of the great towns of
Turkey ; and, with the exception of some tolerably regu-
lar lines of bazars and a few open squares, the interior of
Bagdad is a labyrinth of alleys and passages.!

* Travels in Mesopotamia, vol. ii., p. 179-181, 191-193,494-499
t It is to be remembered that this traveller came from Egypt and Tur-
key, while our author had travelled from Persia ; their impressions were

240 MODERN BABYLONIA.

" Of the private houses of Bagdad I saw but little, ex-
cepting only their exterior walls and terraces. It struck
me as singular, that throughout the whole of this large
city I had not seen even one pointed arch in the door of
entrance to any private dwelling. They were all either
round or flat, having a fancy-work of small bricks above
them ; and even in those parts of the old bazars and ruin-
ed mosques in which the pointed arch is seen, its form is
nearer to the Gothic than to the common Saracenic shape,
which I had also observed to be the case at Mosul ; so
that Bagdad could not have been the original seat of Sar-
acenic architecture, which probably took its rise much
farther in the West.

*' The houses consist of ranges of apartments opening
into a square interior court; and while subterranean
rooms, called serdaubs, are occupeid during the day for
the sake of shelter from the intense heat, the open terra-
ces are used for the evening meal and for sleeping on at
night. From the terrace of Mr. Rich's residence, which
was divided into many compartments, each having its
separate passage of ascent and descent, and forming, in-
deed, so many unroofed chambers, we could command at
the first opening of the morning just such a view of Bag-
dad as is given in the * Diable Boiteux' of Madrid, show-
ing us all the families of Bagdad, with their sleeping-apart-
ments unroofed, and those near our own abode often in
sufficiently interesting situations. From this lofty station,
at least eight or ten bedrooms in different quarters were
exposed around us, where, as the families slept in the
open air, domestic scenes were exposed to view without
our being once perceived, or even suspected to be witness-
es of them.

" Among the more wealthy, the husband slept on a rais-
ed bedstead, with a mattress and cushions of silk, covered
by a thick, stuflfed quilt of cotton, the bed being without
curtains or moscheto-net. The wife slept on a similar
bed, but always on the ground, that is, without a bedstead,
and at a respectful distance from her husband ; while the
children, sometimes to the number of three or four, occu-
pied only one mattress, and the slaves or servants each a

therefore different, which, will account for apparent discrepancies in their
respective accounts.

MODERN BABYLONIA. 241

s^arate mat on the earth, but all lying down and rising
up within sight of each other. Every one rose at an early
hour, so that no one continued in bed after the sun was
up; and each, on rising, folded up his own bed, his cov-
erlid and pillows, to be taken into the house below, ex-
cepting only the children, for whom this ofhce was per-
formed by the slave or the mother.

'' None of all these persons were as much undressed as
Europeans generally are when in bed. The men retained
their shirt, drawers, and often their caftan, a kind of inner
cloak. The cliildren and servants lay down with nearly
the same quantity of clothes as they had worn in the day ;
and the mothers and their grown daughters wore the full
silken trousers of the Turks, with an open gown, and,
if rich, their turbans, or, if poor, an ample red chemise,
a:nd a simpler covering for the head. In most of the in-
stances which we saw, the wives assisted with all due re-
spect and humility to dress and undress their husbands,
and to perform all the duties of valets. After dressing,
the husband generally performed his devotions, while the
slave was preparing a pipe and coffee ; and on his seat-
ing himself on his carpet when this was done, his wife
served him with her own hands, retiring at a proper dis-
tance to wait for the cup, and always standing before him,
sometimes, indeed, with the hands crossed in an attitude
of great humility, and even kissing his hand on receiving
the cup from it, as is done by the lowest attendants of the
household.

" While the husband lounged on his cushions, or sat on
his carpet in an attitude of ease and indolence to enjoy his
morning pipe, the women of the family generally prayed.
In the greater number of instances they did so separately,
and exactly after the manner of the men ; but on one or
two occasions, the mistress and some other females, per-
haps a sister or a relative, prayed together, following each
other's motions side by side, as is done when a party of
men are headed in their devotions by an imam. ISTone of
the females, whether wife, servant, or slave, omitted this
morning duty ; but among the children under twelve or
fourteen years of age, I did not observe any instance of
their joining in it.

"Notwithstanding the apparent seclusion in which wom-
en live here, as they do, indeed, throughout all the Turkish

242 MODERN BABYLONIA.

empire, there is no want of real liberty, which sometimes,
as in other places, is sufhcientJy abused. Nor can it be
denied that the lacliity of clandestine meetings between
persons of the country is much greater in lurkish cities
than in any European metropolis. The disguise of a
Turkish or Arab female in her walking-dress is so com-
plete, that her husband himself could not recognise her be-
neath it ; and, consequently, let a lady go where she will,
no suspicion of the truth can attach to an individual.

" Among the women of Bagdad, the Georgians and Cir-
cassians are decidedly the handsomest by nature and the
least disfigured by art The high-born natives of the place
are of less beautiful form.s and features, and of less fresh
and clear complexions ; while the middling and inferior
orders, having brown skins, and nothing agreeable in their
countenances except a dark and expressive eye, are some-
times so barbarously tattooed as to have the most for-
bidding appearance. With all ranks and classes the hair
is stained a red colour by henna; and the palms of the
hands are so deeply dyed wiih it as to resemble the hands
of a sailor when covered with tar. Those only v/ho, by
blood or habits of long intercourse, are allied to the Arab
race, use the blue stains so common among the Bedouins
of the Desert. The passion for this method of adorning
the body is carried in some instances as far as it could
have been among the ancient Britons ; for, besides the
staining of the lips with that deadly hue, anklets are mark-
ed around the legs, with lines extending upward from the
ankle at equal distances to the calf of the legs ; a wTeatli
of blue ilowers is made to encircle each breast, v/ith a
chain of the same pattern hanging perpendicularly be-
tAveen them ; and among some of the most determined
belles, a zone or girdle of the same singular composition
is made to encircle the smallest part of the waist, imprint-
ed on the skin in such a manner as to be forever after in-
delible. There are artists in Bagdad whose profession it
is to decorate the ladies with wreaths, and other articles
of the newest fashion."

The population of Bagdad in the year 1826 was, by the
author just cited, estimated at 80,000 souls. A short time
afterward it must have amounted to 150,000 at least, foi
the Pacha Daood, besides maintaining about 7000 cav-
alry, and from 5000 to 6000 infantry, with field and camel

MODERN BABYLONIA. 243

artillery, kept a brilliant court and encouraged commerce,
so that the city, if not the pachalic, flourished under hii*
government. But since his days, pestilence, inundation,
and famine have greatly reduced the population of the
town as well as of the country.

It was in the spring of 1831 that the plague, brought, as
is believed, from Persia by the pilgrims to Kerbelah, broke
out in Bagdad ; and a more frightful detail of horrors than
this visitation gav^e birth to, is not, perhaps, to be found in
the history of human sufferings. The pacha, desirous to
prevent undue alarm, by a mistaken caution prevented the
egress of those who would have fled, so that the disease had
not only full scope, but was even aggravated by a dense
crowd of every sort and condition. On the lOth of April
the deaths had already amounted to 7000; and from 1000
to 1200 were every day added to the number. In no long
time this daily mortality increased to 4000 and 5000.
Many houses w^ere emptied ; profound silence prevailed ;
no one was to be met in the streets except water-carriers
employed to wash the dead, or those who bore them to the
tomb. But soon the victims became too numerous for the
attention of the living. Water could not be had for the
use of the survivers, nor cloth to w^ap the bodies of the
dead, nor persons to inter them. Hence some of the
most considerable people were carried on asses, and
throwm into the river or into some hole; w^hile the poor
were buried imperfectly in the houses where they died, or
were left to taint the air on the spots v^here they happened
to expire.

The most distressing thing, perhaps, v/as the abandon-
ment of young children, who were exposed in the streets
by the dying parents, in the hope of attracting the regard
of charitable persons, at a period, alas ! when the dread-
ful circumstances of the time had deadened all feelings of
sympathy. Yet the sight did occasionally move the pity
of women — mothers, perhaps, themselves — who, most com^-
monly, to their humane assistance added the sacrifice of
their lives. Mr. Groves, the missionary who relates these
facts, saw often, in the walks which he took to the British
residency, as many as eight or ten of those helpless little
creatures thus exposed, some of them not ten days old,
which, though heartsick at the sight, he had no means of

244 MODERN BABYLONIA,

When the mortality was at the highest, the misery of
the wretched inhabitants was increased by another terri-
ble agent. The waters of the river, which had risen be-
yond all precedent, surrounded the town as with a sea.
The wall at length gave way, and the flood poured in, sap-
ping the mud-built foundations of the houses, of which
7000 fell in the night, burying in their ruins the sick, the
dying, and the dead. Fifteen thousand individuals are
estimated thus to have perished on the eastern side alone ;
yet so absorbed v/as every one with his own grief, that this
event, which in common times would have caused the
greatest excitement, was scarcely noticed by any. The
ground towards the river being higher, a number of hous-
es remained untouched. To these all who had escaped
the effects of the inundation repaired, filling up the blanks
that had been made by death, and bringing fresh food for
the pestilence which lurked in the empty dwellings, whose
late tenants still lay unburied within their walls.

Nor was the condition of the pacha better than that of
his subjects. His palace was in ruins ; his guards were
dead or had fled ; out of 100 Georgians who constituted
his personal attendants, four only were left ; of his wom-
en, two alone remained ; and he at length was indebted to
the benevolence of a poor fisherman for a little food to pre-
serve him from starvation. He sought to flee the cit}^,
and desired the use of the residency boat ; but of her crew
only one man was alive, and he could not find others to
work her. " Fear of him," says Mr. Grove, " is passed,
and love for him there is none."

Such havoc could endure but for a season. The pesti-
lence at length mitigated its severity, and by the 96th
of May the disease v/as at an end. Lamentable and fear-
ful was the wreck on v/hich the survivers had to gaze.
Of the gross population of Bagdad, there is every reason
to believe that two thirds were carried off, and that the
number of dead did not fall short of 100,000.

The instances of mortality in families and among cer-
tain classes of men were yet more striking. Of eighteen
servants and sepoys left in the British residency, two only
escaped ; and one of them was the sole surviver of a fam-
ily of fourteen. An Armenian of rank assured Mr. Groves,
that out of 130 houses in his quarter, only twenty-seven
of the inhabitants were left. One of the moollahs decla-

MODERN BABYLONIA. 245

red J that in the section of the city where he had lived, he
knew not one remaining; and, as a single instance of its
effects in other parts, it may be mentioned, that the town
of Hillah, which contained 10,000 inhabitants, was entire-
ly depopulated. Some, no doubt, had fled ; but the great-
er number fell victims to the disease.

Nor was it confined to cities and villages. A large car-
avan, which had left Bagdad for Damascus at the com-
mencement of the mortality, was at once seized with the
epidemic and surprised by the inundation. Having reach-
ed a comparatively elevated spot, they remained confined
to it during three weeks, the water constantly gaining on
them, and the plague thinning their ranks. Few had the
good fortune to leave the place.

But there were thousands who lied too late, and were
caught without any sufficient vantage-ground within reach ;
so that they were forced to remain in the water, which
rose half a yard high in their tents. Without food or the
means of making a fire, neither sick nor whole could lie
down ; and, what was still more deplorable, they were not
able to bury their fast-accumulating dead. Some, frantic
with despair, sought to flee, and were drowned in attempt-
ing to return, though it were only that they might expire
at home ; and the few who did escape fell into the hands
of the predatory Arabs, who treated them with their wont-
ed barbarity.

Next came famine, which carried ofif a portion of those
v/hom pestilence had spared. But the ruin of the sur-
rounding villages, and the effects of rapacity and war,
driving the inhabitants of the country to the town, it there-
by acquired a certain measure of population, which, how-
ever, in the course of the three succeeding years, was
again thinned by the same frightful disease. Under these
calamities the power of Daood Pacha was crushed ; and
Aii Pacha, the present ruler, who had been appointed by
the Porte to supersede him, was enabled to obtain posses-
sion of the city, together with the person of his rival.

Still, though peace has nominally been restored, and
plague has ceased, the population of Bagdad is far from
having reached its former extent. A few years ago its
amount was estimated at about 60,000, of whom the great-
er number were Turks and Arabs ; but many were also
true Bagdadees, a somewhat peculiar race, deriving a

246 MODERN BABYLONIA.

mixture of blood from all the neighbouring countries.
Most of the merchants are of Arab descent, though min-
gled with Armenians, Christians of the Catholic and Syrian
churches, and Jews ; the bazars being crowded also with
Kurds, Persians, and Bedouins. But the last-mentioned
race do not like to pass the night in the town ; and the
greater number of Persians, being pilgrims to the shrines
of Kerbelah and Nejeff Ali, generally take up their quar-
ters at the village of Kazemeen, or outside of the walls to-
wards the northwest.

The costume of Bagdad is described by Mr. Bucking-
ham as being in his day less splendid than that of Con-
stantinople or of Egypt. * In the 'time of Assad Pacha this
may have been the case, but in that of Daood it was cer-
tainly very rich; and the court of the latter, with his mag-
nificently-mounted Georgians, his officers and their trains,
made a very gallant show. It is otherwise now ; for the
plainness of the modern Turkish dress has extended to
this city, and the establishment of Ali is somewhat mean
and insignificant.

Still in the bazars there is a good deal of glitter and at-
traction ; and a stranger is particularly struck with the
singularly wild attire of the Arabs and the brilliant cos-
tume of the Kurds. The former bind a silk kerchief, in
large bars of yellow and red, round the head with a rope
of camel's hair, and wear the national abba floating loose-
ly from the shoulders, often with very little under it. The
latter appear in rich turbans of red, white, and blue stri-
ped silk, with long fringes hanging down their shoulders ;
gay vests and robes, over which is thrown the abba of
wdiite, brown, or striped camlet. Among other striking
objects in the streets of Bagdad are the multitude of milk-
white asses and jet-black negroes. The former are used
by all but the warrior class in preference to horses, and
particularly by the ladies, v/ho may be seen in large par-
ties trotting on their donkeys to pay visits ; and such ani-
mals, particularly if possessed of fine paces, sell for a
large sum. The African slaves are quite as much the
fashion, both for male and female attendants, and, it ap-
pears, are especially prized for their deformity. They are
all thick-lipped, have broad faces, high cheek-bones, ex-
ceedingly depressed noses, staring white eyes, and are
brought chiefly from Zanguebar by the Imam of Muscat,
who is a great dealer in those unhappy beings.

i

MODERN BABYLOMA. 247

Another thing that arrests a stranger's attention is the
excessive noisiness of all creatures in this large to^vn.
From the dawn of day, when the flocks and herds that
rest at night within the walls are with great clamour driv-
en forth to feed, till evening, when the Bedouins are heard
shouting out to each other in stentorian voices as they
leave the streets and bazars, all is uproar, noise, and con-
fusion. The Jew and Armenian merchants, the camel
and mule drivers, the boys, the women — nay, the very la-
dies upon their donkeys, all seem to vie with each other in
loud vociferation.

At the time w^hen the writer of these pages was in the
city, this clamour was, if possible, augmented by the ad-
ditional number of men and cattle which, from particular
circumstances, had been driven under shelter of its walls.
The Arab tribes in the neighbourhood, when they have any
dispute with the pacha, are in the habit of marching in
full force to Bagdad, sometimes investing it, and always
consuming the corn and forage in the vicinity, in the hope
of extorting whatever they may require ; while he, gener-
ally too weak to oppose them, is wont to remain enscon-
ced within till want of food compels them to retreat. At
the time just alluded to, the Aneiza, a clan from the Syri-
an frontier, in consequence of a misunderstanding with
the pacha, held the city in siege, as the Jerbah had done
the previous year, and occasional skirmishes took place
at some distance from it. During the same period there
w^as a battle, attended by more than usual blooodshed,
within the town itself, between another tribe of Arabs, the
Ageil — who had conducted themselves contumaciously to
the government — and the pacha's troops, whom he sent to
dislodge them. The firing, which continued several hours,
was attended with the sacrifice of many lives, and termi-
nated in the expulsion of the intruders and the plunder of
the western half of the city by its defenders. It cannot be
a matter of surprise that Bagdad, while made the theatre
of such transactions, should not flourish.

The same disposition to insubordination and riot pre
vails throughout the greater part of the pachalic, and in
no place more strongly tlian in the two great cities of She-
ah pilgrimage, Nejeff Ali and Kerbelah. The former
contains the tomb of Ali, and is therefore an object of pro-
found veneration to those who regard him as the true sue-

248 MODERN BABYLONIA.

cesser of the Prophet. The other, in like manner, is hal-
lowed in their eyes by possessing the remains of his son,
the murdered Hassan, who fell on the banks of the Eu-
phrates by the hands of Shurnmur and his followers.
These two stations, enjoying the right of sanctuary, be-
came the resort of so many profligate characters that all
good government was at an end. To such an extent did
these Yerrimmases (as this band of ruffians were called)
carry their outrages, that the property of no man was se-
cure ; while, by means of a certain system of secret intel-
ligence, they rallied in a moment at any given point, to
resist every attempt at enforcing order or inflicting pun-
ishment.

Daood Pacha, after much trouble, succeeded in making
himself master of Nejeff All, and turning out the Yerrim-
mases. But Kerbeiah resisted his efforts, nor could his
successor for a long tim^e succeed in bringing the inhabi-
tants to reason, even after their ranks had been thinned by
plague and famine. It is now believed, however, that of
late it has been reduced to a state of obedience.

A few sketches may serve to give some idea of the as-
pect of modern Babylonia and Chaldea, and of their in-
habitants. It was in the month of January that the au-
thor left the site of ancient Babylon to cross the Jezirah.
The morning showed the ground covered with hoarfrost,
and as hard as iron ; every wrapping that could be mus-
tered was insufficient to keep out the cold, though in sum-
mer the heat is insupportable. The march was a long
and tedious one, across a bare, joyless desert. The only
break in the monotony of the scene was presented by the
site of some ancient town or city, of which not less than
four large ones, together with several canals, occurred
within thirty-two miles. In fact, scarcely had we passed
one when another appeared ; and it might safely be said,
that we did not ride over a square rood during the whole
day without seeing traces of former habitations, in frag-
ments of brick, glass, or pottery. A great part of the
land was perfectly barren, while much of the surface Vvas
so cracked as to make riding very unsafe. Where vege-
tation did exist, it consisted only of a few bushes of ca-
pers, of the mimosa agrestis, and some salsuginous plants
or grass : of this last we occasionally saw large tracts,
which, from being periodically overflowed, had shot up
into a fine growth.

MODERN BABYLONIA. 249

About three ia the afternoon we were greeted with the
sight of a few camels on the verge of the horizon — gener-
ally a sure sign of approach to an Arab encampment ; but
this time it deceived us. These animals belonged to the
Jerbah tribe, some of which had wandered thus far. We
had seen smoke, too, which we believed to arise from the
Zobeid camp 5 but hour after hour passed on, and it ap-
peared no nearer. Towards evening we fell in with more
camels, and next saw a flock of sheep; but still no habita-
tion was perceived ; and, after wandering till dark, we
came to a small party of the natives just described, who
had neither bread nor water, and scarcely a mouthful of
corn for the horses. We all spent the night in anxiety
and unrefreshed ; the servants, besides enduring the pangs
of hunger and thirst, being obliged to watch in turn against
the thievish propensities of their hosts.

Next morning, though cold and comfortless, the visiters
resumed their progress, and the River Tigris soon ena-
bled them to quench the thirst of themselves and their hor-
ses. Their way then lay through a sedgy marsh, a large
portion of which, having been set on fire, emitted the
smoke that had caused their disappointment on the prece-
ding day, and was then blazing in a line of flame which
extended for miles. This conflagration was lighted up
by the Arabs in order to bring up a fresh crop of grass in
place of the rank herbage.

A few strings of camels appearing in the distance her-
alded the approach of the tribe, which was in motion, and
the whole horizon was soon covered with these animals,
looking like moving trees in the mirage. After a few
hours more, the party were in the camp of the Zobeid
sheik, where, however, their reception was niggardly
enough, for scarcely could either fire, water, or victuafs
be procured. It was the Turkish Ramazan or fast ; and
it appeared as if they were resolved to enforce its observ-
ance on strangers as well as on themselves. The fare ^
and treatment next morning were equally indiflercnt ; and
the ideas of Arab hospitality were waxing very low in the
minds of the travellers, when, on the second evening, they
were invited to an entertainment which produced a more
favourable opinion.

The tent of the sheik, formed of dark-brown haircloth,
was fifty or sixty feet long, supported in the centre by a

250 MODERN BABYLONIA.

row of poles, none of them rising more than nine feet
I'he side to windward was pinnud down with ropes to
within three feet of tlie ground, producing a sharp pent,
the opening being closed by a screen o^ tne same materi-
al, which, tnough thin and pervious to the light, proved a
tolerable protection against the wind. The otner side
was open in all its extent ; tlie outer extremity, w^hich
should have been fastened down, being elevated by poles
of about six feet in height, the ropes being proportionally
relaxed. 'I'he space thus covered overhead might be from
sixteen to twenty feet broad, by the length already stated.
Tiie tent contained neither goods nor furniture, save to-
wards the upper end, where were some pillows and a few
carpets arranged for seats, and where the chief received
visiters in form. Near the lower end was a lireplace,
marked only by the ashes of successive iires. At this?
time flared from it a bright blaze in the faces of as wild a
set of savages as ever surrounded a cannibal's feast, and
who, to the number of twenty or thirty, were seated on
their heels, most of them with shirts and abbas tucked up
to permit their long limbs to rejoice in the genial heat.

The chief and our friend the Kurd received us stand-
ing; but, so soon as a rag of carpet had been thrown down
for our convenience at one point of the circle, v/e all took
our seats. Never saw we anything so perfectly savage on
so large a scale, for the Kurds are accomplished gentle-
men in appearance compared to the Arabs. Even the
Turkomans stood out in advantageous contrast with these
wild children of the desert. A shirt and an abba were ihe
general full dress, with a headkerchiei" that could boast of
no particular colour. The sharp eye, too, gleamed with
scintillating fierceness from among their long black elf-
locks and beneath their contracted brows, so that a stran-
ger, judging from the loud tones of voice in which they
spoke, would have imagined tliey were just about to use
the sword or large clubbed stick which every one lield in
his hand, or had laid beside him on the floor. But we had
not long to dwell on the ever-varying features of this
group ; for the cawachee or cofl^ee-preparer of the great
man now stepped forward, and, first sitting down in the
circle and warming his hands, began to pour out, from
two ample brazen vessels, a sort of liquor composed of
hot water and sugar, flavoured with ginger and spice^ with

MODERN BABYLONIA. 251

which it appears these Ramazan ascetics break their fast,
and which is presented also to the guests in little cups not
bigger than a dram-giass. 'i'iien came the signal for din-
ner, and we all went to the other end of the tent, where it
was laid out.

In the centre of the space in front of the cushions, which
were covered for the occasion with coarse canvass bags —
by way of tablecloth, it is presumed — there w^as raised a
sort of platform of wood, aoout six feet in diameter; and
on this, in an immense copper dish, smoked a heap of rice,
amounting to nearly three hundred weight. Encompass-
ing this grand centre-piece were ranged smaller platiers
filled with sundry preparations of mutton and pastry.
The former was boiled or stewed, and dressed up as forced
meat, with plums, raisins, and other good things ; the lat-
ter was in still more varied shapes, and, though rather
greasy, all exceedingly good. Most of the dishes, indeed,
were swimming in melted butter and rich sauces, and the
whole exhibited a chief-like profusion. Around this ban-
quet sat about thirty of the savages before described, with
their long, black, disordered locks hanging over the dish-
es ; and behind these stood or sat a still more extensive
circle oi' expectants ; for their practice is, that as soon as
any one has satisfied his appetite, he gives place to anoth-
er; and thus the succession proceeds, until the whole par-
ty, often amounting to hundreds, has been fed, should the
viands suffice. It was amusing to witness the vigorous
set-to that was made by one and all the moment the " Bis-
millah !" Avas uttered. In one second, every hand w^as
plunged arm-deep intt) the rice ; and each man vied with
his neighbour in making huge bails of it v/ith the grease
and sauce of the stevrs, and in the dexterity with which he
stuffed them into his mouth. The sheik, though he did
not forget his own share in the feast, was by no means un-
mindful of his visiters. He took large lumps of the meat
and pastry, and threw them down before us on the rice,
pouring whole dishes of sauce and melted ghee over it to
increase its savouriness. The drink provided to wash
down these solid morsels was a sort of sherbet made of
sugar and water, acidulated, and very agreeable ; and it
appeared to be quite as abundant as the eatables.

" The guests then rose like the others, washed their hands,
and retired to the withdrawing-room, that is. to the lire-

252 MODERN BABYLONIA.

place at the other end, where the cawachee had resumed
his seat, having before him a row of large coiFee-pots, from
which we were soon served with small cups of that bev-
erage, the dose being repeated every ten minutes as long
as we remained. This cook or butler was a miserable
scarecrow, with a face like a reaping-hook, a ragged shirt
and gown, and headgear of unspeakable squalidity ; his
coffee, which was excellent, was flavoured with carda-
moms, was handed about by barelegged Ganymedes, in
canvass shirts of pretty much the same colour as the bev-
erage. Being the chief guests, we were served first, and
afterward the whole party indiscriminately ; the cawa-
chee helping himself and his cup-bearers as regularly as
the rest.

Entertainments like these, and the practice of a profuse
hospitality, constitute the principcd claim on the revenue
of an Arab chief His personal expenses, or those of his
family, are trifling, compared with the outlay of a Persian
or a Turkish noble ; but an almost incredible amount of
viands and provender is expended on numerous occasions.
The daily consumption of the Zobeid patriarch, when
alone, was not more than four sheep, and 250 or 300 lbs.
of rice ; but when he had company it varied from ten to
twenty sheep, with rice in proportion. At the entertain-
ments of Suffook of the Jerbah tribe, it was not uncom-
mon to see the carcasses of twenty sheep lying boiled or
roasted upon huge masses of rice, and this repeated three
or four times a day.

The party, having sojourned two days with the sheik,
took a direction down to Jezirah towards the country of
the Montefic. The way for some time stretched over a
flat desert, sprinkled with the small mimosa agrestis, ca-
per bush, camel's thorn, and some salsuginous plants.
These were seen in smaller numbers towards the marshy
land near the River Hye, which is annually overflowed,
and where a few tamarisks are almost the only vegetation
that appears. In approaching the Lemlum marshes, and
the borders of the Euphrates near Grayim, the party had
to make their way through reeds or sedgy grass, which
serves as pasture to numerous herds of buffaloes kept by
the Mad an Arabs who frequent these tracts. The whole
country, whether dry or boggy, presents a monotonous
and forbidding aspect, void of all the cheerful tokens of

MODERN BABYLONIA. 253

man's presence, unless when the e3^e is greeted by the oc-
casional sight of the black Bedouin tent, the reed hut of
the Madan Arab, or of the animals which, Irom constitu-
ting the chief property of the children of the W'ilderness,
usually indicate their neighbourhood.

On the first day of thf? march the travellers witnessed
an am.using specimen of bullying. In the morning they
w^ere alarmed by observing a party of twelve or fourteen
men, on camels, mai\e their appearance in an opposite di-
rection; for, as every one metw^ith in these deserts is held
to be an enemy until the contrary is proved, there was
some reason for apprehending an unpleasant rencounter.
As it was important to learn w^ho the strangers w^ere, a
horsem.an was instantly despatched towards them ; but, as
this demonstration appeared rather to produce an acceler-
ation of their pace from us than any hostile movement to-
wards our front, certain individuals who had accompanied
us on foot, and who had given evident symptoms of alarm,
began to recover their valour, swearing that the persons
in question were no better than sand under their feet, and
that they would drive them like dust before the wnnd.

When our messenger rejoined us, and all this unneces-
sary courage had apparently been expended in a flash of
heroism, we were surprised by observing the guide, who
had remained wdth us, fall into a desperate state of agita-
tion. He flung his abba and headkerchief upon the
ground, stamped about with wdld grimaces, and tucked up
the long sleeves of his shirt to his shoulders, uttering all
the time strange inarticulate sounds. Something w^as ob-
viously wrong ; but so great was the ferment of his spirit,
that it w^as not without some difficulty we coiild come at
the truth. It appeared, at length, that the people in sight
were of the Shummur, or, rather, of the Jerbah tribe, and
were his enemies. They had robbed him and murdered
his people ; so he swore he w^ould go after them, and pu
every one of them to death. Thus he went on, girding uj
his loins, examining his matchlocks and pouches of am
munition, from which he selected a parcel of bullets, anc
tossed them into his mouth to be ready for prompt ser-
vice, and all the wdiile he uttered most aw^ful threats, to
which his comrade responded, though w^th somewhat less
vehemence.
On putting the question to Seyed Hindee what all this

254 MODERN BABYLONIA.

folly could mean, that v/orthy only shrugged up his shoul-
ders, and treated the bravado with the contempt it deserv-
ed ; but, as it was occasioning very inconvenient delay,
we made the interpreter signify to the guides, that if this
\vas to be their mode of performing their duty to us, vve
should return to the sheik and inform him. This, with a
small show of displeasure, brought the man to his senses ;
he untucked his sleeves, resumed his abba, and began,
looking very much like a fool, to excuse his antics by a
detail of the causes of his enmity to those wicked Shum-
murs.

The fact Vv^as, he never had the slightest notion of med-
dling v/ith them at ail : it was merely a flourish, got up to
impress us with an idea of his courage. Had the stran-
gers indicated the smallest disposition to attack us, he
v/ould have been the first to betake himself to flight. This
incident places the character of Arab courage in those
parts in its true light.

A day or two later the party had a specimen of Arabian
hospitality and kindness to strangers. Having bivouacked
in the open plain without food or drink either for their
horses or themselves, they proceeded next morning, hun-
gry, thirsty, and weary, till the appearance of camels at a
distance gave token of an encampment. The men ran
away on the approach of our party, but a horseman was
sent out to satisfy them of our pacific intentions. In the
mean time, three or four more cavaliers, armed with spears,
mancEUvred on our right, who, after flourishing about for
a while, came ofl' at full gallop. Another of our Arabs
dashed forth to meet them ; down went the butt-ends of
their spears to the ground ; and, after a short converse, we
had the satisfaction of seeing the leader and our hero lean
forward and embrace each other from their saddles. All
fear of assault was thus terminated, and our hopes of a
kind reception were confirmed by the welcome which they
gave us as they came forward to join our partv. These
expectations, however, proved fallacious. The horsemen,
indeed, rode along with us towards some tents, which now
appeared at a distance ; but, finding between them and us
a natural canal, partly filled with mud and v/ater, they
discouraged us from attempting to cross it by asserting
that the occupiers of those tents were unable to entertain
lis, and offering to take us to a richer tribe a little farther

AiODEilN BABYLONIA. 255

on. This, we discovered afterward, was but a stratagem
to inveigle us away from their own homes — the very en-
campment we had seen — for one after another slunk off
as vv-e advanced, until we were left alone. In the mean
time we observed the country beyond the creek studded
with tents, while on our side not one was to be seen ; so,
perceiv^ing that we had been cheated by those who first
met us, we halted opposite the largest group, and resolved
to send our guide across to negotiate for our reception.
He had directions to assure them not only of our good
intentions, but of an equal ability to remunerate our enter-
tainers. To sell food, indeed, to the traveller is quite
against the laws of Arabian hospitality, but an inter-
change of presents is admissible : so, after a considerablre
negotiation, arising more from mistrust than delicacy, the
scruple of etiquette was got over. V/e passed the canal,
and at length got barley for our horses, and a supply of
hot bread and dates stewed in melted butter for ourselves.

The marsh which we had now reached was one appro-
priated entirely to pasture for buffaloes ; animals that de-
light in mud and water, and immense herds of which are
kept by a peculiar race of Arabs, well known along the
banks of the rivers by the name of Madan. Thev are
fixed, not migratory; they live upon the produce of" their
cattle, which, with a few sheep and cows, constitute their
whole property; occupying huts form.ed of split reeds, in
society with their animals, which they are said scarcely
to exceed in intellectual endowments. It is from the no-
torious uncouthness and brutality of their habits that the
other Arabs ^iyq them the name of Madan, a term com-
pounded of two words signifying not wise. They also
have the reputation of being the most inveterate thieves in
the whole country ; and probably they are not a whit be-
hind their neighbours in the arts of petty larceny. But,
wild and brutal as they are, we did not discover a great
difference between them and the other tribes.

Though they received us sullenly at first, yet after a few
words of explanation all went on smooth^ enough. They
did not profess to entertain us, and we did not conside"r
ourselves their guests; but they gave us what we required
at tolerably fair prices, and assisted us in getting water,
wood, and other necessaries. Moreover, they pledged'
themselves for the safety of our cattle, keeping watch

256 MODERN BABYLONIA.

over tliem ; upon the understanding, no doubt, that this
service should not be forgotten in the present they were to
receive at our departure.

As for themselves, they and their domiciles were cer-
tainly curiosities. The latter were a sort of cage, made
of reeds like split ratans ; and the largest of them did
not exceed ten feet long by eight broad. As for any di-
vision of chambers for men and women nothing of the
kind appeared to have entered their thoughts. Each shed
was surrounded by a little space enclosed by walls of
bruslnvood, which served for defence as well as for fuel.
It was curious to see the great droves of buffaloes retujn-
ing home in the evening, each going straightway to its
master's hut, without driving or constraint of any kind.
The human animals that issued from these dens'^at our
approach, bore certainly as much the appearance of the
dregs of the human species as can well be imagined.

The travellers at length reached the country of the
Montefie, of which tribe mention has already been more
than once made in these pages. This powerful clan, after
a variety of struggles with the Turkish authorities, in
some of which they suffered very severely, acquired, about
the year 1744, dominion and right of taxation over a small
tract of country belov/ Sook el Shiook, themselves at the
same time paying a stated sum to the sultan's treasury.
One of their sheiks, however, thought fit to throw off this
slight burden, and was, in consequence, surprised, and the
people p'most entirely destroyed by Solyman, a Mame-
luke ofhcer, surnamed " Aboo Leila," or the Father of
IS'ight, from the rapidity of his nocturnal attacks. The
troubles of the pachalic, however, enabled the Montefie
again to raise their heads ; and they have since contrived
to appropriate the v/hole district, from the mouth of the
Shut el Arab to Semavah, besides occupying the tract be-
tween the Hye and Korna, and extending their pasture-
range as far* as Hit and Anah on the Euphrates. Tiie
possession of so much territory has created a disposition
to improve the soil, and a considerable number of the tribe
are now fellahs or cultivators. It is true that the prejudice
against a fixed life is still strong, and only the lowest of
the tribe will condescend to remain stationary; but the
change is in progress. The sheiks, who have all their
own portions of land, regard it as their chief means of

MODERN BABYLONIA. 257

subsistence, though cultivated . y a peasantry whom they
despise.

One of the signs of this change were the curious villa-
ges of reed-built huts which they occupied upon the banks
of tiie Euphrates, superseding the usual black hair tents
of the Bedouins. These houses stood in groups, surround-
ed by enclosures of the same materials, and many of them
were constructed with great taste. The mode of building
is simple enough : clusters of reeds, from iifteen to twenty
feet high, are neatly bound with witiies or bands made of
the same, and planted in the ground at proper distances,
in two rows, like posts. The small ends are then bent till
those oi' the opposite clusters in each row meet in the
form of an arch, when they are fastened together by small-
er bundles, laid longitudinally on the roof, and tied to each
post. This framework is covered, both sides and yQMj
with mats made of the split reeds, and ornamented with
neat lattice-work, according to the fancy and skill of the
architect. One would imagine that such slight structures
were ill calculated to resist storms of wind and rain ; but
they are found to do so very effectually, and certainly they
are more comfortable than a tent. But it is a strange
piece of aifectation to prefer such flimsy fabrics to the
more solid houses composed of clay, inhabited by the
peasantry of villages, merely because they imply a slight-
er deviation from nomadic habits.

But, notwithstanding this aversion to stationary dwell-
ings, the chief mart of the country, Sook el Shi^ok, that
is, " the market-place of the sheiks," is a walled town,
constructed of sun-baked bricks, and containing, before
the plague, 600 or 700 families. Seen from a distance, im-
bosomed in date-tree groves, it has a neat and attractive
appearance ; but the illusion is dissipated on a nearer ap-
proach. It is almost entirely a mass of ruined houses,
among which a few, still tenanted, contain the small num-
ber who escaped the pestilence ; and it is of all human
abodes the most filthy and abominable. It is almost im-
possible to walk the streets without contamination ; and
the smell of the butchers' shops renders all ingress impos-
sible to civilized nostrils. The bazars arc rather exten-
sive, but thinly tenanted, and most of the shops are filled
with articles suited to Arab wants alone.

258 MODERN BABYLOrsIA.

Into this emporium the sheiii never enters ; and he
makes it his boast that he will at no time degrade himself
by advanciDg within its walls. The Arabs have an in-
stinctive dislike to such enclosures. I^Tom their black
tents they can issue forth v/hen they please ; but some of
them have, to their cost, found the case otherwise vvith
wails of brick or mud.

The first interviev/ of the travellers is thus described.
Our w^atches pointed nearly to eleven P.M., when the
nieerza, entering our tent, told us that the bustle of the sa-
laam being over, the great man could receive us in a suit-
able manner, and accordingly vve sallied forth. The
sheik had a vv^hite tent, part of the present of investiture
sent by Ali Pacha; but not in this did he receive his
friends and the public, it being only his sleeping-place.
His hail of audience w^as a temporary hut of reeds, con-
structed in about twenty minutes for his accommodation.
It was, indeed, extremely rude. On the floor, round the
sides, was spread a narrow slip of matting ; across the up-
per end was laid, in like manner, a ragged strip of carpet.
A dim, dirty linen lantern, which hung Irom one of the
reed-posts, shed a most dismal light upon two dense rows
of savages, seated with their backs to the matted walls,
and barely rendered visible v/hat seemed a huge bundle
of clotiies raised a little above the rest of the assembly,
on a thing like an old hencoop. A fissure in the upper
part of this indescribable apparel disclosed a nose and
two glittering eyes, w^iich indicated the august presence
of the sheik.

He did not rise to welcome us, but bowed, and at the
same time uttered certain sounds, v/hich were understood
to express satisfaction. With no small difficulty we made
our way upward to his right hand, where we seated our-
selves ; after which, for some time, we all remained in si-
lence. But his highness, happening to discover that oncj
of his guests was a physician, immediately became ani-
mated. He began a most lively detail of his numerous
ailments, and ended hy a.^:king whether the doctor would
feel his pulse that night or the mxorrow. But he instantly
replied to his own question, and a bony arm was thrust
forth from the mass of coverings. It was not easy to tell
whether the chuckling laugh with which he received the
medical man's report, that '' he could find nothing the

MODERN BABYLONIA. 259

matter Vs'-ith his worship," was one of approval or of dis-
appointment.

The state of his health having been amply discussed,
he began to milock the stores of his own wisdom and
knowledge on other subjects. The affairs of Persia hav-
ing been mentioned, and a remark made concerning the
shah's death, he desired to be informed " who was the
shah ?" On being satisfied in this particular, and, more-
over, being told that the said ruler had expired at Ispahan,
the chief of all the Montefics repeated the word '•Ispahan'?
lspa.han 1 what is it 1 where is it 1 — a country 1 a city 1
or what V On this head, also, due intelligence was af-
forded him ; and he then continued, in the most amiable
and condescending manner possible, to gather knowledge
and show forth his own ignorance, without betraying the
smallest symptom of that affectation under which some
are apt to cloak their deficiencies.

In "the mean time, ginger tea and bitter coffee were
handed round by a slave. The first was sweet, hotly spi-
ced, and excellent ; the latter, like all of Arab manufac-
ture, was strong as brandy, and bitter as gall, but warm
and refreshing. Midnight being close at hand, we thought
proper to withdraw. With regard to the mode of pro-
ceeding on our journey, guides, and other matters, the
sheik vouchsafed us scarcely one word. It was intimated
to us, indeed, that he meant to remain there the next day,
and would then make all the necessary arrangements for
our comfort ; but we learned in the morning that he had
risen at an earlier hour than we, and carried off his nobil-
ity to Koote, a place farther up the river, leaving us to
follow at our leisure.

260 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

CHAPTER XIV.

Religion^ Character, Manriers, and Customs of the Inhabi-
tants of Modern Mesopotamia and Assyria.

Variety of Races. — Arabs. — Countries inhabited by. — Religion. — Char-
acter.— Blood-feuds — Sketches of the Arabs on the Euphrates by El-
liot.— Beni Saeed. — Hamet ul Khaleel — Their Women. — Costume. —
Carnp of the Al Fadhlee. — Food. — Jung-le Arabs. — Mode of decamp-
ing- and encamping-. — Contrast between the Jungle, or Fellah and Be-
douin Arabs. — Kurds. — Religion. — Points of Similarity with the Scot-
tish Hig-hlanders. — Manners in Society and in Domestic Life. — Selira
Aga. — Roostum Aga. — National Character. — Personal Appearance. —
Women. — Turkomans. — Christian Population. — Nestorians, Chalde-
ans, or Syrians. — Divisions of Sects. — Early Progress of Christianity in
the East. — Christian Bishops and Sees. — The Nestorian Heresy. — Con-
demnation of its Author. — Rise of the Jacobite Schism. — Its wide Dis-
semination.— Number of Sees. — Armenians and Roman Catholics. —
Character of the Christian Population. — Chaldeans of Mount Jewar. — ■
Saboeans. — Orig-in. — Tenets. — Persecution. — Places of Abode, and sup-
posed Numbers. — Manicheans. — Doctrines of Manes. — History of the
Sect. — Yezidees. — Supposed Origin. — Various Appellations. — Secrecy
observed by them concerning- their Religion. — Account of their Tenets
so far as is known. — Tribes of the Sinjarli Yezidees. — Their Sacred
Fountains and Repositories of Treasure. — Character by Ricli. — Shai-
tan Purust and Chirag- Koosh. — Their Origin. — Ali Ullahis.

The extensive and interesting countries which we have
been endeavouring to describe, have at all times been in-
habited by a very mixed population, consisting of many
races, distinguished from each other by religion, by lan-
guage, and by customs. Some of these have been already
noticed ; but it will be proper to particularize them some-
what more distinctly.

The great bulk of the inhabitants, besides the dominant
race of Turks, is made up of Arabs, Kurds, Turkomans,
Christians, and Jews. The first, as a matter of course,
compose a considerable proportion of the population of
the towns and large villages, filling nearly all civil and
military offices ; and they differ in no respect from the or-
dinary Osmanlis of the Turkish empire. With regard to
the second, we have already remarked that Mesopotamia,
from the line of the Hermas and Khabour southward, in-

OF THE INHABITANTS. 261

eluding Babylonia and Chaidea, is now, as it always has
been, principally peopled by Arabs, who, however, are not
contined to those limits, but form no minute part of the
population of Assyria, and are found in greater or smaller
numbers even in the most northern parts.

Of the religion of these Arabs nothing more need be said
than that they are Mohammedans of the Sonnee sect, in
character, habits, and customs they resemble, in general,
their brethren of the adjacent peninsula — from whence, at
one period or other, they all originally came — although
modified greatly by circumstances. They all lay claim to
the qualities of hospitality, generosity, justice, incorrupti-
ble integrity, and fidelity to their promise, courage, love of
independence, as much as they did in the days of Hatim
Taee ; yet they acknowledge themselves to be robbers and
plunderers, attaching obviously no discredit to the act of
seizing the property of strangers who may not have bar-
gained with them for immunity as to person and goods.
But, whatever may have been the case in former times,
the Arabs of the present day, in the countries which we
are describing, appear to have retained only the vices,
while they have lost the virtues, of their forefathers; for,
so little regard do they now pay to their oaths or to the
true rights of a guest, that, though a traveller may be sale
'while ill the tent of a Bedouin, the latter thinks it no breach
of honour or humanity to send some one to attack him af-
ter he has quitted his roof, or even to stain his own hands
with violence.

Fortunately, the Arab is not prone to bloodshed, nor fond
of exposing his life to great hazard ; so that, in cases of at-
tack where the odds are not very great, a little firmness
uill bring him to reason. But, on the other hand, a use-
less opposition to a force who know their power, if pushed
to extremities, is apt to lead to fatal consequences ; for,
when their blood has been rashly shed, they give no quar-
ter. Their battles among themselves are seldom attended
with serious casualties, victories being not unfrequently
gained without the loss of a man. But this results as
much from a reluctance to incur the consequences of a
blood-feud as to expose their own persons.

These blood-feuds, as among all other semi-barbarous
nations, are pregnant with horrible atrocities. Among
those which are recorded of more remote times, there is

262 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

none more disastrous and melancholy than that which once
distracted the great tribe of Monteiic, consisting chiefly of
two principal clans, the Malik and the Ajwad. The quar-
rel arose out of a question as to right of pasturage on cer-
tain tracts ; and the former at length prevailed by extermi-
nating their rival brethren. Excited to desperation by the
songs and remonstrances of the v/omen, every male of the
Ajwad armed himself for battle, and fell in defence of the
spot where his fathers had fed their flocks. But even this
^sanguinary triumph was insufiicient to satisfy the jealous
'temper of Solyman, the leader of the victorious clai].
Dreading future retribution, should even a single individ-
ual of the conquered tribe survive, he adopted the atro-
cious expedient of putting every female to death, and se-
curing the destruction of progeny by the most appalling
means. One alone, who had thrown herself at the feet of
a Malik chief, was salved by his compassion at the imma-
nent risk of his own life ; for he was wounded and nearly
cut in pieces while defendmg her. Of this yomig woman,
wdio was pregnant at the time, was born Abdoollah, after-
ward the founder of a family, which, from the peculiar
origin of its chief, received the appellation of the " Or-
phan's Tribe." The place of slaughter was one of those
pleasant glens which, even in the sterii and rocky soil of
Arabia, are fomid among the mountains, where water may
be everywhere obtained near the surface, and which in
spring and early summer are covered with a rich verdure.
That which was the scene of this disaster is to be seen
about fifteen miles to the south of modern Bussora, and is
still known as the Wadi ul Nissa, or the " Vale of Wom-
en," the name vv'hich it received upon that fatal occasion.
A catastrophe of a like nature, though confined to the
fate of an individual, was witnessed not many years ago
by an English traveller, w^ho had chanced to become a
guest in the tent of a sheik of the Beni Lam Arabs, as he
was journeying through Kuzistan. In the absence of the
chief, the honours v/ere done to him by his daughter, a
young woman, the only resident in the tent. Towards
morning the stranger was roused from his sleep by shrieks,
and soon distinguished the voice of his young hostess ex-
claiming that she was murdered. All rushed to the spot,
where they found the unfortunate girl in the agonies of
death, her breast pierced in three places with a dagger.

Mi^^ip

iSiiip

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Jit:

w

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W

i

OF THE INHABITANTS. 265

While gazing on the sight, and offering vain assistance, a
voice was heard from a height close by, exclaiming, " Yes !
it is I. I have done it. Praise be to God, I have murder-
ed her." All eyes turned to the spot, where there was per-
ceived an old woman gesticulating with the utmost vehe-
mence. A rush was made towards her; and she either
ran or was borne back to the brink of the river, on Avhich
the tents were pitched, and, falling from the high bank, was
seen no more.

On inquiry, it appeared that this stem female was moth-
er of a 'pelilevmn or prize-fighter of another tribe, who, not
long before, had killed a son of this sheik, an event which
had excited the half-dormant feud in all its bitterness. A
stranger soon afterward entering the camp, w^as received
with the usual frankness, and hospitably entertained. Un-
fortunately, he was recognised by some one as the very peh-
lewan who had slain their patriarch's son ; but he was how
their guest, and, by the inviolable custom of the Arabs,
could not be touched. The chief himself was absent; and
the feelings of good faith and humanity were prepondera-
ting, when this young woman, sister of the deceased, enter-
ed the assembly, and unbraided the men with cowardice.
*' Shall the murderer of your sheik's son be here, and es-
cape?" said she, vehemently. ''Never let it be told; put
him instantly to death." But still a reluctance to infringe
the sacred principle in so glaring a manner restrained
their hands, when the young girl herself, maddened with
rage, seized a sword and smote the unfortunate man. The
sight of blood was irresistible. In a moment every weap-
on was sheathed in his body, and he was literally cut in
- pieces. The head of the tribe returning, was horrified at
the event, which he would fain have recalled or repaired.
But the mother of the dead would accept no atonement ;
she followed the camp for years, thirsting for revenge, and
she found her opportunity that night when the English trav-
eller happened to be the guest of her victim.
Another English traveller,* now dead, gives the follow-

* Mr. Elliot, to whose mannscript papers the author was kindly per-
mitted access by Colonel Taylor, the British resident at Bagdad. The
[ gentleman here mentioned was a person of great enterprise and hig^h ac-
1 quirements ; and, as he possessed the means of obtaining- information
)' which fall to the lot of few, the Notes which he left are of uncommon
[i value, more especially as they respect the manners and domestic habits
, of the people.

A A

266 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

ing sketches of his intercourse with some of the Ai«b clans
on the banks of the Euphrates. Two natives accompanied
him, travelling as dervishes skilled in the art of medicine;
and having passed through certain Kurdish and Turkoman
districts, they at length reached the precincts of the Beni
Saeed. As they approached the tents, one of the leaders,
Hamet el Jassin, threw himself on the ground before them,
and remained prostrate, while the pretended priests passed
over his body. " May the feet of all sheiks (holy men)
be on my neck !" was his humble expression as they step-
ped over him ; and one of the traveller's companions did
actually respond to this aspiration by standing on the poor
man's loins some time, while repeating a portion of the
Koran. "Who are ye, fathers'?" was the question put by
the chief after undergoing this operation. " Dervishes go-
ing to Racca — to the tomb of Wasil Karanee : may God
be satisfied with the act!" was the reply ; " and one of us
is a doctor and surgeon." No sooner was this fact an-
nounced, than forward pressed a crowd of invalids, real
or feigned, to whom remedies were given gratis.

The sheik had, meantime, invited them into the cata-
comb in which he lodged ; but he was not the chief of the
tribe. This distinction was enjoyed by Dervish ibn Fakh
ul Saeed, a man held in universal esteem even by the pow-
erful tribe of Aneiza, who pay respect to few. There
were others, however, of the horde whom the traveller
honours with especial regard ; and among them, Hamet
ul Khaleel (or Hamet the Beloved), an old man, whom
he describes as of striking appearance, " whose long white
beard, waving in all directions, and bald head, half cover-
ed with the black silk handkerchief that bound it, gave a
venerable air to his aspect ; while his tall, gaunt figure,
but gallant deportment, proclaimed that in his youth he
had been that common character among Arabs, a martial
fop. The hearty welcome, and frequent rounds of right
good coffee, declared him to be what in truth he was, a
generous, noble-hearted old fellow ; and the term ' a father
to the poor,' applied to him by the guide, described his
character exactly."

The tribe of Beni Saeed, indeed, so far as the men are
concerned, are favourably represented by our traveller;
but the ladies, both of this and other nations, do not ap-
pear in his pages to equal advantage. He describes the

J

OF THE INHABITANTS. 267

tvomen from Shireeii to Anah as in general tall and very
plain, having" an awiiward and even masculine appear-
ance ; the old ones being absolutely hideous. •' Li'nlike
their pretty, lively neighbours, the Kurds, they are grum-
bling antt discontented in the duties of the tent, and have
nothmg of that natural elegance which at first sight so
much recommends the Bedouin and Arab females below
Anah. Their unbecoming habits, and the screeching
manner in which they converse, render them very repul-
sive to strangers. Not one decent-looking woman did I
see among the hundreds who go uncovered daring the
Bairam.

'• The ladies of the Beni Saeed go loaded with gold and
silver coins and trinkets, of which a silver ring a foot in
diameter, having small ones fixed to it by chains, and a
gold and silver belt of five inches broad, were the most
conspicuous." The men, he remarks, were particular
about their accoutrements, insomuch that fi^om the multi-
tude of round brass bosses with which the numerous
straps are covered, they appear as if they were in armour.
Their dress is a shirt and a cloak ; but if cold, they wear
two. Furs are seldom seen ; and shoes are used by very
few. The rest, both horsemen and footmen, go with the
feet naked. On. an expedition of sudden emergency, all
orders rush out in their shirts, tucking the skirts into*^rheir
belts ; and baring their arms by tying the ends of their
sleeves over their shoulders, they stream av/ay to the point
of attack.

The following scene, witnessed on arriving at the camp
of the Al Padiilee Arabs at Racca, is characteristic ;
** When we entered, the fat Kurd (a person sent from a
powerful chief in the neighbourhood with a dress of hon-
our for the sheik) had occupied the place of honour where
the master himself should have been seated. After the
first salutation, I said, ' Is this the sheik ]' and, taking
from my pocket the letter directed to the chief of the Ai
Fadhlee, the Kurd put forth his hand, and as no one re-
monstrated, I gave it to him. He opened and read it,
and then, addressing me in Turkish, asked the news from
Bir. At this moment, in came Sheik Mustapha Hadjee
Mohammed, attired in his robe of state, made of the worst
kind of French cloth. He brought an enormous crowd
with him, all of whom spoke at once ; but his own stento

263 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

rian voice was heard far above the rest. To, my astonish-
ment, he even, at times, addressed persons in another tent.

" Here the rule appears to be different from that \vhich
prevails among other tribes, where everything is determin-
ed by the nmnber of votes any man obtains. Every one
spoke together ; and it seemed to me that the loudest voice
carried the argument. Whoever first entered the tent,
came to the place or fixed his eye where he intended to
sit. The signal is ' Salaam Alei coum !' on which room
must be made in that particular spot ; the man who had
saluted then wedges himself down into his seat. Each
fresh visiter is thus accommodated; even though he had
been sitting in the same tent, and at a distance from the
fire, he may come with his ' Salaam Alei coum !' and thus
obtain a position near it. There is no respect shown to
age or person, except, perhaps, to those who have the most
impudence.

" The Kurd AH Sinjar gave the letter to the sheik, who,
being unable to read, sent for the moolah, who, after much
difficulty, made it out. The chief, then turning to me,
bawled out, in a tone far above the voices of the rest, each
individual at the same time roaring out his opinion, and
favouring me with directions about my future route. I
never before witnessed such a scene of uproar; bat it was
one I had to witness every day and hour from hence to
Anah. Five or six persons insisted upon asking me ques-
tions all at the same moment; and while I was replying
to one, the rest would, on conjecture, answer their own in-
quiries, for the sheer love of speakmg. ' Talk,' said my
companion, Dervish Hoossein, 'is their fire, their clothing,
and pillow.' The sheik, however, gained the day.

" I was much fatigued by the incessant noise and crush-
ing of people before the fire ; a circle three or four deep
having been formed, which completely filled up the tent.
The sheik lay near the blaze at full length ; his son, a
spoLed boy of fourteen, sat on our toes, turning round and
nudging us with the points of his fingers (a common prac-
tice) as fast as he could frame questions to put to us. The
crowd was so great, that when I tried to sit cross-legged,
they sat down upon my knees. I begged Omar to act the
pirt of physician in my room; upon which the Kurd AM
Sinjar, Avho retained the place of honour, and was raking
the ashes with a crooked stick, first thrust forth his great

CF THE IxMIAEITANTS. 269

wrist. My friend pronounced his case to be one of the
reeaJi^ or ' the humours.' ' He is right,' said the Kurd ; ' that
is exactly my complaint.' We had divided our medicines
into five daises; the first for the reeah, or humours; the
second for headache ; but the last, being prolific pills, was
in most request."

They had miserable food all this time. -'One meal in
t'n.e morning and one at night was our best luck ; and we
had to carry between us a heavy knapsack ; besides which,
on arriving at an encampment, we had generally to wait
for our suppers till after dark, that, as Hoo^sein said, we
might not see the abominable trash they fed us with. It
was always the same ith'iree ticrjnoos^, with false soup,"
which was thus made : Itheree, a sort of millet coarsely
ground, is thrown into boiling water, and stirred round till
it assumes the consistence of paste. The caldron is then
turned over into a wicker tray, and the contents, made
into the shape of bread, are baked on heated ashes or
stones, brushwood being heaped and kindled over ali. A
quarter of an hour suffices for preparing the loaf, which is
broken to pieces in the tray, and then placed in a wooden
bowl. YelauTh choorheh. a sort of soup mwQi'e^ is poured
upon it, and it is eaten \^xj hot; but its effects on the in-
terior were such, that the more the travellers devoured, the
more they seemed to require. It was unsatisfj^ing to the
appetite, and distressing in its consequences.

Their next stage was through the country of the Jungle
or Forest Arabs, Avhom he describes as the very refuse of
mankind — " worse than Russian boors, Bashkirs, or Cal-
mucks ;'^ their manners brutal, their conversation inde-
cent, and the women as bad as the men, modesty bein^:
quite unknown. In crossing the Euphrates, the wives of
the sheik and of his lieutenant stripped stark naked before
the trav^ellers, and passed the stream upon inflated skins.
Their whole conduct was equally indecorous and disgust-
ing. As happens among all wandering tribes, the women
here were the principal labourers, striking and packing the
tents and household stuff; the men only assistino- in load-
ing the oxen that carried them, for they had neither cam-
els nor horses. The process of decamping scarcely occu-
pied an hour, though there were above three hundred tents
to remove.

On arriving at the new ground, the men clear the place,

270 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

cutting away the wood, and making a fence of loose
branches fii^e feet high. In this two openings are left, call-
ed Bab III Giiimum — that is, gates for the sheep — to shut
up which at night spare branches are left, as a protection
at once against thieves and wild beasts. Lions abound ;
and a loud shouting was kept up almost the whole night to
scare them away. But the dogs are the best guards, giv-
irg the alarm, in which the men join. It often happened
(hat, while sitting at meals or in conversation, such a warn-
ing was heard, on which every one began to shout where
he snt until the alarm ceased.

The ground being cleared, each individual takes his sta-
tion exactly as in the last encampment, in order that the
cattle mav find their way to their respective homes with
ease; yet they say the animals would find out their masters*
huts even if the order were changed. The tents are opened
out and beaten; the men knock in the pegs and raise the
poles; the women set up the screens and arrange the tent,
which is then brushed to take off the soot. Stakes are
driven into the ground, and a rope passed across at the
farther end, to which halters are fastened for the oxen.
Itheree stalks are collected and throvv^n in for the cattle by
the women ; while the men, the laziest people on earth, do
scarcely anything. On the whole, he gives a most de-
plorable account of these tribes, as being despicable cow-
ards as well as thieves ; but of the j\neiza, who plunder
them, he talks in the highest terms. He dwells particular-
ly on the difference in manner and appearance between the
fixed Arabs and those of the Desert or Bedouin tribes, de-
scribing the latter as naturally noble, of m.anly carriage
and animated features ; the former as clownish, and ill-fa-
voured both in face and figure. *' A stranger," he assures
us, " would scarcely be offended by being plundered by the
Bedoui, while even a compliment from the cultivating
Arab is disgusting. I know no better way to express the
contrast." Nay, \i appears that even in enforcing theii
demands upon the subject tribes, however absolute they
may be, they are ever dignified and polite, " as if they
were taking their own. In short, they may be termed the
nobility and gentry of the Arabs, while the cultivators are
the boors of the country." With this somewhat overstrain-
ed testimony in favour of the predatory bands, we shall
take leave of those tribes.

OF THE IMHABITANTS. 271

The Kurds, in point of religion, are Sonnees like the
Arabs, being also a predatory and turbulent race. More-
over, to a certain extent, they are of nomadic habits,
though by no means so migratory as the wanderers of the
desert. Tiie following extracts may serve to convey some
idea of their manners and character :

" Ooshnoo, the lirst truly Kurdish abode I have been
domiciliated in, differed not externally from other Persian
villages ; but the costume of its inhabitants imparted to its
interior a character which no Persian village could pre-
sent. The khan himself was habited in the common garb,
which I observe is adopted by all men of rank, whatever
be their tribe or country, who have seen something of the
world. The whole of his establishment, however, retained
the Kurdish dress, with all their native wildness, and stood
gazing on the stranger as if he were a man of other mould
than they. And certainly, so far as antiquity has claims
to regard, they have a good title to consideration ; for they
are probably the descendants of those who flourished in the
days of Xenophon, of Julian, and Heraclius, and are just
as proud, independent, and thievish as their ancestors.
They are as devotedly attached to their mountains as the
Scotch or Swiss ; and, like the former, they are divided
into clans or septs, acknowledging the supremacy of
chiefs, who are regarded with the same devotion, and fol-
lowed with the same blind zeal which used to distinguish
the Highlanders in former days. They are proud, haugh-
ty, and overbearing exactly in proportion to their igno-
rance ; and, like our own clans of old, despise, more or
less, all arts but those of war and plunder, and all profes-
sions but that of arms.

" In a community so closely resembling that of the
Highland families, it was interesting to notice the demean-
our observed towards relatives and friends, and to trace
the respective degrees of estimation assigned to the various
grades of kindred or connexions. The mode of reception
to each was varied and accurately detined ; but the man-
ner was kind and polite to every one. The master of the
house yielded place to all visiters of equal or superior
rank ; but the arrangement of giving and taking this hon-
our appeared to me to be conducted upon a kinder princi-
ple than reigns in the same ceremonial in Persia. It was
obvious that precedence was not yielded to riches alone ;

272 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

for I observed several persons of mean appearance and
shabby apparel admitted to a high place in the assembly.

" When a friend or a relative arrived from the country
the heads of the sept went to the door, or beyond it, to em-
brace him. The sons or nephews had probably given the
first Avelcome when he dismomited ; if not, they came in
and saluted him each in turn ; and there was in this re-
ception a sort of pleasing eagerness, which put me quite in
mind of old times at home; and really, the more I saw of
the Kurds, the more did their resemblance to the ancient
Highlanders strike me. The respect of the young for the
aged was particularly remarkable. The son never sat
down in the father's presence, nor the nephew in that of
the uncle, except by especial desire, and then in a distant
part of the room ; yet there appeared no want of tender-
ness on the part of the elders, nor of willing and ready
obedience or filial affection on that of the rising generation.
At meals, though the victuals were brought in by servants
who performed the more menial ofiices, the sons of the
host waited on the guests and attended to their wants,
handed water to drink, assisted them to such things as
were out of reach, trimmed the lights, and exerted them-
selves to increase the comfort of all. The domestics, too,
were treated with great consideration, and even familiarity,
insomuch that it was some time before I could distinguish
the relatives of the family from the hired assistants.

" The great, it is true— that is, the higher chiefs— affect
more state. The khans have their nazirs or stewards,
their head peukkhidnuits ( body-servants), /w-7Y>s/ies, and the
like, in the same manner as the Persian noblesse; but I
am now speaking of domestic manners, and these were
marked by kindness and good feeling. There was an
open-hearted simplicity about many of these Kurds that
was very refreshing, and which often showed itself in a
manner that amused while it pleased me. Among these,
Azeez Beg was remarkable ; not that his simplicity at all
indicated weakness — it was rather the overflow of a guile-
less heart, which neither suspected others of deceit, nor de-
sired to conceal a thought of its own.

" They were amused by my telling them that I was my-
self a native of a country not unlike Kurdistan ; mount-
ainous, and divided into tribes; often, in times of old, at
war and feud with one another; and as fond as Kurds

OF THE INHABITANTS. 273

could be of a chuppou or raid upon their lowland neigh-
bours. They listened also with interest and pleasure to
my descriptions of the attachment of clansmen to their
chief, and the habits of Highlanders in former days ; and
the comparisons I drew between them and the Kurds eli-
cited more from them than, could otherwise have been
gathered without ofiensive inquisitiveness."

The sketches now given apply to the general body rath-
er than to individuals ; the following represent the charac-
ters of two chiefs of the more predatory and smaller clans
which are met with in the Assyrian plains.

" A few miles beyond the rocky descent of this hill, we
stopped to breakfast at the miserable village of Janreze,
the dwelling of Selim Aga, chief of the Daloo Kurds, a
branch of the Bebehs of Solymaneah. On approaching it
we observed spears and saddled horses ; and, on our arri-
val there, found the beg preparing to go forth on a hunting
party, for he was surrounded by attendants equipped for
the saddle, holding greyhounds in the leash and hooded
hawks on the fist. A word from our guide, who preceded
us by a few yards, procured a courteous receptiori from
this chief, who was a person of pleasing appearance, just
past the middle age, with a grizzled beard, and mild,
though firm features. He disclaimed the apology I ten-
dered for our intrusion, which had obviously interrupted
his projected expedition, and swore by the head of the

Eacha and his own eyes (to which he declared we had
rought both light and delight) that we were welcome a
thousand times. He only regretted that his accommoda-
tion was so poor, and his fare so bad, that he was asha-
med of receiving us in such a manner. ' But we Kurds,'
said he, ' are rough fellows at best ; we live in the plains
or in the hills, and never had much to boast of at any
time ; now the little vv^e have is gone : what between prince
and pacha, we are in a fair way to want bread. See,' con-
tinued he, taking up one of the black cakes they had set
before us, with a little sour milk, ' see wiiat we eat ; our
horses and we fare just alike. Once we were soldiers, and
we thought of nothing but riding, and hunting, and hawk-
ing, and exercising Vv^ith the spear and sword, for we had
snough to live on, and our ryots cultivated our grounds;
but now every man is forced to lay down his arms, and
take to the jooft (the team that drags the plough), and

274 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

M^hat is a soldier good for when once he has done thai 1
But the pacha and the Persians will both have what they
demand — so what is left to the ryot but flight V ' Now this
very mild and civil gentleman,' said I to the guide, as we
rode away; 'this aga, who has made us so welcome, and
given us so kind a reception — suppose no envoy from Soly-
maneah had been with us, and that we had met him and
his followers in the open plain, I presume he would have
made no scruple at robbing us if he could.'

" ' By the head of Solyman Pacha,' replied the guide,
laughing heartil}^, ^ and by your own life, sir, you appear
to know the man as well as I do myself; you have hit the
mark exactly. Selim Aga is just the man for such a job;
he would eat bread with you as your host, and after the
kJwosh amedeed and khodaJi hajiz (the welcome and fare-
well), he would tie up his beard, turn his turban, and dis-
guise himself and his people so that you should not know
them, and gallop ahead and waylay you, strip you naked,
md leave you on the place. He is the completest najpak
scoundrel) in all Kurdistan — the most remorseless ruf-
fian; why, sir, that fellow has stripped women and left
them in the desert : he would take their shift from their
backs if it were worth threepence, even if they had not
another rag.'

" ' And is not all this held infamous even in Kurdistan'?'
demanded I. ' So infamous, sir, that I have not words to
tell you how bad it is thought ; but Selim Aga is a beast
that has neither shame nor feeling.' "

Another of these semi-barbarous chieftains was Roos-
tum, aga of the village Ibrahim Khanchee, and of a small
tribe of Kurds. " We were received by his son ; but in the
evening he himself came, a jolly, good-humoured, dark-
looking man, with a round face and a careless laugh, who
received us with a boisterous civility. He was one of that
sort of savages who are wonderfully good when they are
not opposed ; but the sudden cloud on the brow the mo-
ment he was contradicted, seemed to hint ' I can be a ty-
rant when I will.'

" We were a little reserved at first ; though, as I make a
point on all occasions to conciliate as much as possible,
we soon came to an understanding: but he commenced
after a curious fashion. Calling to my servant, who was
standing in the room, he said, ' What is your name 1 How

OF THE INHABITANTS. 275

long have you been with the saheb 1 Do )^ou receive wages,
or did any one send you with him- 1 Are you pleased witii
his service V and, cliter receiving replies to all these im-
portant queries, he added, in a good-iiumoured, blunt way,
which showed him to be unaccustomed to denial, ' What
pistols has your master'? bring them to me.' I made a
.sign to bring the pistols, which were instantly in the chief's
hands. When he saw that the holster pistols had percus-
sion locks, he threw them aside with contempt, saying,
' Two of your taifi/i (tribe) came here some time ago, and
offered me a pair of these, but I would not have them: of
what use would they be to mel these are what I like ;' and
he produced a m.uch-worn pair of Mortimer's flint duelling
pistols. ' But what else have you'? The things I like are
pistols, shawls, and scarlet cloaks, such as this. Have you
any Cashmere shawls like this here '? But 1 must go to
prayers ; never mind me.' So he spread his carpet beside
me and commenced his devotions, but during much the
greater part of the time all his attention was expended in
giving orders to his people, and making inquiries of my
servants about myself.

" The exhibition of some presents added to the good-hu-
mour of the bear, who then became facetious, and began to
joke me upon a very common subject of reproach against
Christians, the eating of hog's flesh, assuring me that, had
he known of my arrival, he would have provided some, as
he had seen a great herd of them feeding as he came
along. I retorted, and accused him of also eating them.
' No, no,' said he, ' God forbid ! they are unclean.' ' True,'
I replied, 'but you eat hares, don't you'?' 'To be sure,*
said he ; ' and capital things they are for a stew.' ' And
foxes too V asked I. ' No, no ; only a few poor creatures
eat these,' said he. ' Weil, aga, but both are eaten here,
and both are equally forbidden by your law ; so we need
not talk about the lawfulness of the thing ; now let us come
to the reason and common sense of it. W^hat do wild
hogs feed on, aga'?' 'Why, on grass, acorns, corn, and
the like,' said he. 'Good: there is nothing unclean in
that, is there V ' No, by no means.' ' Well, what do foxes
live on, and herons, and other large water-fowl you eat V
'Why, the foxes eat birds and small beasts, and the others
fish and worms.' 'Well, then, which is the cleaner ani-
mal -they or the hogs V ' He says the truth,' grumbled

276 MANMERS AND CUSTOMS

the beg, with a whimsical laugh, to the people about him.
But the aga had, it appeared, a good deal of superstition,
lor he would not eat out of the same dish with a European ;
and declared he had made a vow against wine. When
told of the popular notion in Europe, that the spirits of
murdered persons appear on earth in order to point out the
guilty, or to the murderer himself to force him to confes-
sion, he was greatly struck with the idea, and exclaimed,
* Lah illah il ullah ! if such were to be the case here, who
would ever rob or murder !'

" But the day of repentance for bloodshed and plunder
had certainly not as yet come to Roo^tum Aga. He dwelt
on the many frays he had been in, and the spoil he had
taken, with a zest and earnestness which showed how
strong the evil principle was yet in him. He told me he
had been wounded at least a dozen times, in spite of the
best of armour. ' I have it of every kind,' said he, ' and at
one period I used always to wear it, but I have learned to
put but little trust in it : my trust is in heaven ;' and he
spoke with as firm and assured a tone as if his cause had
been the most righteous on earth.

*' He lamented, however, the evil days on which the
present race of Kurds had fallen. The golden times of
Kurdistan were gone, he said. 'Ride over the country,
and what spirit, what show of gallantry will you find ]
All the good horsemen and stout soldiers are dead, or hav^e
fled to other lands ; or they have taken to the plough in or-
der to feed their wives and children.' When I suggested
that the roads were not yet quite safe, and alluded to some
symptoms I had observed of old practices — ' Ah,' replied
he, ' that is nothing; only a few "looties" here and there;
no dashing bands of horsemen now to be met with ; but be
content: I, Roostum Beg, am pledge for you/' safety; no-
thing shall touch you betvv^een this and Kufri; you are a
good fellow, an excellent fellow, and I like you ; by your
head I do ; be satisfied; you shall see Kufri in safety.'"

The appearance and character of the Kurds are thus
summed up. " Like other men and nations, they are the
creatures of education and circumstance, but are possessed
of natural qualities that might be turned to excellent ac-
count. Bold they are, and hospitable after a fashion ; but
this last virtue has been sadly dimmed of late years by
poverty and oppression. Like most pastoral and patri-

OF THE INHABITANTS. 277

archal people, they are distinguished by a strong love of
kindred, which renders their quarrels fierce and bloody,
each being perpetuated by a series of remorseless murders.
Far from cruel by nature, these feuds and the love of war
have made them >eckless of spilling blood, and caused
tliem to estimate life at less value than it is held in more
peaceful countries ; yet the recollection of consequences
tends in some degree to repress this ruthless spirit, and re-
strains the passions in a manner which pity or a sense of
crime v/ould never effect : a compensation for the want of
that more regular control which is ever found under like
circumstances of society. ■

" In person the Kurds are well made and active, differ-
ing perhaps in that respect but little from their neighbours
the Persians. The national features, however, are very
peculiar. The cast of countenance is sharp, the form of
the face oval, the profile remarkable, owing to the promi-
nence of the nose, and the comparativ^e retrocession of the
mouth and chin, which communicate to its outline a semi-
circular shape. The eyes are deep-set, dark, quick, and
intelligent ; the brovv^ ample and clear, but somewhat re-
treating; and the general mould of the features by far
more delicate than tiiose of the Persians, which are usual-
ly somewhat too strong. In Kurdistan you would look in
vain for a snub nose. The mouth is almost always well-
formed, and the teeth line ; the hands and fingers are small
and slender. In short, there is something of elegance in
their form, which would mark them as a handsome nation
in any part of the world.

" The same remarks apply to the women, so far as I
have had opportunities of observation. When young they
are exceedingly pretty; but when old, or even at what,
f with us, would scarcely be deemed maturity, the sharp
prominence of feature which characterizes them, in com-
mon with the men, is unfavourable to beauty, and they
soon appear faded and withered. Frequent ocfcasions pre-
sented themselves for observing these particulars, as they
do not wear veils like the Persian females. The utmost
that is practised in this way is to bring the end of the hand-
kerchief which covers their heads across the mouth and
chin. I regret that it is little in my power to follow them
into their privacy, and describe their domestic duties ; but,
from what I do know, I hav^e reason to believe that their life

278 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

and occupations resemble in all respects those of the same
order in Persia. Ladies of the richer class who live in
towns remain in the harems of their husbands or fathers,
and veil w^hen they go abroad. The poorer, and all, in-
deed, who spend their days in villages or tents, perform the
laborious duties which, in more civilized countries, be-
long to the men."

There are, besides the Kurds and Arabs, many tribes oi
Turkomans to be found in the extensive plains and wa-
ving downs of Upper Mesopotamia. Tiiese originally
formed a portion of the Tartar tribes, which, under various
invaders, conquered the country, and have permanently
settled there. The}^ are Sonnees in point of faith ; of pred-
atory habits like their neighbours, and principally pasto-
ral in their modes of life.

The Christian population, though scattered more or less
over the whole region, is most numerous in the northern
parts of both provinces. In several districts of Upper Mes-
opotamia they form the bulk of the labouring classes; and
in the vicinity of Mosul and of Mardin, and the mountain-
ous country to the north and east of these places,* the
greater number of villages are entirely peopled with va-
rious denominations of believers. Of these the first to be
mentioned are the Nestorians, Chaldeans, or Syrians, as
they are indifferently termed, and w^ho are subdivided into
two sects : those w^ho have acknowledged the supremacy
of the Roman pontiff, and those who adhere to their an-
cient faith ; secondly, the Jacobites, who also have under-
gone a like subdivision ; thirdly, the Armenians, who cling
to their own church and patriarch ; and, fourthly, a very
few^ who acknowledge an adherence to the Romish com-
munion.

As a full account of these several sects would amount to
a history of Christianity in the East from its earliest origin,
a short sketch of the leading facts must suffice ; referring
those of our readers who maybe anxious to know more to
the laborious and very erudite work of Assemani,t who has
brought together everything that industry could collect
upon the subject.

* The Rev. Horatio Southgate, missionary, and a late traveller in theso
parts, considers Mardin as the chief place and centre of the Syrian Chii**
tians. His work contains many particulars on this subject.

t Bibliotbeca Orientalis, 4 vols, folio, Rome, 1719-1728.

OF THE INHABITANTS. 279

Christianity appears to have made very early progres,
in these countries. The apostles Peter, Thomas, Barthol'
omew, Matthew, Judas the son of James, and Thaddseus,
also called Leboeus, are among those of the twelve inspir-
ed missionaries who are said to have preached to the
Chaldeans and Assyrians. Besides which, many of the
seventy had a share in this office ; and Adaeus, who was
sent hither by St. Thomas, w^as put to death at Edessa on
his return from Persia, Assyria, and Babylonia, by Abga-
rus, the celebrated king of that state or province.

Christianity made its first appearance in the East during
the reign of Artabanes in Persia; and even in the first
century the Church had become considerable enough to
prove a cause of uneasiness to the Persian king. In the
second century, the believers Avere persecuted by Trajan
in his expedition, but they appear, notwithstanding, to have
gained ground rapidly ; for we hear of a great schism
attributed to a bishop named Papas, in the end of the
third and beginning of the fourth century ; and Shapoor,
about A.D. 330, not only put to death St. Simeon Bar-
saboe, bishop of Seleucia and Ctesiphon, then 117 years
old, but likewise tw^enty-tw^o other bishops, besides minor
functionaries, and many individuals of their flocks. At
this time the see of Seleucia and Ctesiphon ^vas called Cu-
chensis, and here the patriarch resided until the year of the
Hejira 140, w^hen Almansor, the Abbasside caliph, having
built Bagdad, the seat of the chief minister was removed
thither.

The Nestorian heresy occurred in the fifth century,
about the year 431, when the author of it was condemned
by the synod of Ephesus for his doctrines, and died in ex-
ile about 439. But these tenets spread far and wide over
the East ; and the seat of the patriarch appears to have
been removed from Bagdad to Amida or Diarbekir, where
it w^as occupied by a long line of patriarchs of the names
of Simeon and Eli as.

About the middle of the sixteenth century a schism oc-
curred in the Nestorian Church. Simeon Mama, after a
presidency of some years, was succeeded by Simeon Bar-
Mama, who, being elected in opposition to a certain ec-
clesiastic of high pretensions, John Sulaca, was exposed
to some trouble. Sulaca, thus disappointed, taking with
him a considerable body of the priesthood, repaired to

280 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

Home, and signified lo the pope his adhesion to the church,
on which his holiness acknowledged him as patriarch of
the Catholic Nestorians.

The schism was maintained by the successors of these
rivals. Elias, who followed Sulaca, opposed and perse-
cuted Simeon Denha, next in order to Simeon Bar-Mama,
at Diarbekir, until he finally forced him to quit his sec,
and take refuge in the province of Zein al Bech, in the
mountains of Ormi, near the confines of Armenia, where
his successors, assuming the distinctive name of Simeon^
remain to this day. Since that time there have been two
distinct patriarchs of the Nestorians ; the one, under the
name just given, continues to rule his fiock in the mount-
ains of Jewar, following the primitive faith : the other, call-
ed Elias, formerly residing in Bagdad, occupies the mon-
astery of St. Hormisdas, near Mosul, and is the head of the
Catholic Nestorians, It appears, moreover, that towards
the end of the seventeenth century, the efforts of mission-
aries from Italy had occasioned so many of them to ab-
jure their errors and embrace the Romish belief, that Pope
Innocent XI. was induced to constitute for them a new
patriarch named Joseph, whose seat was fixed at Caramit
or Diarbekir. These heretics, in the earlier ages of the
Church, appear to have been numerous, and spread over
the whole of Central Asia. Of their numbers at the pres-
ent day no calculation can be made; but, according lo
the information of their countryman Rassam,* the sees of
both sects are reduced to nine, viz., Diarbekir, Sert, Jezi-
rah, Mosul and A\ Kosh, Amadieh, Kojannes, Selmast,
Ooroomia, Bagdad.

The Jacobile schism appears to have occurred about the
year 550, originating with a monk named Jacob, who prop-
agated the doctrine that there is but one nature in Christ.
Of these, also, there are two sects, each of which has its
patriarch ; the one following the rites of the Latin Church,
the other remaining separate. Divine service is performed
by their priests in the Chaldean language, but the mass is
said in Hebrew. They believe in transubstantiation, and
honour the holy sacrament when borne by Romish priests

* A very intellig-ent person, son of the bishop at Mosul, who accom-
panied the late Euphrates expedition as interpreter, and is now associa-
ted with that sent by the Royal Geographical Society into Kurdistan
and Mesopotamia.

OF THE INHABITANTS. 281

to sick persons ; whereas the Syrians of the Greek Church
refuse this respect to the Eucharist if consecrated by those
who acknowledge the pope.

The Jacobite patriarchs originally took their title from
Antioch, but only the earlier of their number resided there.
It would appear that Tagritis (Tecreet) was one of their
original seats: from thence they removed to Mar Mattel,
near Mosul, the see of which place was joined to that con-
vent. In the time of Niebuhr, the titular patriarch of An-
tioch resided at Diarbekir; but, according to Assemani,
the sect appears to have been very numerous and widely
diifused, for he gives a list of upward of fifty dioceses in
Mesopotamia, Assyria, and Babylonia alone. These, it is
probable, did not all exist at the same period, and some of
them were very small ; but their number implies a dense
population and a considerable flock.

Of the Armenians and Roman Catholics there is little
to be said. The first are chiefly found in towns, pursu-
ing the profession of merchants or craftsmen : the latter,
though so few as to constitute but an inconsiderable por-
tion of the population, are more scattered over the country.
There is at Bagdad a vicar appointed by the authority of
Rome to look after this small flock, which does not, we be-
lieve, increase at the present moment.

Of the character of the Christians in that part of Asia,
the little we know is not very favourable. Uneducated
and oppressed, forced still more than their Mohammedan
neighbours to cringe and deceive the despots who rule and
pillage them, with no fit preceptors to teach them the value
either of morality or religion, it is not to be expected that
the cardinal virtues can flourish among them. According-
ly, we hear them spoken of with but little respect. Mr.
Rich alludes to the dirt and bad order of their villages, the
squalidity and drunkenness of their inhabitants. Rassam,
again, though son of the Bishop of Mosul, classes them
with the rest of the inhabitants of Mesopotamia, as being
vicious from habit as well as education ; asserting, how-
ever, that those who live in towns are industrious, carrying
on useful trades, especially in cotton-cloth and cutlery.
The villagers, he adds, who cultivate the land in summer,
manufacture calicoes in winter.

The Nestorians of the mountains, those, namely, who
inhabit the highlands of Kurdistan from Ooroomia to Mo-

282 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

sul, are, he says, a very different race from those of the
plains. They have numerous gardens, the produce of
which they lay up for winter store ; and they barter gall-
nuts, yellow-berries, goats' hair and down, sheep's wool,
dried fruits, wax, honey, tobacco, cheese of an excellent
quality, and sheep, for wheat and other necessaries. Their
tobacco, iu particular, is excellent.

These people are said to be handsome and strongly
made, great Imnters, and excellent marksmen, never go-
ing without their arms, and knowing well how to use
them ; in short, their countryman P^assam gives pretty
much the same account of them as others do.

There is yet another sect of Christians found in the re-
gions we are now describing, although their religion is of
very doubtful character. These are the Sabaeans, often
called Christians of St. John Mendai, or Mendai Jaja by
themselves, and Sabbi by the Arabians and Persians.
They are sometimes also described as Chaldeans or Syr-
ians, for there is reason to suppose that the creed of both
was originally the same. Their descent has, according to
some authors, been referred to Saba, the son of Cush, whose
progeny are understood to have occupied the remote parts
of the peninsula bordering on the Persian Gulf But they
themselves contend for the truth of a tradition which de-
duces them from those Arabians who were baptized by
John the Baptist in the River Jordan.

It would appear, however, that they originally came
from Haran, in Mesopotamia, and that, till the time of
Julian the Apostate, they continued to be idolaters, wor-
shipping the planets and host of heaven; after which they
adopted certain of the Manichasan errors, and by degrees
their sacrifices, especially of a cock and a ram. About
A.D. 770, according to Abulfaragius, they Avere identified
with a class of heretics who were put to death by the Ca-
liph Haroun al Raschid for infamous practices.

That the portion who in later ages have been known as
Sabceans did, however, embrace Christianity according to
the Nestorian persuasion, is certain, although the sect has
for a long time degenerated into a very questionable form.
About A.D. 1480 they refused obedience altogether to the
Patriarch of Babylonia, and separated themselves entirely
from that church. They are said to worship one God, to
revere angels and the stars, to read the Psalms of David,

OF THE INHABITANTS. 283

but chiefly to pay regard to certain books, written in Chal-
daic characters "so ancient as now to be almost unknown,
and which they attribute to Adam. They also preserve
and repeat sayings of Seth and Enoch. They pray seven
times a day, fast a month before the vernal equinox, regard
as holy the city of Haran in Mesopotamia, and make pil-
grimages to it. They hold as saints Sabin ben Edris (a
son of Enoch), and Sabin ben Mari (a contemporary of
Abraham) ; respect the Pyramids of Egypt, in one of which
they say a son of Sabin ben Edris was buried ; and also
pay some regard to the Temple of Mecca,

In the times of the Ommiad caliphs, the Sabseans, being
severely treated, emigrated into Persia and the lower parts
of Chaldea, where they remained until after the death of
Tamerlane. They were then once more subjected to a
rigorous persecution by a certain chief, Mubarick, who,
having seized on that part of the country, sought to exter-
mmate the nation. This violence forced them to disperse
among the neighboaring countries; some went to Hawee-
za; some to Dorak, to Shuster, Dezphool, Rumez, or Mi-
nas: others remained in Bussora, Jessayer, and other
places ; while a third party proceeded to Babylonia. As-
semani* considered that in his day their numbers might
amount to 20,000 or 25,000 families; and they continue
still to reside in the places we have named.

Among other peculiar customs of this people, it is said
that, in order to prevent the violation of their sepulchres,
they seal the grave-clothes with a certain signet, on which
are engraved the figures of a lion, a wasp, and a scorpion,
surrounded by a serpent; and the following story implies
a belief that the charm was effectual : Nadir Shah, for
the purpose of maintaining the efficiency of his army and
preventing desertion, made the byractars or ensign-bearers
answerable for the appearance of every man under their
respective colours ; and in all cases of casualties, these offi-
cers were obliged to produce the nose of the deceased as a
proof of his death. It happened that a desertion occurred
in a corps at Dezphool in Kuzistan, and the byractar of
the company, in order to escape punishment, bethought
himself of the expedient of taking the necessary token
from the visage of the last-buried person in the place.

* Bib. Orien., vol. iv., p. 610.

S84 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

This, as it happened, was a Sabsean, which sect is numer-
ous there. Accordingly, certain persons were sent in the
night to effect the desired purpose; but in vain did they at-
tempt to open the grave. The guardian animals and rep-
tiles assumed so fierce an attitude, that the disturbers of
the dead, after many efforts, withdrew, and, conscience-
smitten, repaired next morning to the dwelling of the chief
priest, and told their tale. " I thank God," said the hie-
rarch, " that our protectors have not yet lost their power ;
but at the end of the third day, should ye visit the tomb, ye
will suffer no disturbance." The men!^ however, preferred
some other resource, and left the grave of the Sabaean un-
molested.

In enumerating the various sects that have appeared in
Mesopotamia, it would be wrong to omit some notice of
the Manichceans, although their title to the name of Chris-
tian may be justly questioned. Manes, the first propaga-
tor of the heresy, appeared in the reign of Shapoor, who, it
seems, had been in some degree won over to the new doc-
trines ; and Hormuzd, his successor, embraced them. But
Bahram, his son, adhering to the faith of his fathers, in-
veigled the pretended prophet from his stronghold at Des-
cara, and put him to a cruel death, killing or making
slaves of all his followers.

The religion he taught appears to have been an attempt
to ingraft some of the Christian doctrines upon the tenets
of the ancient Gnostics and the religion of the Magi. He
recognised the two distinct principles of Good and Evil,
whom he represented as always contending with each oth-
er. The good was the light in which God sat enthroned ;
darkness was the abode of evil. After the creation of
Adam, who for a while lived holy, the spirit of evil pre-
vailed, and he fell. To repair this mischief, God formed
two beings of eminent dignity from his own essence : the
one, Christy to whom Manes appears to have applied and
accommodated the character and actions of the Persian
god Mithras, and the other the Holy Ghost; which two,
with himself, constituted a perfect deity under a threefold
appellation.

After using the ministry of angels a long time to bring
back mankind from the evil of their ways, Christ was sent
on earth. The Jews, instigated by the Prince of Darkness,
put him, apparently, to death. But his mission was ful-

OF THE INHABITANTS. 285

filled, and he returned to his throne within the sun, leaving
his apostles to propagate his word, and promising the Com-
forter, or Paraclete, whom Manes asserted to be himself.
Such is a slight sketch of his scheme of faith; his system
of morals appears to have been more perfect. He incul-
cated on all his followers a life of virtue, combined with
great moderation and temperance; while on the Elect, or
chosen few, he enjoined the greatest austerity, privation,
and voluntary poverty. Their food was to be just suffi-
cient to support life; while celibacy and abstinence from
every pleasure were absolutely insisted on. The Scrip-
tures were read at their meeting for public worship, as
well as the writings of Manes. They observed the two
Christian sacraments, baptizing after the Catholic fashion ;
fasted on the Lord's day; kept Easter and Pentecost; and,
in the month of March, celebrated the anniversary of the
martyrdom of Manes.

The Yezidees, as they are called, are a far more singu-
lar, though a less numerous race than the Christian popu-
lation, and not the less interesting that their origin remains
quite uncertain. Their principal abode for a considerable
time past has been in the mountainous range of Sinjar, in
Mesopotamia ; but they are also pretty numerous in Assyr-
ia, particularly in the neighbourhood of Mosul and an-
cient Nineveh, where there are many villages entirely in-
habited by them. Indeed, there are some circumstances
which might lead to the conclusion that their original seat
was rather in that part of Assyria than in Mesopotamia.

This people, we learn from Niebuhr and Rich, call them-
selves Dassinis or Dawassinis, not Yezidees, which appel-
lation appears to be a term of reproach bestowed upon them
by the Mohammedans, who hate them.

On everything relating to their origin, their religion, and
customs, they maintain a profound silence. The best-in-
formed of their Sonnee neighbours and of the Christians
of those parts, judging from what they have seen, not less
than from Avhat they have heard, say that they are the
descendants of those Arabs who, under the directions of
Shummur, the servant or follower of Yezid bin Moaviah,
put Hassan, the son of Ali, to death. They are led to this
belief, it appears, because, as they assert, Shummur is re-
garded as a great saint by the Dawassinis ; and the Sheahs,
in consequence, hold it meritorious to kill any of this sect.

286 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

The author of their religion is understood to be Sheik Adi,
one of the Merwanian caliphs, who is interred at a place
called by his name in ihe vicinity of Mosul, and which
was formerly a Christian church 'dedicated to St. Thad-
deus. Their enemies accuse them of worshipping Satan,
whom they invoke by the name of Chelebee or Lord. Oth-
ers maintain that they venerate the sun and fire, and prac-
tise horrible ceremonies. It is said they pay regard to
sundry images of animals ; to that of the serpent, in mem-
ory of the seduction of Eve by that reptile, and to that of
the ram, in remembrance of the obedience of Abraham.
Once a year, also, they worship the figure of a cock, which
is called Mellek Taous, placed before the assembly upon
a sort of candlestick.

The Yezidee religion appears to be a compound of many
others strangely jumbled together. Niebuhr, indeed, re-
marks, that when asked regarding their faith, they them-
selves declare it to have part of the Christian, Mussulman,
and Jewish. Mr. Rich observes that they have something
approaching to Christianity. They admit both baptism
and circumcision, the first of which is performed by dip-
ping three times in one of their sacred springs ; and they
never enter a Christian church without kissing the thresh-
old and pulling ofi" their shoes. Buckingham* says that
when they come to Mardin and other places, they kiss the
hands of the priests, and receive the sacrament from them,
suffering not a drop of the wine to fall to the ground, or
even on their beards, while drinking it.

They fast three times in the 5^ear, and make one pil-
grimage to the shrine of Sheik Adi. They believe in the
metempsychosis, and never say " such a one is dead," but
" he is changed." Like the Druses, they always choose
Mohammedan names.

Their principal place of burial is at Bozan, at the foot
of the mountain of Rabban Hormuzd : but the great scene
of pilgrimage is Sheik Adi, where is the church already
mentioned, and in which each tribe has its separate com-
partment. The priest or sheik reads prayers, and every
one, at intervals, exclaims Amen ! At this station there is
a spring of water, which falls into a basin, and is used as
one of their baptismal fonts. Niebuhr mentions that they

* Travels in Mesopotamia, vol. i., p. 470.

OF THE INHABITANTS. 287

are in the habit of throwing into it gold and silver in hon-
our of the sheik; a practice which, being discovered by a
Kestorian in the neighbourhood, he contrived one night to
enter the enclosure in pursuit of these treasures. The
daughter of the keeper, having accidentally gone thither
to draw water while the thief was searching the reservoir,
conceived it could be no other than Sheik Adi himself
come to inspect the offerings, and retired immediately to
tell the extraordinary news. The Dawassinis were en-
chanted with the honour done them by their saint, while
the Nestorian took care to keep his secret and the money.

There is said to be a similar basin at Sin jar, which is
applied to the same uses. This came to the ears of the
celebrated Solyman Pacha of Bagdad, who, thinking he
could turn the sheik's treasure to better account, visited the
place with a powerful force ; but, though he succeeded in
dispersing the tribes of Sinjarlis, and put many to the tor-
ture of the bastinado, he failed in discovering the treasury.

The Yezidees are said to be a lively, brave, and hos-
pitable people, good-humoured, well made, and comely.
Those of Sinjar may be divided into fixed and roving in-
habitants. The former cultivate the village grounds, and
resemble the Fellah Arabs, as the mountaineers do the
Bedouins. The latter, who are the plunderers, are the ter-
ror of caravans on this road ; and who, permitting their
hair and beard to grow, wear an aspect as uncouth as
their manners are savage. No one is suffered to approach
their haunts except a few Jews, who live in the town Kha-
tuniyah, situated on an island in a lake of that name, and
who act as brokers in disposing of the goods that are taken
by the marauding parties.

In reference to the origin of the Yezidees, or, as they are
sometimes called in the East, Shaitaii jmrust — Worshippers
of Satan — we are tempted to mention a curious legend
which exists in Seistan, an eastern province of Persia,
among the inhabitants of which are not only many fire-
worshippers orghebres, but a considerable number of these
ShaHan puntst, and of another pagan sect called Chirag
Kooshj or Light-extinguishers, who seem to be but a modi-
fication of the former, as both venerate or deprecate Satan.
The account is as follows :

In former times there existed, they say, a prophet na-
med Ilanlalah, whose life was prolonged to the measure of

288 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS

1000 years. He was their ruler and benefactor; and as, b^
his agency, their flocks gave birth to young miraculousl}
once a week, though ignorant of the use of money, they en
joyed all the comforts of life with much gratitude to him
At length, however, he died, and was succeeded by hi**
son, whom Satan, presuming on his inexperience, tempted
to sin by entering into a large mulberry-tree, from whence
he addressed the successor of Hanlalah, and called on
him to worship the Prince of Darkness. Astonished, yet
unshaken, the youth resisted the temptation. But the mir-
acle proved too much for the constancy of his flock, who
began to turn to the worship of the devil. The young
prophet, enraged at this, seized an axe and a saw, and
prepared to cut down the tree, when he was arrested by
the appearance of a human form, who exclaimed, " Rash
boy, desist ! turn to me, and let us wrestle for the victory.
If you conquer, then fell the tree."

The prophet consented, and vanquished his opponent,
who, however, bought his own safety and that of the tree
by the promise of a large weekly treasure. After seven
days, the holy victor again visited the tree to claim the
gold or fell it to the ground; but Satan persuaded him to
hazard another struggle, on promise that, if he conquered
again, the amount should be doubled. The second ren-
counter proved fatal to the youth, who was put to death
by his spiritual antagonist; and the result confirmed the
tribes over whom he had ruled in their worship of the
tree and its tutelary demon.

In this legend, the leading doctrine of all these Eastern
religions — the constant contention between the powers of
good and evil — is plainly shadowed forth, with the addi-
tional moral, that as long as he was actuated by a disin-
terested zeal for religion, the young prophet was victorious
over the spirit of evil, but failed so soon as that zeal gave
place to a sordid cupidity for earthly treasure.

This legend becomes still more interesting when com-
pared with the following passage, which is taken from As-
semani,* in the part where he treats of the religions of
Mesopotamia and Assyria : '' According to the natives of
the country, the Yezidees were at one time Christians,
who, however, in the course of ages, had forgotten even

* Vol, iii., p. 493.

I

OF THE INHABITANTS. 289

the fundamental principles of their faith. I am, neverthe-
less, not inclined to believe this their origin ; for I am of
opinion that the word Yezidee is derived from Yezid, which
in the idiom of Persia signifies God. Yezidee, therefore,
the plural of Yezid, indicates the observators of supersti-
tious doctrines (as may be seen from Antonio Gygcs, Tesoro
della Lingua Arabrica). Yezid was, in fact, the name of
the idol which Elias, bishop and missionary of Mogham,
overthrew with three blows of an axe ; and this fact sustains
the opinion I have advanced. Monseignore Tommaso,
bishop of Marquise, who Hved in the commencement of
the ninth century, relates that when this EHas, after having
been chosen Bishop of Mogham, a city on the frontiers
of Persia, and near the Caspian Sea, proceeded to enter on
the duties of his diocese, he found it occupied by a barba-
rous people immersed in superstition and idolatry.

" The bishop, however, commenced his instructions, and
his flock confessed that they received them with pleasure,
were convinced of their truth, and were inclined to return
to the true God, but that they were terrified at the thought
of abandoning Yezid, the object of religious veneration of
their ancestors. This idol, they said, conscious of ap-
proaching rejection and contempt, would not fail to revenge
itself by their total destruction. Elias desired to be led to
this object of their adoration. They conducted him to the
summit of a neighbouring hill, from whence a dark wood
extended into the valley below. From the bosom of this
rose a plane-tree of enormous height, majestic in the spread
of its boughs and deep obscurity of its shade; luit, trans-
ported with holy zeal, he demanded a hatchet, and rushing
to the valley, sought the idol, whom he found lowering with
a dark and menacing aspect. Nothing daunted, however,
he raised the axe, smote down the image of the Prince of
Darkness, and continued his work till not only was the
might)" tree laid prostrate, but every one of the numerous
younger shoots, termed by the barbarians the children of
Yezid, were likewise demolished." The similarity of these
two legends, coming from such opposite quarters, is very
remarkable, and can scarcely be quite accidental.

In addition to the religious sects already mentioned, we
must not omit to mention that of the Ali IJllahis, who take
their name from one of their tenets, which taught that the
Spirit of God hars appeared on earth in a succession of in-

290 NATURAL HISTORY.

carnations, one of which was in the person of A\i, the son-
in-law of Mohammed ; in other words, that AH was God,
as the term signifies. Of the other articles of their faith
we are but ill informed, as they, like the Yezidees, being
regarded with ill-will by the dominant sect of the Moham-
medans, maintain great secrecy on all matters that respect
their religions opinions. By some they are held to be the
same with the Chirag Koosh, who have some abominable
rites and customs. But this is certainly not the case ; and
tjome of the most powerful tribes of Kermanshah and
Mount Zagros,as the Gouran, and Zengenah, and Kelhore,
are Ali UUahis.

CHAPTER XV.

Natural History.

Jntrod action. GEOLOGY. — First District — Primary Rock. — Keb-
ban Silver and Lead Mines. — Copper Mines. — Carbonaceous Maris and
Sandstones. — Coal. — Second District — Supercretaceous Deposite.
— Limestone Deposite. — Compact Chalk. — Plutonic Rocks. — Forma-
tions near Orfa and Mosul. — Marble. — Sulphur Springs. — Mines. — •
Hills of Kurdistan. — Calcareous Gypsum. — Hill of Flames. — Kufri
Hills. — Hamrine. — Formation of Euphrates. — Gypseous. — Plutonic
Rocks. — Marls. — Hills of Denudation. — Sand Hills. — Naphtha Springs.
— Third District — Limits. — Moving Sand Hills.— Salt Efflorescen-
ces.— Marshes. — Water Country. BOTANY. — First or Mountain
District — Forest Trees. — Cultivated Plants. — Gallnuts. — Gum Ar-
abic.— Manna. — Second District— Plains of Assyria. — Spring Flow-
ers.— Summer. — Common Plants. — Pother])s. — Fruits. — Cultivated
Plants. — Vegetables. — Third District — Alluvial. — Succulent
Plants. — Grasses. — Sedges. — Babylonian Willow. — Limit between the
Land and the Water. — Mariscus Elongatus. ZOOLOGY. — Mammalia
of First District — Plantigrade Carmvora. — Felines. — Rodents. — Rumi-
nants.— Angora. — Taurus. — Goat. — Other Districts — Bats. — Insecti-
vora. — Carnivora. — Lions. — Tigers. — Chaus. — Lynx. — Hyenas. —
Wolves, &c. — Domestic Cats. — Dogs. — Turkoman Dog. — Rodents. —
Pachydermata. — Boar. — Horse. — Ass. — Ruminants. — Dromedary. — •
Camels. — Gazelle. — Sheep. — Bovidte. — Ornithology — Raptores. — ■
Vultures. — Eagles. — Owls. — Incessores. — Cranes. — Nightingale.—
Larks. — Sparrows. — Bee-eaters, &c. — Game-birds. — Grouse. — Par-
tridges.— Cursores. — Ostrich. — Grallatores. — Palmipedes. — Reptiles
—Tortoises. — Lizards. — Frogs, &c. — Fishes. — Insects.

The limited sources of information regarding the natural
history of Assyria and Mesopotamia, and the incomplete-
ness of such as do exist, instead of leading us to dismiss

NATURAL HISTORY. 291

the subject with a few cursory generalities, have rather in-
duced us to collect with the utmost care all the materials
we could procure. These, indeed, are few, for of older au-
thorities we believe there are none; and this remark in-
cludes, as already hinted, the learned Forskal, whose re-
searches do not embrace those countries. It is true that
the eminent Danish naturalist supplied a Description of
Animals in his Oriental Itinerary,* as also a Flora of
Egypt and Arabia ;t but Oriental is a wide word, and For-
skal laboured chiefly in the neighbourhood of Alexandrea;
while the Arabia he examined was not the vast plains of
the Petraea and Deserta which border upon Mesopotamia,
but a small portion of the promontory of Arabia Felix, near
Mocha ; and both these districts are distant not less than
a thousand miles from the regions w^hich now engage our
attention. Hence, though we do not mean to deny that
some useful analogies in botany and zoology may be drawn
from his works, yet all inferences of this nature must be
deduced with the greatest caution. Under these circum-
stances, we must have recourse to such notices as can be
procured from modern travellers, few of whom are profess-
ed naturalists. A distinguished exception, however, oc-
curs in the case of the recent expedition to the Euphrates,
under the charge of Colonel Chesney. Without the docu-
ments published in connexion wdth this survey, and espe-
cially the Researches of Mr. Ainsworth, so often already al-
luded to, we could not have supplied any notice whatever
on this interesting subject. From that publication we have
drawn with the utmost freedom ; and beg now, once for all,
to acknowledge our obligation to the labours and authority
of the enlightened author. At the same time, we have not
neglected whatever other sources of information w^e could
discover ; and hence w^e presume to hope that the following
description will not be found devoid either of interest or in-
struction.

* Descriptiones Aiiimaliumquse in Itinere Orientali observavit Petrus
Forskal. Hauniae, 1775.

t Flora -^g-yptiaco-Arabica, sive Descriptiones Plantarum quas per
^gyptum Inferiorem et Arabiam Felicem detexit, illustravit P. Forskal.
Hauniae, 1775.

293 NATURAL HISTORY,

GEOLOGY.

In this sketch of the physical formation and natural his-
tory of the districts included in the basins of the Euphrates
and the Tigris, we shall adopt the very natural and simple
plan suggested by Mr. Ainsworth, when he observes that
Assyria, including Taurus, is distinguished into three Dis-
tricts : By its structure^ into a district of plutonic and met-
amorphic rocks, a district of sedimentary formations, and
a district of alluvial deposites: by configuration^ into a dis-
trict of mountains, a district of stony or sandy plains, and
a district of low watery plains : by natural productions, into
a country of forests and fruit-trees, of olives, wine, corn,
and pasturage, or of barren rocks ; a country of mulberry,
cotton, maize, tobacco, or of barren clay, sand, pebbly or
rocky plains ; and into a country of date-trees, rice, and
pasturage, or a land of saline plains.

First District. — That part of the Taurus which is con-
nected with the basins of the Euphrates and the Tigris
has been divided into three portions. The most northerly
range comprises the Niphates Mountains ; the central
comprehends the Azarah Dag, and the mountainous coun-
try between Kebban-Madan and Kharput; and the most
southerly, the ancient Masius, including the Karah-jah
Dag, Jibel-tur, and the Baarem Hills. The central nu-
cleus of these vast ridges consists of granite, gneiss, and
mica-schist, associated with limestone, greenstone, and
hornblende ; the lateral formations are composed of dial-
lage rocks, serpentine and slate clays, and the outlying
ones of sandstone and limestone. The structure of the
Niphates Mountains has not yet, we believe, been scien-
tifically examined; the Azarah Dag chain is formed of
diallage rocks, serpentine, steatite, and limestone ; the Ji-
bel-tur, of various limestones and the chalk formation; the
Baarem Hills consist of greenstone and basalt. The most
northerly range is probably the highest of the Taurus, tow-
ering above the line of perpetual snow, which in this lati-
tude may be estimated at the height of about 10,000 feet ;
the crest of the second range, viewed as a mean between
the highest points and the passes, is about 5053 ; and the
plain of Diarbekir, between the second and third district,
is at an elevation of 2500 feet.

We commence our more particular survey in. the central

GEOLOGY. 293

range with the hills about Kebban-Madan, near the junc-
tion of the eastern and western branches of the Euphrates,
and where the lead and silver mines occur. The town of
Kebban, connected with the mines, is built upon granite
rock, which extends downward to the banks of the river,
and northward rises nearly a thousand feet in mountainous
masses. The formations to the south of the town are very-
various. The fundamental rock is a highly crystalline
granite, on which is superimposed gneiss rock, capped
with chlorite schist, through which felspathic rock pro-
trudes in dikes, or unconformable and non-contempo-
raneous beds. The first metalliferous product that is met
with appears to be chlorite of silver, with an admixture of
iron and lead ; and it appears in dark-coloured irregular
masses, like the formation of the same kind which over-
lies mines of native silver in Peru. Between the mica and
chlorite slate and the limestone are numerous mines of ar-
gentiferous galena or lead-glance, a metallic sulphuret con-
taining lead, silver in small proportions, antimony, iron,
and red silver (sulphuret of antimony and silver). These
mines are said now to yield 195,000 pounds of lead, and
1000 pounds of silver annually.*

Passing over, in our progress southward, the district of
Kharput, where there is a large plain extending south by
west, we arrive at the copper mines of Arghana. The
mountains which surround them have an elevation of from
4000 to 4500 feet; and Magharat, " the hill of caves," con-
tains the principal mine. This eminence is composed of
steatite, with veins of quartz, barytes, and asbestos of va-
rious kinds, the flexible, and the non- elastic; beds of lime-
stone, sandstone, and copper pyrites. There are upward
of fourteen galleries carried into the rock, and the annual
produce is said to be about 2,250,000 pounds. In this bar-
ren region are situated the water-shed of the Euphrates ano
the Tigris, and the primary sources of this latter stream.
To the north of Arghana there is a district occupied by
carbonaceous marls and sandstones; and from this localit}
specimens of good coal were transmitted to the Euphrates
expedition by Mr. Brant, her majesty's consul at Erze
roum.t Mr. Ainsworth, in his account of this locality, re-

* Ainsworth's Researches, p. 279-281.

t See Colonel Chesney's General Statement of the Proceedings of the

294 NATURAL HISTORY.

marks that the' sandstone contained beds which were high-
ly carbonaceous, and others that were distinctly ferrugi-
nous. The former were converted into stone-coal, with a
vitreous fracture and dark shining surface ; but they were
non-bituminous.* He does not appear to have discovered
any useful coal. Southward of this succeeds the plateau
of Diarbekir, with a mean elevation of 1900 feet, and being
for the most part a uniform flat, cut up towards the east by
the Tigris. The rocks of the table-land of Jezirah, at an
elevation of 1540 feet, are of the same mineral character,
and consist of basalts with augite, titaniferous iron, and
calcareous spar.

We may here remark, that neither the geological struc-
ture nor the correct topography of the Masius chain, inclu-
ding the Baarem Hills and Jibel-tur, have hitherto been
described in a way that is at all satisfactory .t

We now proceed to the Second District^ which extends
from the thirty-seventh degree north latitude to the thirty-
fourth, and comprises laterally the basins of the tv/o cele-
brated rivers, from the confines of Syria to the mountains
of Kurdistan, possessing a mean breadth of about 200 miles.

The character of the plains in this district varies with
their latitude and altitude; with the quality of the soil, and
the quantity of moisture. From Jezirah, westward to near
Nisibin, there are felspathic plutonic rocks, with a mean
elevation of 1550 feet, and which form a stony wilderness
with little or no cultivation, but where, nevertheless, nu-
merous flocks of sheep and cattle obtain a scanty support
during a part of the year. The great plains of Northern
Mesopotamia, from Orfa to Nisibin, and thence to the plain
east of Mosul, the site of ancient Nineveh, have an eleva-
tion of about 1300 feet, are nearly of a uniform level, with
a soil possessing good agricultural qualities, but barren for
want of irrigation. An exception in regard to this sterility
invariably occurs where the plains are intersected by hills
or groups of hills — an arrangement by no means infrequent.
As instances, we may specify the Babel Mountains, south

Euphrates Expedition, in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society,
vol. vii., p. 438.

* Researches, p. 271, 272.

t See an interesting- account of a journey in this district by Mr. Brant,
in the Journal of the Royal Geog^raphical Society, vol. vi., p. 208. In the
accompanying map, the geographical aspect is better represented than in
any other we have seen.

GEOLOGY. 295

of Jezirah; the lower Kurdistan mountains, on the east of
Mosul ; the Sinjar range, bearing- nearly west, and to the
parallel of Nisibin ; the Jibel Makhul and Jibel Hamrine,
skirting the Tigris at Shirkat, stretching south and crossing
it to the eastward, and extending thence far to the south-
east;* and the Southern Hanirines, which continue to the
Persian Gulf.t The geognostic characters of these and
other hills, and of the wide plains they overlook, will be
briefly noticed when the districts to which they belong
come more immediately under review.

The grand peculiarity of the whole of this vast region,
in a geological point of view, is the fact that the tertiary,
more especially those supercretaceous deposites which in-
clude gypsum (hitherto generally supposed to be contined
to basins or circumscribed localities), assume an extent of
geographical development which gives to them a scientific
importance equal to that belonging to any other rock for-
mation of the crust of the earth. The gypseous deposite
is, moreover, divided into two great portions, characterized
by a different association of beds, and separated by a great
layer of marine limestones. The whole country, in fact,
consists of these calcareous deposites, here and there inter-
rupted by plutonic rocks.

The sedimentary masses which towards the south repose
upon the plutonic rocks of the Taurus, are subcrystalline
limestones, which, in the immediate neighbourhood of the
mountain-chain, exhibit mostly a uniform texture, either
compact or granular. At Samosata, the Euphrates runs
through a valley from eight to ten miles in width, consist-
ing of planes of slightly different altitudes, left by the river
as it has at successive periods deepened its course. At
Roumkala, the limestone becomes somewhat granular and
splintery, arranged in thin strata, the upper beds being fos-
siliferous, having a high angle of inclination, much curved
and contorted, and dipping in various directions, but most
generally to the southeast. It is through formations of this
character the Euphrates forces its way from Samosata to
Roumkala ; and its passage through these rocky portals is
accompanied with m.uch that is picturesque in scenery, and
with phenomena highly instructive in science.

* For g-ood representations of the Sinjar and Ilamrine rang-es, see map
accompanying Mr. Forbes's and Lieutenant Lyncli's Papers in the Jour-
nal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. ix. p. 470.

t Ainsworth's Researches, p. 113.

296 NATURAL HISTORY,

The indurated chalk first shows itself in the neighbour-
hood of the plutonic masses, at a place called Jemjeme ;
and the various contortions and flexures in the rock, form-
ing" high cliffs near the river, are very remarkable. The
Avhole system rises upward of 1200 feet above the bed of
the stream. It consists of friable buff-coloured marls and
chalks, which on the south support hard limestones, dipping
at a high angle of inclination to the south. From. Balkis
to Bir, the river is bounded on one side by a low plain ; on
the other, by cliffs of white chalk, about 150 feet in height,
and capped by a deposite of pebbles and soil. The town
of Bir is built upon a similar chalk formation, which is now
distinguishable into two portions, the lower consisting of
white and pure chalk in thick beds, containing flints. The
upper is separated from the lower by light-blue and argillo-
calcareous beds, which are of a yellowish colour.

Instead of following the Euphrates farther in its course
at present, we shall now reascend to Samosata ; and, in the
first place, trace the margin of the great basin eastward, and
then southward as it continues along the Kurdistan range,
the lofty barrier between these countries and Persia.

Proceeding then from Samosata to Orfa, we find that
the country, losing its simple undulatory character, is bro-
ken up by volcanic ridges and cones ; after which are deep
valleys, divided by long parallel ranges of hills composed
of chalk capped by basalts, until, towards the east, these
last predominate, and occupy the whole surface of the up-
land as far as to the plains of Mesopotamia. To the south
the valleys open, and here is situated Orfa; while to the
east, the chalk formation becomes once more, in the hills
of Nimrod, a compact limestone, at the foot of which ex-
tends the rich plain of Haran, composed of ancient alluvi-
um. The city of Orfa is built at the point v/here the hilly
and rocky regions, formed of masses of plutonic origin,
terminate in the chalk soil. There feldspatho-igneous
rocks, consisting of basalt and greenstone, form, towards
the east and northeast, an extended country of barren sur-
face with stony ravines. In the chalk plain to the north,
about ten or fifteen miles from Orfa, the same formations
rise in several distinct cones, attaining an altitude of from
500 to 800 feet above the surrounding country, out of which
they rise in almost total isolation, both geological and
geographical. Rocks of the same plutonic series again

GEOLOGY. 297

make their appearance on approaching Seruj, and there
form low ranges of undulating hills, stretching nearly north
and south, and extending in a southwesterly direction al-
most to the banks of the Euphrates. With these excep-
tions, the whole of the country lying between that river and
Orfa, from Samosata to the north, and Bir to the south, in-
cluding the Nimrod chain of hills, is composed of the up-
per and lower chalk formations.

Advancing still farther east towards the Tigris, and ta-
king Mosul as a centre, we remark that the western part
of the country is occupied by rocky formations, which rise
in a gently undulating territory out of the plain of Mesopo-
tamia. The formations in the immediate vicinity of the
town consist of solid beds of massive, compact, and granu-
lar calcareous gypsum, in horizontal strata, and non-fossi-
liferous. This is the rock that is so extensively quarried
as Mosul marble, of which the colour is bluish-white, but
sometimes snow-white or bluish-gray. The gypsum is
not separated by fissures, like that of Paris, and is less slaty
than that of Kirkook. Superimposed upon it is a thin for-
mation of coarse, friable limestone, abounding in shells,
which, in fact, is the common building-stone of the district.
Above this deposite is a bed, nine inches in thickness, of
non-fossiliferous argillaceous marls, highly dendritic, and
resembling the happante of Montmartre. Over this is a
coarse mass of green-coloured marls.

It is in this localit)^ and in a formation similar to the
one just described, at the foot of the cliffs of Mar Gabriel,
that several thermal springs occur, which exhale hydro-
sulphuric acid gas, and deposite sulphur in abundance.
They are six in number, more or less copious, and the
united streams form a rivulet, the colour of which is milk-
white, from the quantity of precipitated sulphur. Their
general temperature ranges from 77° Fahrenheit to 78°,
that of the air being 57° in the shade. The one in Nineveh,
designated by Mr. Rich Thisbe's Well, is commonly at the
temperature of Q^^. Celebrated sulphur mines occur about
eight miles from Mosul ; and deposites of the mineral are
wrought by means of galleries formed in the face of the
cliffs. The rocks consist of crag, of coarse gypsum and
marls, containing a bed of granular and semi-crystalline
sulphur about seven feet in thickness. This mineral is
compact, line, and granular, generally bluish-gray, with

298 NATURAL HISTORY.

calc spar interposed ; it sometimes occurs crystallized, and
of a beautiful rich olive-green colour. A sulphate of stron-
lian is likewise here met with.

The most remarkable feature of the rocks of Kurdistan
is the invariable compactness and hard texture of the lime-
stone. But this obtains only in the mountainous districts;
for, as the indurated variety of Roumkala on the Euphra-
tes becomes a soft chalk, with many imbedded fossils, so
that of the westerly range of these other mountains is found,
on the plains of Mosul, soft, pliable, and stored with shells.

Leaving the Baziyan Hills behind and to the east, the
country towards the west presents red and other sandstone,
which dip to the south and- west. The next district rises
out of the sandstone country, and consists of bolder and
loftier, though rounder hills of limestone conglomerate, not
cemented, but loose, with the acclivities covered v/ith green-
sward. The third district exhibits to the eye of the observ-
er red sands, reposing on sandstone, divided into separate
rounded hills, or cut by the waters into a system of small
valleys of the customary simple relations where their for-
mation depends upon denudation alone. The next ridge
consists of brown and bluish-coloured sandstone, some-
times micaceous, alternating with red sands, and rising in
low successive ridges only a few feet above the soil ; these
are frequently quarried for building. The last ridge east
of Kirkook is low, and consists of gypsum, calcareous
gypsum, and sandstone. The second of these rocks, which
was first observed in this place, becomes important in those
countries from its application to architectural purposes,
being almost as easily worked as gypsum, and much more
durable. It is extensively used for slabs, tombstones, and
similar purposes, and is usually designated, as already men-
tioned, Mosul marble.

The Karahjah Dag form hills of considerable elevation
on the Tigris, south of the Zab ; thence their course is by
Altun Kupri to Kirkook, and continued to Taok. They
consist throughout of Cyclade limestone, gypsum, marls,
saliferous sand, and common sandstone. Two ranges of
low hills run to the east of Kirkook in a northwesterly di-
rection. The first rises scarcely 200 feet above the plain,
the second about 500. The western one consists of Cy-
clade limestone and gypsum; the plain, of red and brown
sandstone, and red saliferous sands. This is the character

GEOLOGY. 299

of the calcareous deposite at the Ahu Gerger of the Arabs,
"the father of boiling," a place remarkable for the exhibition
of flames (hence called Hill of Flames), which appear to
have been in existence from the most remote period. The
limestone at this place entirely supersedes the marls and
gypsum, and the gases escape in a little central depression
on the summit of the ridge. The spot whence the flames
issue has a dull, dusky, grayish aspect in broad daylight,
and they are only visible upon near approach. The evo-
lution of sulphureous acid is so great that it soon becomes
intolerable ; and a thermometer held in the evolved gases
rose to 220^. Wherever a spear is thrust into the ground,
a new blaze bursts forth ; not the pale lambent stream pro-
duced by carburetted hydrogen, nor the flickering light of
hydrosulphuric acid in combustion, but a fierce and ardent
fiVe, like that which would be produced by the mingled
burning of sulphur, coal, and bitumen. Hence it would
appear that these flames are not connected with the great
volcanic phenomena which act, through fissures or rents,
from the deep portions of the earth's crust, but belong to
some peculiar and local chemical action. Appearances
very similar have been noticed on the coast of the county
of Kerry ; at Charm outh, in Dorsetshire ; and at Aubin and
Dutivielle, in Prussia. The most striking feature in the
present case is the great extent of the phenomenon ; its ex-
ceeding duration; and that, according to report, it is con-
tinued during the driest weather.*

The chain of the Kufri Hills, which rises more than 300
feet above the plain, is composed of alternating beds of
gypsum, red sandstone, and clays, the first of these being
transparent and crj^stalline, or snow-white and fibrous.
About eight miles to the northwest a fresh-water limestone
makes its appearance, hard and sonorous, with vesicular
and other cavities. This rock soon supersedes the gyp-
sum. The highest range of the Hamrine Hills is the most
easterly, and reaches an elevation of about 500 feet. It is
capped with a deposite of pebbles, which alternates with
the upper silicious beds. The second range is composed
of red sandstone, with occasional thin veins of gypsum,
and brown argillaceous beds. The third is gray or bluish
sandstone, containing red nodules of a silico-magnesian

* Ainsworth's Researches, p. 243.

300 NATURAL HISTORY.

substance; and the western outliers at Delli- Abbas consist
of red friable sandstone. The general direction of the
chain is from southeast to northwest.

A very few remarks on that portion of the Euphrates we
left undescribed, and in which we shall give a prominence
to the gypseous deposites, will close our geological survey
of this most important District.

To the south of Kara Bambuch, the valley of the Eu-
phrates begins to widen, the banks are occupied by exten-
sive alluvial plains, while low hills of transported pebbles,
with huge fragments of limestone superimposed, diversify
the level. About fifteen miles from the pass, hills com-
posed of alternating indurated and friable beds advance to
the river-side from the east, where they attain an elevation
of 800 feet. On the western side is an isolated eminence
of similar features, and capped by a stratum of indurated
chalk.

The first appearance of gypsum where the formations are
on a large scale, showing a tendency to a new order of
things, wherein the lime enters into different chemical re-
lations, is of a very remarkable character. The same for-
mation, which soon assumes a prodigious development, is
here thrown into the most circumscribed limits; and, al-
though accompanied by its usual associated marls, presents
no traces of fresh-water shells, while in its subsequent ex-
pansion there is the same order of attending phenomena
as are observed in other countries. To the south of Jaber,
a level range of marls, capped by gypsum, occurs on the
right bank, about two miles long, and 300 feet high. At
the northern end the gypsum is from twenty to twenty-five
feet in thickness, and reposes upon cretaceous marls 150
feet deep : the former soon attains a thickness of upward
of 40 feet, till at the next southerly headland it occupies
the whole depth of the cliff, forming hills about eighty feet
high. On the left bank in this district, formations of a
similar character recede to a greater distance from the riv-
er; and the hills, scarcely 100 feet in height, are composed
towards the north of mural precipices of gypsum repo-
sing upon yellow marls. From Beles to Racca is a dis-
tance of seventy miles, of which sixty are occupied by the
same formation; and no alteration of geognostic charac-
ters is met with till the river passes through the prolonga-
tion of the Jibel Buchir at Zenobia, a farther distance, by

GEOLOGY. 301

its banks^ of ninety-one miles. At tliat point the hills con-
sist of marls and gypsum, covered by an overlying forma-
tion of plutonic rocks and crystalline breccia. The gyp-
sum at first alternates with the marls, but soon assumes a
predominating development. It occurs snow-white and
saccharoidal, also small-grained and granular : it is like-
wise met with transparent, laminar, in thin beds, and in
small masses, variously arranged like brick-tiles. At Sal-
ahiyah, the formations at the base of the cliffs are consti-
tuted of the usual gypsum and marls. Of the first there
are no fewer than twenty-l()ur beds, from two to four feet
thick, alternating with marls, some of which are divided
by veins of laminar transparent gypsum, which may be
obtained for optical purposes, and as a subtitute for glass.
Superimposed upon these is a red ossiferous limestone brec-
cia developed to the extent of many feet in thickness. It
gives origin to a level and uniform plain, stony, and ex-
ceedingly destitute of vegetation, stretching to the extreme
verge of the horizon. It would be difficult to imagine a
more desolate scene than is here presented.

On the right brmk of the river, between Anah and Had-
isah, the Jibel Abu extends in uniform summits above cul-
tivated plains ; and the country farther v.^est is occupied by
the lov/ hills usually called the Jibel-Til Antah, followed
by the Jibel Kaifel Rusajah, and the Jibel Bajan. To the
east, the hills of Rechanah are succeeded by an interval of
low and fertile land to the districts of the Lagadahr Hills
«nnd the Moherah. These are not groups of hills with dis-
tinct acclivities and great intervening longitudinal valleys,
but almost always fragments of the high country in the in-
terior, cut off by the action of ordinary or extraordinary
powers of denudation into distinct ranges. Often, as in
the Moherah Hills, a great number of circumscribed val-
leys, like indentures in the uplands, become so complex in
their relations as in fact to constitute hilly groups; in oth-
ers, such as the Lagadahr, a long range is sent off to the
southwest, while another branch goes to the southeast
tinder a different name, leaving a great plain, deeply inter-
sected by tributary rivulets to the south, in the angle be-
tween the two. In a geological point of view, they are in
all cases hills and valleys of denudation, and in no instance
mountains of elevation or valleys of subsidence. The con-
slant order of the succession of strata is sandstone and

302 NATURAL HISTORY.

ironstoDe, breccia and gravel, green and red marls, yellow
marls, bituminous or black coarse marls, rude bituminous
rock, limestone, and saliferous clays. On reaching Hit, in
descending the stream, everything characteristic of solidity
and durability has disappeared. The plains are wide, the
hills low, and the rock formations coarse, non-crystalline,
and friable. To the east the Meridj-Suab ridges exhibit
nothing but the straw-yellow limestones, and they are suc-
ceeded by mounds of sand ; and a little beyond, sections
appear which furnish green marls, gypsum, hard marls,
and gypsum again in beds a few feet thick. Gravel and
mud repose on these deposites.

From these few hints it will appear, that the principal
object of contemplation in the structure and development
of the rocks in the basin of the Euphrates is the great ex-
tent of the tertiary, more accurately the cretaceous and su-
percretaceous deposites. They occupy a space in a straight
line of six degrees and a half of latitude, and among them
the chalky and gypseous beds assume by far the most ex-
tensive development. The intercalation, at the limits of
the chalk formations, of marls and gypsums unprovided
with lacustrine shells in the cretaceous layers, is another
very striking fact; for in this case the intervening clays
and limestone appear to be totally wanting, and gypseous
deposites to have taken their place. The most remarkable
peculiarity in the inferior gypsum is the eruption of pluto-
nic masses, which phenomenon has evidently occurred at
a period posterior to the elevation of the Taurian chain, as
the formations now described are superimposed upon the
last deposite by transport, which contains pebbles from
those regions.

A short notice of the celebrated Naphtha Springs in
this district must not be omitted. First of all, it is worthy
of remark, that whether at the eastern or western side of
the great basin, they occupy very much the same geologi-
cal position, and are found at the extreme limits of the lat-
eral series of rock formation, and just at the point where
these come in contact with the oldest alluvial deposites
Thus is it at Hit, on the banks of the Euphrates, in refer-
ence to the lateral formation of the Taurus, and so also to
the east, near the Tigris, in regard to the lateral ranges of
the Kurdistan Mountains. Two localities have been pre-
eminently signalized ; the one situated at Hit, the ancient Is,

GEOLOGY. 303

celebrated from all antiquity for its never-failing fountains
of bitumen, which furnished the imperishable mortar of
the Babylonian structure. We know it was visited by
Alexander, Trajan, and Julian; and now it is used only
for daubing gopher-boats on^the Euphrates. In this local-
ity there are several fountains, and at some distance from
each other. Round a few of them the soil is converted into
rude salt-pans or reservoirs, from which the water evapo-
rates, and whence, by means of this simple process, immense
quantities of fine salt are obtained. The temperature of
one spring was at 88^, of another at 98". The taste is bit-
ter-sweet; the water is clear and transparent; the odour
ammoniacal and sulphureous. They evolve gases in abun-
dance, and produce bitumen, according to the estimation
of the natives, at the rate of many gallons an hour. The
springs appear in argillaceous limestones, containing mag-
nesia, and imbibing moisture with facility. Upon this for-
mation a gypseous deposite is superimposed throughout
the surrounding country, but not in the immediate vicinity
of the fountains.

If, on the east of the Tigris, the naphtha springs are not
so productive as those above alluded to, they seem to be
decidedly more numerous. In Mr. Rich's interesting work,
allusion is made to several. Thus he informs us that the
naphtha pit, which is in the pass of the hills at Tooz Khoor*
mattee, is about fifteen feet deep, and to the height of ten
filled with water, on the surface of which the black sub-
stance floats. This is skimmed off; and the water convey-
ed into reservoirs, where it crystallizes, becoming excel-
lent salt of a fine wdiite brilliant grain, without bitterness:
it is worth about 20,000 piastres annually. The daily pro-
duce of the mineral oil is about thirty pints. He adds,
that the principal springs are in the hills towards Kufri;
that they are five or six in number, and are much more
productive ; but that no salt is found there. Indeed, it is
probable that naphtha may be found in almost any part of
this chain.* In Mr. Ainsworth's volume we find it more-
over stated, that not far from Abu Gerger are several wells
from which petroleum is obtained in large quantities : the
number of springs is continually varying; for, dig where
you will, the mineral oozes out over an area of about 300
square yards.t

* Rich's Narrative, vol. i., p. 28, 29.
t Aiuswortli's Researches, p. 244.

304 NATURAL HISTORY.

In directing attention to the third great District of this
country, namely, the alluvial, which will occupy a much-
smaller portion of our limits than the one we have just
left, it is impossible not to be struck with the mighty re-
sults produced in the course of ages by the silent but pow-
erful agency of the flow of waters. Mr. Lyell expresses
only the general sentiment of geologists when he remarks,
" that the union of the Tigris and the Euphrates must un-
doubtedly have been one of the modern geographical
changes on our earth ;"* and now, from Korna, the place
of junction, to the Persian Gulf, there is a breadth of land
of not less than sixty or seventy miles. These deposites
constitute a plain extending to about 32,400 geographical
square miles; and the rivers which have produced them,
in addition to the two already so often named, are the Kerk-
ha from Kurdistan, and the Karoon from Kuzistan.

At Mesjid Sandebeyah, these alluvia are circumscribed
on the north by low hills and undulating land of the tertia-
ry rock formation, which, rising near Babylon, cross the
Euphrates about eight miles above Felugia, and towards
the Tigris are lost in the plains traversed by the Median
wall. To the west they are Jimited by the line of rock
and sand which stretches beyond the Roomyah a little to
the west of the Samosata branch of the Euphrates, and to
the east by the Hamrine Hills. At its northern limit, the
plain has a slight but well-defined inclination towards the
south ; and after undulating in the central districts, it falls
into mere marshes and lakes. In the northern parts, the
soil is pebbly, consisting almost solely of variously colour-
ed flints and small fragments of gypsum: this is succeeded
by a continuous formation of a clayey nature, in part hu-
mus and in part argillo-calcareous, but covered, generally
speaking, with mould, dust, or sand.

In various localities throughout this district, and more
especially round the site of ancient Babylon, a curious
phenomenon presents itself, which consists in a number
of sandhills on the level plain, that are constantly shifting
their place and varying in amount, and yet always remain
in the same general locality. They appear to owe their
existence to the presence of springs, which moisten the
sand and cause its accumulation; while the prevailing

* riinciples of Geology, Slhedit., vol. i., p. 371.

GEOLOGY. 305

winds alter their form without affecting their position.
They are objects of superstition to the Arabs.

Efflorescences, both of common salt and saltpetre, are
abundant in these plains; and it is of importance to distin-
guish them, as the one is probably derived from the decom-
])osition of vegetable matter, characteristic of good vege-
table mould, or of alluvium originating in rivers or lakes;
while the other is no less strongly indicative of deposition
from the sea, except when there are local formations of
rock-salt.

The soil of the marshes of Lemlum consists for the most
part of a soft alluvial clay and mud, containing only fresh-
water shells. The greater part of the basin, however, is
occupied by aquatic plants ; and the whole comprehends a
district of nearly forty square miles. The extensive plains
of Chaldea, eastwarcl, are upon a somewhat higher level,
and present a territory which is the seat of cultivation du-
ring the dry months. The soil here is a strong tenacious
clay, of a deep blue colour, argillo-calcareous, and very
uniform in its character ; it abounds in shells which belong
to a very few genera, and these almost entirely marine.

To the south of the point of union between the Euphra-
tes and Tigris the surface is perpetually occupied by wa-
ter, and covered with a corresponding vegetation, deriving
its character from a species of bent-grass, Agrosiis, which
has very much the appearance of the true reed, Arundo, of
northern Europe. These tracts exhibit great uniformity of
feature, together with a boundless growth of plants of the
same aspect, which are ever3^where intersected by artificial
canals, or spotted with ponds and lakes.

The district which extends from the point of junction of
the rivers to the embouchure in the Persian Gulf, is char-
acterized on the eastern bank, and as far south as the
mouth of the Karoon, by a fringe of date-trees, to which,
at some distance inland, succeeds a band of reeds and rush
marshes, then some pasturage, and, finally, a small portion
of cultivated land. Beyond this tract there is a level and
uniform plain, which is sprinkled with occasional tama-
risks, acacias, and saline plants one half of the year, and
inundated during the other. The opposite or western bank
of the stream is, for the most part, covered with date-trees;
the succeeding tract of vegetation is very narrow, being
often confined by ranges of sandhills to a few hundred

A A

306 NATURAL HISTORY.

yards. Beyond this verdant band, an inundation, lasting
six or eigbxt months, veils the earth from sight ; and, during
the remainder of the year, nothing is seen but a level bar-
ren plain, without either moss or lichen to feed tiie piping
sand-grouse.

The region still farther to the south, or the Junub, pre-
sents similar characters, exhibiting, for the most part, a
belt of date-trees, surrounded with inundation at one season
of the year, and a naked plain during the remainder. This
district contains many villages, and canals which intersect
it. That of Ashar flows past the fort of Nimiah to the city
of Bussora, and twice a day, with the flowing tide, waters
the gardens of that unhealthy spot. The extensive level
from the Junub to the confluence of the river with the sea,
forms the Danasir, or water country of Niebuhr, and the
Choabedeh of Sir William Jones. In the interior there is
the same barren succession of mud and sands, bounded by
the pebbly deposites of the Pallacopas, and subjected to in-
undations during nine months of the year. The margin of
the river, which on either side is lined with woods of the
graceful date, aflbrds at times rich pasturage for buflaloes.
Even here the villages are numerous, but small ; and the
population, upon the whole, is scanty.

BOTANY.

In a region so elevated and varied as the first or mount-
ain district of the countries we are now considering, of
which the soil is very diversified, and where the climate is
remarkable for cold winters and hot summers, it may nat-
urally be expected that the vegetation should exhibit stri-
Jfing varieties of feature and form. This is well illustrated
in the interesting Journey of Mr. Brant, already referred
to, where, respecting the neighbourhood of Kebban-Madan,
he remarks, " The mountains round exhibit barrenness
under its most forbidding aspects ; for they produce neither
tree, nor shrub, nor vegetation of any kind." And again,
of the environs of Kharput, about thirty miles distant, he
says, " The plain furnishes a vast quantity of grain, and
wheat returns from twelve to sixteen fold ; the productions
of the soil are various, consisting of every kind of grain,
grapes, wine of a superior quality, oil from seeds, and cot-
ton."*

* Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. vi., p. 206, 207-

BOTANY

307

Mr. Ainsworth, whom we are happy again to acknowl-
edge as our principal guide, informs us that the most re-
markable feature in the vegetation of Taurus is the abun-
dance of trees, shrubs, and plants in the northern, and their
comparative absence in the southern district. With the
intention of presenting a summary of whatever information
has been collected, we shall here endeavour to introduce,
somcAvhat condensed, and sometimes in a tabular form, all
the details supplied by this intelligent traveller.

The forest-trees are for the most part the following :

Pinus Piiiea Stone pine.

Pinushalepensis* Aleppo pine.
Quercus cerris... Turkey oak.
Qiiercus pedim- ) Constantinople
culata . . \ oak.

Sessiliilore oak.

Quercus sessili-

flora

Castanea vesca.. Common chestnut
European flow-

ering'-ash.
Manna fiower-
. mg-ash.
Heart-leaved al-
der.

Ornus Europcea. .

Ornus rotundifo-
lia

Alnnscordifolia..

Corylus colurna.

Constantinople
nut-tree.
Cicer monspessu- ) Montpelier

lanum ) chick-pea.

Quercus Ilex.... Evergreen oak.
Quercus ^Egilops Velonia oak.
Quercus coccifera Kermes oak.
Quercus Suber. . Cork-tree.
Querc. infectoria. Dyeing- oak.
Acer pseudo-pla- } ^

tanus :... (Sycamore.

Fraxinus parvifo- ) Small-leaved

lia ) ash.

Frax. lentiscifolia Aleppo ash.

On the flanks of forests, or isolated, there appear,

Ceratonia sili-
qua

Cercis siliquas-
trum

} Carob-tree, or St.
\ .John's broad.
European Judas-
tree.

Mespilus Pyra- ) ^i ..i. n

pnnfl.n .... I Py^acanth medli

Common laurel

cantha
Prunus Lauro
cerasus ....

By the banks of streams are found,

Tamarix Galli-
ca

Nerium olean-
der

French tamarisk.
Common oleander.

Ori-

Platanus

eiitalis

Alnus cordifolia

Oriental plane-
tree.

Heart-leaved al
der.

And in shrubberies and low woodland,

Cupressus sem-
pervirens

J uniperus Phoeni-
cia

J uniperus macro-
carpa

cy-

} Common
\ press.
Phoenician juni-
per.
Large-fruited
juniper.
Myrtus communis Common mrytle.

Pistachia terebin- ) Turpentine-
thus \ tree.

Spartiumscoparia Common broom
Genista tinctoria. i ^reen-weed ge-

nista.

Viburnum minus. Lesser viburnum.
Arbutus Unedo.. Common arbutus.

* This and various other lists in the work from which we quote, occa-
sionally bear the marks of the want of that laborious revision which the
author's circumstances altogether prevented him from bestowing. Wher-
ever these inadvertences affect tlie sense or obscure the reasoning, w®
takeHhe liberty to correct them.

308

NATURAL iliSTORY.

Hex aquifolium. .

Ostrya vulgaris. .

"Daphne Pontica.
Daphne sericea. .
sempervi-

Buxus

rens ....

Eleagnus spinosa

Bryonia Cretica .

Clematis Vitalba Travellers' joy.

Common holly.
^ Common hop
( hornbeam.
Pontic Daphne.
Silky Daphne.
Common box-
tree,
j Prickly-leaved
( oleaster.
Cretan bryony.

Clematis Orienta-
ls

Cistus iiicaniis ..

Jasminum fruti-
cans

Caprifolium Peri-
clymenium. ...

Rhamnus Alater-
nus

Rhamnus Paliu-
riis

Poteri um spino-
sum

Oriental clema-
tis.
Hoary rock- rose.
Common yellow
jasmme.

Woodbine.

Broad-leaved
buckthorn.

Paliurus buck-
thorn.

Prickly shrubby
) Burnet.

The broad and the narrow leaved PhillyrecB show them-
selves only on the northern side of the Taurus ; and the
coromon and large Rhododendrons first appear beyond the
Ghamlu. Bel. Heaths are rare ; the tree-heath. Erica arbo-
reo,^ flourishes near Sis.

Among the useful and cultivated plants of Taurus may
be noted the vine, the fig-tree, almoncl-tree, the olive, wheat,
spelt- wheat {Vriticum Spdta)^ winter barley {Hordeiwi hex-
astic/w7i), and common barley. Gallnuts are gathered
chiefly from the Dyer's, Velonia, and Kermes oaks. There
are also pears, apples, and apricots in abundance. The
roots of the great yellow milk- vetch (Astragalus Christianus)
and Eastern sea-kale {Cramhe Orientalis) are sought as ar-
ticles of food. Sumach {Rlmis Colinus) is used for tanning
skins red, and buckthorn {Rhavmus cathartic its) ^ as well
as jointed Valantia ( V. a.rticulata), for giving them a yellow
hue. We may here add, from Mr. Rich's valuable Narra-
tive, that in Kurdistan, gallnuts are produced in great
plenty, especially in the dwarf-oak {Qitercus nana?) forest
of Kara Dag; and "the plant which produces gum-arabic
grows wild in the mountains ; it has a purple flower, and is
called ghewun." We should at once have referred this
statement to the Acacia Arabica^ the gum-arabic tree, whose
habitat is said to be the East Indies, had not the author re-
marked that the flower is purple, while that of the other is
white.

'' Manna," continues Mr. Rich, '' called in Turkish the
divine sweetmeat, in Kurdish ghezo, is found on the dwarf-
oak, though several other plants are said to produce it, but
not so abundantly or in such good quality. It is collected
by gathering the leaves of the tree, which, after being al-
bwed time to dry, are gently thrashed on a elotl). The

BOTANY. 309

commodity is thus brought to market in lumps, mixed with
iragments of leaves, from which it is afterward cleared by
boiling. There is another kind of manna, found on rocks
and stones, which is quite pure, of a white colour, and
much more esteemed than the tree-manna."* On this in-
teresting paragraph we willingly remark, that Mr. Rich's
observation as to manna being produced by other plants
is quite correct. Mr. Rnssel, in his Natural History of
Aleppo, states that it is found on the Hedysarum Alliagi^ in
Mesopotamia and other Eastern countries. The shrub, he
adds, grows plentifully; and the manna is gathered chiefly
about Taurus. Tournefort found it in Armenia, and made
a distinct genus for it under the name of Alhagi.t The
other statement, however, that the " divine sweetmeat"
grows on the Quercvs nana, an assertion we have nowhere
else met with, requires confirmation. As is generally
known, it is the Ornus rotundifolia {Fraxinus ornus, Linn.)
which supplies most of the manna of commerce. The
Fraxinus virgata also yields some, but from no other spe-
cies of ornus can it be procured.^ There is a dwarl-ash
{F. anna) as well as a dwarf-oak (Q. oiana). May not this
have led to some mistake '\

Though the physical characters of the second great dis-
trict, to which we now proceed, are of course infinitely less
diversified than those of the entire region which falls under
our review, yet still it should be noted that the varieties it
presents are both numerous and conspicuous. They are
produced chiefly by the difterences of altitude and latitude,
by the quality of the soil, and the presence or absence of
moisture; this last being, perhaps, the most effective cause.
If any of the great plains are intersected by hills, and still
more if, in addition, the district is well watered by means
of rivers or springs, by natural inundations, or artificial ij-
rigation, there the richest fertility and luxuriance prevail ;
and without these advantages, the vast expanse is com-
monly bare and unproductive, oftentimes tame, dreary, and
desolate. The absence of forests in these regions is a phe-
nomenon somewhat extraordinary, and not easy to be ac-
counted for. Accordingly, on the great plain there are only
succulent and herbaceous biennials, and a comparatively

*■ Rich's Nairative, vol. i., p. 142, 143.

t Loudon'.s Encyol|opa5t1ia of Plants, p. G31.

\ Ibid., p. 27.

310 NATURAL lIliiTORY.

ephemeral vegetation. It is not, however, less true, that
there are numerous districts of great beauiy. Such in Mes-
opotamia are the valleys of Orfa and Harran, so interesting
as connected with the histor}^ of the patriarch Abraham j
and those in Assyria are in no respect inferior. That this
remark holds good even in modern times, notwithstanding
the misrule and neglect to which the country has been sub-
jected, may be demonstrated by a few short sentences.
" The character of the desert," says Mr. Forbes, " improves
gradually towards Mardin; and that portion of the great
plain of Mesopotamia whicli lies in the direction of Koach
Hassar, equals, if it does not surpass in fertility, the richest
soils in the world."* "At length," remarks Mr. Rich,
"we reached the beautiful village of Deira, imbosomed
in a wood of the finest walnut-trees I ever saw. Gardens,
vineyards, and cultivation surroimded the village in every
available spot on the sides of the mountains. The vine^j
in many places crept up the trees, and extended from one
to another, forming festoons and drapery. Multitudes of
springs burst from the sides of the hills, and dashed over
the roots of the trees in innumerable little cascades. No-
thing was heard but the murmuring of waters ; and it was
not easy to pass so beautiful a spot without a pause to en-
joy its loveliness."t And once more : Lieutenant Ljmch,
in the year 1839, writes, " The upper plain or country near
and above the Hamrine may be called a prairie, high and
undulating, with the range of the Karachok Hills rising
east of it, far from the Tigris, and clelt in the centre by the
Zab. I am told the climate is delicious except in the
heats of summer, which are healthy ; and when I have
been strolling along the banks of the river, it has been a
luxury to breathe."^

From Mr. Ainsworth we learn respecting Assyria gen-
erally, that during two months of the year, namely, Octo-
ber and November, vegetation entirely ceases ; everything
is burned up, and no new forms appear ; but after this pe-
riod, the clouds from the Lebanon in Syria, and a softening
in the mountain temperature to the north and east over

* Visit to the Sinjar Hills in 1838. Journal of the Royal Gecgraphi-
cal Society, vol. ix., p. 422.

t Rich's Narrative, vol. i., p. 261.

t- On the River Tigris, in the Journal of the Royal Geog-raphicai So-
ciety, vol. IX., p. 442.

BOTANY. 311

Mesopotamia, bring down moderate, refreshing rains. The
brown and fallow colour of the soil now changes ; grasses
begin to spread and increase; and, notwithstandmg the
subsequent frost and storm, some of the composite order
of plants bud, though they do not flower. Meantim^e, the
succession of vegetation is kept up by those families which
have succulent roots or bulbs, and which preserve moist-
ure so as to ensure life in the most barren land. Sleeping
during the summer heats, they awake to activity with the
first rains ; and some send forth prematurely their buds, or
even leaves, in October. Among these are' a Colchicumj a
tulip, a crocus, an Ixia^ and an Arum. They are soon,
however, enveloped in snow or blasted by the wintry
winds, till, in early spring, the same precocious plants re-
appear, with all the vivid beauty of colour and variety of
forms, which have lent to the poet and the painter their
not always fabulous pictures of the East.*

The species which constitute the flora of spring belong
mostly to the families of Amaryllidce, the lovely group
w^hich have excited admiration from the days of vSolomon
to the present time, Asphodelecs, Liliacece^ Melanihacea^ and
one of that most singular variety of flower, the Orchidece.
The plants of summer are particularly distinguished as
belonging to the woolly, thorny, prickly, and hairy species ;
among which the ComposUcB are most numerous in indi-
viduals and species. The most frequent genera are Cm-
cus (horse-thistles), Carduus (thistles), Centaurea (centau-
ries), and Calcitrapa. Papilioiiaceco are also common, al-
though their small forms render them less striking; the
LabiaicE furnish the true aromatic plants of the plain ; the
most numerous species belong to the genera Stachys (hedge-
nettle). Thymus (thyme), Sideritis (ironwort), Satureja (sa-
vory), and Origanum (marjory). A Pyrus grows in fal-
low, also one species of willow, and one of bramble: elm-
leaved sumach {Rhus Coriaria) flourishes on the banks of
the Euphrates.

The most common plants on cultivated lands are the
prickly-headed liquorice {Glycyrrhiza glabra and echinata),
also Mimosa agrestis^ and Euphorbia Pyrrhus. The Oriental
plane-tree, near springs and tombs, attains an enormous
size. One at Bir is said to have measured thirty-six feet
in circumference.

* Aiuswortli's Researches, p. 33.

312

NATURAL HISTORY

The useful plants which occur in this zone, either cultiva-
ted or not, are still very numerous. Among the grains are
wheat, barley, lentils (^Ervum Lens), common chick-pea
(^Cicer arietinum), the garden-bean, chickling vetch {Lathy-
rus sativus), red flowered vetch (Vicia Nissoliajia), the kid-
ney bean, millet (^Holcus Sorghum), and Lucerne. The
Arabs eat the Holcus bicolor.

The quantity of Potherbs now cultivated, where Euro-
pean plants have been introduced, is considerable, though
more or less characteristic. Of these may be named the
cucumber, melon, the egg-plant {Solanum Melongena), the
eatable Hibiscus, and various kinds of gourds. Among the
frtdts are the olives, the pistachia-tree (P. officinalis), the
white and common mulberry, the common fig, cherry,
apricot, peach, and three varieties of plums ; also the ap-
ple, pear, quince, dogwood {Cornus mas), sweet almond,
walnut, hazel, lotus-tree, beech, chestnut, Siberian pine,
nuts, and such like. Among cultivated plants there is to-
bacco, oil-grain (Sesamum Orientate), castor-oil, hemp,
common fenn-grecK (Trigonella Fa^num Grcecum), the car-
thamus (C tinctorius), and cotton. Among the useful ve-
getables furnished by the fields, are the

^ . • „ i Common caper-

Cappaijs spmosaj ^^^^^ ^

Bora.g"o officinalis Common borage.
Malva rotandifo- ) fallows.*

lia.

Riimex acetosa. . Common sorrel.

S. Nasturtium. . .
Lycoperdon tube-
rosum

Sisymbrium.
Tuberose puff-
bull.

Saturejahortensis Summer savory.

Sinapis Orientulis Oriental mustard.

Tordylium Syria- > Syrian hart-
cum \ wort.

Glycyrrhiza gla- ) Common liquor-
bra \ ice.

A. officinalis.... S^^^^;;^^^^ ^^P^^'

The leaves of the Egyptian Arum {A. Colocasia) are used
as paper on the Chaldean plain: east of Mosul, a species
of viper's-grass {Scorzonera) abounds, and affords a plen-
tiiul nutriment. Gum tragacanth is obtained from several
species oi Astragalus ; in Persia, according to Olivier, from
A. verus; but at Aleppo it is obtained from the great goats'-
horn species (A. tragacantha), the fox-tail (A. alopccif/roides),
the small goats'-horn (A. Poteriuvi), and apparently frc^m
other species, for twelve are met with in the neighbourhood.
The Henna plant, with the pink juice of which the Egyp-
tian women dye their nails, is obtained from the Laiosonia
inermis. On the Euphrates the Arabs eat the leaves of
several species of lettuce, thistle, and sow-thistle {Lactuca^

BOTANY. 313

Carduus, Soncrras), and the roots of the common onion, a
squill, an Ixia; also the bulb of a crocus, which is as sweet
as an almond. The men of the Euphrates Expedition of-
ten used a species of wild Atriplex (A. oracJie) as a culinary
ve°:etable, which eats like spinach.*

The following information is supplied from observations
made during their descent on that river.

The most remarkable feature observed in the passage
downward was the absence of all perennial shrubs on the
hills ; the chalk cliffs being covered v.dth different species
of mustard and cabbage. On the eastern bank of the river
the vegetation was found to be generally a few days in
advance of that on the western. The hills of the "Kara
Bambuch furnished a species of almond, and on the
highest part a kind of cherry ; also an astragalus and the
field mimosa. The meadovv^s afforded grasses, ranunculi,
chamomiles, chrysanthemums, hedge-mustard, and simi-
lar plants Truffles were dug up at the foot of hills. On
the plains of Balis, the circumscription of a peculair vege-
tation to different spots was striking; some tracts were
covered with scurvy-grass, others with chamomile, some
with pansies, and others with sweet-scented vernal grass
(^Anthoxanthum odoratuvi). Twenty-three new plants, first
met at Balis, continued to prevail 140 miles down the river.
The tamarisk first appeared at that place ; and the jungle to
the south of the same station consisted of a species of pop-
lar, with lanceolate leaves, which has been mistaken for the
willow. A Lygeum and a bramble, a Clematis and two
AsparagincB, with the tam^arisk, were the only other varie-
ties. South of Racca, in the forest of Aran, the mulbeiry
first presents itself At Zenobia, UmbellifcrcB begin to pre-
dominate. Anah is the most southern point of olive-trees,
and the most northern of the date, with the exception of
isolated trees, which are met with in the sheltered bay of
Iskenderiah, The desert of Xenophon, extending from
the Khabour to Rehoboth, is still what it was in the Greek
general's day, '' full of wormwood ; and if any other plants
grow there, they have, for the most part, an aromatic
smell."t

Advancing now to the alluvial district, it is to be ob-
served that the woolly and spiny plants of the lowlands

* Ainswortli's Researches, p. 32-30. \ Ibid., p. 47-49.

314 NATURAL HISTORY.

and rocky tracts of Mesopotamia are here completely su-
perseded by the succulent species. The genera Salicornia^
Crassula, also Glassworts, Saltworts (Salsola), and Tra-
gia, with certain Fig-marigolds (^Mesembryaiithema) and
Asters, with their representatives, cover the plains of Bab-
ylonia and Chaldea, and spread themselves wherever the
alluvial soil is impregnated, as it so frequently is, with
nitre or marine salt. Among the marshes of Lemlum, the
preponderance of sedges, cats'-tail (^Typhacecs), and the
large grasses, announce, as in the temperate zone, the
aquatic character of the .country, and a comparatively cold
and humid climate. The shallow sheets of water, which
are dispersed amid this marsh of reeds and rushes, like the
7riercs of England, are generally invaded by a host of water-
plants (^AUs7nacece), water-lilies, and ranunculaceae ; and in
the dry parts of Chaldea the vegetation is characterized by
the usual saline plants, the river-banks being fringed by
shrubberies of tamarisk and acacia, and occasional groves
of poplar. The weeping-willow (Salix Babylonicd) is not
met with in Babylonia. The common tamarisk of the coun-
try is the Tamarix Orientalis of Forskal. The solitary tree
" of a species altogether strange to this country," according
to Heeren, and which Rich calls Lignu77i VitcE, growing
upon the ruins of Kasr at Babylon, and supposed to be a
last remnant of the hanging gardens, that appeared to
duintus Curtius like a forest, is also a tamarisk. Others
exactly resembling it are frequently found overshadowing
the wells of Farsistan, and are common in the country of
the queen for whose solace those gardens are said to have
been erected.

Finally, the vegetation at the extreme limits of the allu-
vial soil is not a little singular, and has been well descri-
bed by Mr. Ainsworth. At the points, he remarks, where
land is first gained from water, the soil is clothed with a
uniform vegetation. A solitary plant, everywhere propa-
gated over those great tracts, acts as umpire between these
two elements of the terraqueous surface, and first reclaims
new territories to the former. It is a species of Mariscus^
approaching very closely to the M. elatus of the East In-
dies, of which it is, perhaps, but a variety, as it differs from
it only in the marked elongation of the spikelets. This
species, which has been called elongatus^ flowers in May,
at a mean temperature of 84°, but under great atmospheri-

ZOOLOGV. 315

cal vicissitudes, and a range sometimes of 24*^ between the
temperatures of night and day. It presents a rich green
carpet, and a fine verdure, in the flowering reason, relieved
by the glistering aspect of the spikelets, which are never-
theless sober in their colour, as in the other species of the
same family.

The roots of this plant are fibrous, and take a firm hold
of the soil ; by which means they give, in their propagation,
solid it)^ to whole masses of alluvium, and thus assist in
repelling the invasion of the waters at spring-tides, during
storms, and in periods of inundation. There is no combat
here, such as when the sand-reed or sand-sedge, in other
somewhat similar localities, endeavours to climb above the
perpetually accumulating sands ; for where the mariscus
has once spread itself, the land may be said to be assuredly
gained. The importance of this plant in physical geogra-
phy will from this circumstance be at once perceived in all
its magnitude.

ZOOLOGY.

I[, in the foregoing departments of natural history, we
have had occasion to lament the paucity of the materials
which have hitherto been collected, with still more truth
may such deficiency be regretted in respect to the science
of Zoology. In fact, we can furnish only a few hints ; and
these we supply chiefly from an anxious wish that this
chapter may be as complete as the means of information
will permit. The zoology of the different districts or zones,
as they have been called, of the country, must be very dis-
similar; and, when reviewing the several genera and spe-
cies, we shall endeavour to avoid associating groups which
from this cause are naturally separated.

Maminalia. — Turning first to the high or mountain dis-
trict, it would appear, as it respects the Plantigrade Carni-
vora^ that bears are not uncommon in the Taurus and
Kurdistan ranges. There is a black one called maiiga-
7nar ; another species is designated gamesh; and a brown
variety is also found in the hills above Mosul. There is
here also an animal belonging to the genus Glutton (G^^-
Zo), and another to the Ratel of Sparrman — the Cape glut-
ton, whose specific characters have not been ascertained.
Of the Digitigrada, a Pine marten^ and several species of
M^istela (weasels), also undescribecij have been observed ;

316 NATURAL HISTORY.

as also a sable (Maries ZibelUna, Linn.) and a genet (Fi-
verra genetta, Linn.). Mr. Ainsworth states that the pan-
ther {Fells pardus) is said to inhabit Taurus ; and the F.
Pardina of Oken and Temminck, the Louj) cervier of Pe-
rault, abounds in Amanus. On one occasion, a hunting,
party of the Euphrates Expedition encountered egiht of
these animals. The black-eared lynx also frequents this
district ; the wolf is common in the heights botli of Tau-
rus and Kurdistan, as also the common fox. The Sper-
mophilus citillus {Mus citiUus, /?., Pall.), the Alpine Mar-
mot {Ardomys marmottci)^ the German Marmot of Penn
(Cricetis vulgans), and the great and common dormice, are
tenants of the mountain forests. Of the Cermdce^tlie fal-
low deer {Cervus dania) is common in some parts of Tau-
rus; and it is said that the stag (C. elcphas),- the red deer
of Pennant, occurs in the same district ; the roebuck, too
(C capriolus), is not uncommon. Of Antelopes there are
several species ; one of which, the mountain, having the
back and neck of a dark brown colour, bounds with ama-
zing agility. The goat of those hills is usually designated
the Angora goat, as we learn from Mr. Ainsworth ;* and
yet, upon a later testimony of the same traveller, it wotild
appear, erroneously, for in a communication transmitted
by this gentleman, in the year 1838, from the town of An-
gora, he remarks : The length and softness of Angora
goats' hair are evidently to be attributed to an extreme cli-
mate. Cold winters (in December, 1838, the snow was
upward of a foot in depth, and the minimum temperature
was 3^ Fahrenheit) have everywhere the effect of lengthen-
ing the hair or fleeces of animals, or of supplying them
with an under-down, while the hot summers give to the
hair its silky lustre and softness. He adds, the circum-
scribed limits generally assigned to the country of this
breed of goats are, as far as we have yet seen, correct ;
they are not met with to the east of Kizil Irmak.t This
limitation removes the true Angora goat probably from the
entire district of the Taurus, and far, certainly, from the
great ridges near the Euphrates. These views have re-
cently been abundantly confirmed by Lieutenant Conolly,^
who, moreover, states that there is a second race of goats,

* Researches, p. 41.

t Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. ix., p. 275.

4" Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society for May, 1840, No. vi., p. 159.

ZOOLOGY- 317

with an unchanging outer covering of long bristles, between
the roots of which there comes in winter an under-coat of
downy wool, which is naturally thrown oif in spring. This
double-coated race is coloured black, brown, golden, and
lip;ht-dun, gray and piebald. The colours of tlie two coats
do not necessarily correspond, though black bristles com-
monly overlie brown wool. This variety exists in high
perfection in the district of the true Angora goat, but has
also a wider range, and prevails in Armenia and Kurdis-
tan. The goat of Taurus is described as generally white,
with buff-coloured ears and yellow horns ; the hair line and
curled. The Kurdistan one has long black hair, curled
and silky; horns bent downward; pendulous black ears
tipped with brovv^i, w^hich is sometimes the colour of the
legs. Among the wild species^here is the Capra ibex, and,
it is believed, the C. Cancasicus.

In the second district — that of the plains — Mr. Ains-
worth says that the monkey is unknown, as also through-
out the whole of Assyria and Babylonia. The bat tribe,
however, is numerous ; the genera Rhinolophus and Nich^
ris having their representatives. Among the insectivora
were found the long-eared hedgehog, Eri7iaceiLm cmrilis of
Pallas, and the Persian shrew of Pennant (Sorex pnsillns).
The carnivora may be said, on some accounts, to form the
most important family in those countries,. The lion is
met with in the lower parts of the Euphrates and Tigris,
and was seen as far north as Balis, A specimen from the
banks of the Tigris had not the fur of the Isabella yellow
colour attributed to the Arabian and Persian species, but
was as brown as that of Bombay. A nameless variety of
the hunting tiger, and distinguished by some naturalists
from the Felis Jubata by the title of F. Venatica, is not un-
common in the lower districts of the country. An indi-
vidual, exhibiting all the docility of the Persian youze,
also existed at Bagdad ; and, notwithstanding the want of
the retractile claws, climbed trees with facility. But the
most common of the cat tribe is the F. Chans, of Giilden-
stedt, and described by Russel : this animal was often met
with in hunting. The lynx inhabits the woody districts ;
the striped hyena is very common over all the country,
usually sheltering itself behind walls and shrubs : a white
variety was also seen. The wolf of the Taurus is replaced
in the plains by the Tartarean, and even this quadruped

318 NATURAL HISTORY.

is very rare in the south. The black wolf (C. lycaoii) was
seen on the banks of the Sajur; while the jackal (C au-
reus) appears to present some differences in Syria, on the
Euphrates, and in Persia. The most frequent species of
fox is the C. Corsac* Domestic cats are of three kinds :
the common, a mixed breed, and the Persian. The do-
mestic dogs are the Basaar, the Turkoman, with long ears
and long soft hair, and also the shepherd's dog : there are
also crosses of the dog and wolf, and of the dog and fox.
Concerning the Turkoman watchdog, Colonel Hamilton
Smith remarks, that it is a large, rugged, and fierce race,
equalling the wolf in stature, shaped like an Irish grey-
hound, and having equally powerful jaws ; that it is found
wherever the Turkomans reside, and is employed to guard
their tents and cattle. We believe it is in similar use
F.mong the Kurds.t An otter {Ladra vulgaris?) occurs on
ihe Euphrates, Tigris, and Karoon ; and the common bea-
ver has been observed in the Euphrates and Khaboui'.
Different gerboas inhabit the plains, of which the most
usual are the Dipus gerboa, D. Jaculus^ D. Sagitta^ and D.
PygmcBus, besides other undetermined species. The for-
est of Aran furnished a new species of Gerbillus, differing
from the G. Tamaricinus of Pallas, which it otherwise
most approached, being, including its tail, seventeen inch-
es in length, while Pallas's quadruped is only six. TJie
ordinary rat of the country appears to be the Mas decwnia-
nus. Mice are numerous and various, and the specimen
seen at Bir belonged to an undescribed species. Squirrels
are abundant in the woods ; the species being undetermin-
ed. Porcupines are also very frequent. Of hares there
are two kinds : the Turkoman variety, which haunts tb.e
plains, and that of the desert, with long hair and ears.
Rabbits are infrequent.

The order of Pachydermata is represented by the wild
boar, common in every spot at all adapted for its exist-
ence, and by the wild horse of Mesopotamia {Equus hcrni-
.r/ius), although this fact has not been quite satisfactorily
ascertained. The chief domesticated horses are of two
breeds : the Arab, finely limbed, slender, hardy, and fleet,
and the Turkoman, of a larger size and stronger make.

* Corsac dogfox. Colmel Hamilton Smith, in Jardine's Naturalists*
Library, Mammalia, vol. ix., p. 223.
t Ibid., vol. X., p. 150.

ZOOLOGY. 319

The asses are of a common breed, but larger than in Brit-
ain : there is also an improved variety, tall, delicately
limbed, swift, and easy in pace ; and, lastly, the Damascus
ass, with very long body, pendulous ears, smooth skin, and
dark colour.

At the head of the Rnminaiitia are the camels, of which
the first in point of importance and utility is the Arabian
(C droinedarius), with one hunch, and pale fawn-coloured
brown far ; the second is the Bactrian or Persian (C. Bac-
tnajius), with two hunches, and plentiful hair upon the
upper part of the neck. There are two varieties of the
former : first, the dromedary^ decidedly the highest breed,
of slight make, clean limbed, with small hunch; it ambles
with great agility, and is used for war and expresses, as
well, indeed, as for any other duty requiring haste or fa-
tigue. Lieutenant-colonel Shell speaks of this animal in
these words: "It seems able to travel in all situations;
mountains and plains, blazing sun, frost and snow, seem
alike to him. These beautiful creatures are unlike the
awkward, heavy camels of Persia and India; they are slen-
der, active animals, and nearly white."* The common Ara-
bian camel is of a light dun colour ; it is content to browse
on thistles and prickly shrubs; can bear the want of water
a long time, but it seldom carries more than 250 pounds
on each side. Besides these two species, there is the
common Turkoman camel, Avhich, though a mule, the
produce of the Arabian and Bactrian, is found to be of
great utility. It is larger, stouter, and more hairy than the
others, but is not so tractable, and less capable of endu-
ring heat than the Arab camel ; its common load is about
400 pounds on each side, and some can carry a much
greater weight. Of the CervidcB, by far the most common
in the plains is the gazelle {A. dorcas), a species which
is often so tame as to feed freely along with the flocks of
sheep. It is, consequently, highly gregarious; is very
fleet, though not so active as its congeners in the mount-
ain districts ; and is of a lighter colour than most of therve,
though not so delicately shaped. On the Tigris, near
Koote ul Amara, the A. subgiUterosa of Giildenstedt repla-
ces the gazelle.

* Journey tlironp^h Kurdistan, in the Journal of tlio Rc^yal Ceog-rapla-
cal Society, vol. viii., p. 97.

320 NATURAL HISTORY.

The sheep are of two kinds : the common Tartarian,
with an enormous tail, weighing generally fifteen or six-
teen pomids, and sometimes much more ; the second or
the Bedouin, the tail of which is only a little larger and
thicker than that of our own domestic breeds. The Ovis
Amman or Argali has been observed at Azaz. The Bo-
vidce present forms belonging to the Bubaline, the Bison-
tine, and the Taurine groups. The first is represented
by the common buffalo {Bos, bnbalus), which is most es-
teemed by the Turkomans and Arabs upon the Euphrates ;
the second, by the zebu, with a hunch between its shoul-
ders, also frequent on the Euphrates ; and the third by the
common bull and cow. Of this last there are two vari-
eties : one of a large size, with long legs and slender bod}^;
the other smaller, with short limbs. We need scarcely
remark that it is in the marshes of the lower districts of
the country that the buffalo, in vast herds, loves to feed.

Ornithology. — In turning to the ornithology of these coun-
tries, upon which little precise information has been col-
lected, we commence by remarking that the type of the
northern districts is generally supposed to associate itself
with that of the Taurus range, which constitutes a portion
of what has been designated the Caucasian or European
Zoological Province. Hence it is believed that the feath-
ery tribes of these regions have a strong general resem-
blance to those of Europe, while the southern districts are
considered remarkable only for possessing very few and
uninteresting groups.

In the alpine country birds of prey are particularly
abundant. The Egyptian neophron or vulture (F. perc-
nopterus) is common in almost every town, where it lives
in the shambles and burial-grounds; and a griffon {V.fuU
vns) was shot by Dr. Heifer at Bir. The sea-eagle or os-
prey {Falco ossifragus of Gmel.) is not infrequent; tne kite
{F. milvus) sweeps along the plains, and the kestril {F.
tinnunculvs) and Falco gentilis are brought up for the
chase. Owls, too, are numerous in the Taurus, and in
the chalk cliffs of the Euphrates; the species which have
been observed are the great-horned or eagle owl {Stnx
biiho), the barn owl {S. jiammea)^ the passerine or little
owl {S. passerina?)^ and the Ural owl (>S'. Uralensis). Of
another common family, namely, the crows, there were
i:)oticed the raven, the carrion and hooded crow, and the

ZOOLOGY. 321

jackdaw. The jay made its appearance in the month of
October; and an oriole (O. graculus) departed the same
month. Besides these European species of well-known
birds, theie were others which, though peculiar, were not
determined. A roller was seen, and a starling more brill-
iant than our own.

Of the Insectivorous birds there were found the song-
thrush, the blackbird, and three other European species;
also a rock-thrush, and the T'urdus mfus and roseus, which
last is the celebrated locust-bird of Pliny; also a water-
ouzel and a species of shrike (Edoliiis). Few opportuni-
ties occurred to the naturalists of the Euphrates Expedition
of studying the interesting groups of warblers and wag-
tails. The bulbul of Syria is our nightingale, and that of
Persia is a thrush. The becafico is called the fig-sparrow ;
the golden-crested wren is a bird of passage; the common
wren and two species of stonechat were occasionally seen.

Among the Granivoroits birds, the genus Alauda furnish-
ed many species, among which the skylark was most rare,
and the crcsted lark the most common. There were also
the shorelark, and the A. calendra, and the Tartar lark (^A,
Tartarica of Pallas). The great and the cole tit, the orto-
lon and yellow buntings, and four or f\}T^ species of finch-
es, were encountered, of which the goldfinch was one. It
was noticed that the common sparrow, far from being sta-
tionary about towns, sometimes followed the migratory
tribes in their numerous peregrinations ; and in other ca-
ses, in the lower districts of the country, far away from
the habitation of man, and among the jungle, they built
their nests in dense congregations.

The common cuckoo was seen : the order of Climbers
appears to be rare, even in the woods; the familiar nut-
hatch {Yunx torquilla) and two species of woodpecker
constituting all that were met with. The hoopoe was ob-
served everywhere. Among the Alcyoiies^ the bee-eater
{Merops apiaster) and the M. ccerulo cephahis were noticed.
Birds of this genus, as is well known, build in sandbanks
and mounds of earth, where they are exposed to the attacks
of jackals, who, after destroying their victims, appropriate
their retreats. Mr. Ainsworth states that in these coun-
tries the birds were observed to prepare their excavations
not only near, but actually beneath the highways ; the only
assignable reason for which arduous labour appeared to be

B B

322 NATURAL HISTORY.

that they might thus, aided by the hardness of the trodden-
down soil, frustrate the assaults of their ruthless foes. A
similar consideration may influence them when they build,
as they often do with great address, in vertical banks of
rivers. Of the three species of kingfisher {Alcedo) which
were seen, none was European. I'he Chelidones furnish
two species of swallow and the European goatsucker;
and the Colmnbce present about fourteen species, among
which are the collared turtle (C. risora) and the turtorclla
of the Italians (C. teslacco incaiiiata of Forskal).

Of the Game-birds, one of the feather-footed genus, Lago-
pus, was shot by Colonel Chesney near Bir. Sand-grouse
(Pterocles arenarius) occur in millions on the plains ; while
the European Francolin (Perdix francoliwus) is most fre-
quent on the Euphrates and the Tigris. In the Taurus
were noticed the common and red-legged partridge, also
the Greek (P. Grceca), and the black ; and in the rocks in
the plains, the Barbary partridge {P.petrosa, Lath.). We
have no means of discovering to which species Mr. Rich
refers, in his interesting account of the partridge fights in
Kurdistan, though probably it was the red-legged. " These
little birds," he informs us, "strut about on tiptoe in de-
fiance, jump up, bite at each other, play about to seize a
favourable opening and avoid their adversary; when once
fixed, he would hold like a bulldog, and sometimes lead
his foe three or four times round the ring. The betting of
the Kurds upon their partridge-fights and dogfights is legal,
as well as on their horse-races."* Mr. Ainswoith shot
that anomalous bird, the Telrao paradoxus of Pallas (^Syr-
rhaptes Pallasii), as far south as Koote ul Amara on the
Tigris. The quail is rather rare. In the woods, the com-
mon pheasant and one other species were encountered.

The Cursores possess forms peculiar to the desert ; and
the most remarkable bird of the group, the ostrich, is now
seldom seen in Western Asia. Not so, however, wdth the
great bustard ( Otis tarda), which is still very common :
but those of Arabia and Mesopotamia are suspected to be
different from such as occupy the mountains.

The order of waders {GraUatorcs) affords many species
of plovers, of which are several with spines on their wings,
JVinga, Squatarola, and others. Of snipes there are four

* Rich's Narrative, vol. i., p. 90-93.

ZOOLOGY. 323

species ; of herons, seven ; of the rail, two. Fitlicaporphy-
riSj a species of coot, is common in the Euphrates, as is
likewise Machatcs pugncbx.

Of the Palmipedes, there occur the pelican, about ten
species of the genus Ansei\ geese and ducks, including the
A. niga\ A. dypcata, the shoveller duck, the common wild
duck {A. bosc/ios), and the A. sirsceir of Forskal ; to which
may be added, the goosander (Mergics rnerganser) and the
black-throated diver {Colymbus aitritus). On the Euphra-
tes were observed two species of gull, one of the petrels,
and a cormorant.

With respect to the marshy regions of the lower district
of the country, Mr. Ainsworth informs us it is a common
practice, during the dry season, to lire the desiccated vege-
tation, when the slightest breeze spreads the flames witli
fearful rapidity. On these occasions, numerous birds of
prey, kites, vultures, and large gray crows, are seen hover-
ing in the air, and sweeping through the dense }Diles of
smoke, which curl like clouds above the region of devas-
tation, in the train of which they are ever and anon seen
to alight, as an abundant destruction of animal life attends
the progress of the fire. Small quadrupeds, such as ger-
boas and shrew-mice, hurried out of their holes, fall vic-
tims to the kites and falcons; while a rich feast of haif-
broiled snakes and lizards awaits the vultures and the
crows.*

Reptiles. — In the class of Reptiles our notices are scanty,
though the species are numerous. Two kinds of land-tor-
toise occur in the plains, one of which resembles the com-
mon tortoise {Tesludo Grceca); two fresh- water species
{Emys) were found in the Euphrates, and two of the soft
tortoise (^Trionyx). There were observed among ruins
three difierent species of gecko, and the common chame-
leon in woody and sheltered districts. The Saurians of the
plains vary in their character according to their means of
subsistence; they are chiefly Iguamdce, and Lacertimdce
and not unfrequently Ophidia. Wherever rock, clay, or
sand has the slightest tendency to vegetation, there insects

* Ainsworth, p. 137. A similar practice, namely, that of firing- tlie
grass and brushwood, exists in many parts of South America, and is in-
teresting- as showing the different dispositions of the Raptorial birds,
which assemble on these occasions under very peculiar circumstances.
A curious account of several occurrences of this kind will be found in INI.
Alt'ide D. D'Orbigny'si '* Voyage dans I'Aineriqtie meridionale."

324 NATURAL HISTORY.

multiply, and lizards make their appearance. The funda-
mental forms which prevail on the plains are those with
large heads and bodies, the skin being lubricated, and, by-
means of a secretion, well defended from the burning sun.
Lizards of a long slender form and smooth do not prosper
on arid and sferil spots. Agama appear at intervals over
extensive tracts of country, and furnish nourishment to va-
rious mammifera and birds. It appears that the numerous
large and non- venomous serpents which frequent the plains
feed upon these lizards ; vipers confine themselves to the
Rodentia. The snakes in the neighbourhood of Solymaneah
are reported by Mr. Rich to be numerous, large, and also
very venomous.

On the more fertile and productive banks of the Euphra-
tes, gigantic species of Ameiva are common, and are met
Avith in the adjacent plains and among ruins. A specimen
captured at Balis was, including the tail, two feet six inch-
es in length. It is still uncertain whether a crocodile fre-
quents the Upper Euphrates. The frog-like family, Ba-
trachia, which furnish many species in the rivulets of the
upper districts, are unknown in the plains, and on the lower
Euphrates and Tigris. An observation by Mr. Rich on an
animal of this group, evidently one of the tree-frogs, is too
curious to be omitted. " There is a green frog in Kurdis-
tan which climbs trees, and catches flies and locusts like
a cat, by striking out with its fore paw. I have often seen
it perform this feat. It is in every respect like the common
frog, but is of an apple-green colour and smooth skin. I
have seen them roosting in bushes at night."*

Fishes. — Among the fish which have been observed are
the Aleppo eel, described by Gronovius, and designated by
Dr. Solander and Sir E. Home Ophidium mashacambelus ;
two siluri; the bearded roach {Cobitis barbatula); and the
barbel {Barbusvulgaris)ihe most common fish of the Upper
Euphrates and of the pond Djami Ibrahim, near Orfa. The
chub {Cyprinus ccphalus, Linn.) and several binnies were
seen; also eels, carp, and loach. The celebrated Shar-
muth or blackfish (^Siluris a7iguillaris of Hasselq. and
Linn.), of so much value as an article of food in Egypt
and Syria, likewise occurs : it belongs to the modern genus
MacropteroTwtus, Trout are common in Taurus and Kur-
distan.

* Rich's Nariative, vol. i., p. 173.

ZOOLOGY. ^ 325

The extensive mudbanks of the Shut el Arab furnish
a peculiar form of that tribe of acanlhi-pterygoid fish to
which the labyrinth form of the gills gives the property of
living out of water. In this species, increased powers of
locomotion are moreover conferred by a peculiarity in the
arrangement of the gill-cover, by which three of its portions
are united to form an osseous plate, which is connected
with the thoracic fm, and so forms a kind of fin or arm.
This, it is supposed, promotes an important natural pro-
cess mentioned by Mr. Ainsworth in the following terms:
*' The mudbanks, which are left bare by the ebbing tide,
come ne:?ct in succession to the sedges, and are the abode
of a species of goby, which, by burrowing in the ground
after their fashion, prepare it for the reception of plants,
and in this manner are always performing an important
part in the great effects which are ultimately produced by
an all-wise Providence from apparently small causes.
These fish lie in myriads upon the banks ; they delight
to bask in the most powerful sun of summer, and move
with great agility on the approach of birds."

Insects. — Viewed in relation to its insect productions, this
country has been regarded as constituting, conjointly with
Persia, Cabul, and Afghanistan, a distinct entomological
legion. The propriety of so considering it has, however,
been assumed rather from its position and geographical
features than from an actual acquaintance wath its insects.
In fact, there are few districts in Asia respecting which
we possess such scanty information in this branch of zool-
ogy. No entomologist of note, as far as we know, with the
exception of Dr. Heifer, already named, has visited it since
the time of Olivier, whose stay was very brief, his princi-
pal object being to investigate the natural history of Persia.
There can be little doubt, however, that it approximates
closely to the latter country in all its more important ento-
mological features ; and it may therefore be described gen-
erally as partaking of a European as well as an Asiatic
character. In the more southern quarters, it doubtless pos-
sesses many species in common with the Mediterranean
region; while its sandy tracts and alluvial deposites are
likely to produce a certain proportion of those species which
occur in Egypt and along the northern coasts of Africa.
We know from the investigations of Forskal, and the more
recent work of Hemprich and Ehrenberg, that the Co^

Ee

326 NATURAL HISTORY.

leoptera and Lepidoptera of the adjoining Arabian peninsula,
viewed at large, differ only specifically from those of the
Mediterranean region, and that the greater part are also
found in Egypt, Nubia, and Abyssinia. It may, perhaps,
upon the whole, be not far from the truth to affirm, that
throughout the southern parts of the country, nearly the
same genera prevail as in Arabia, Persia, and on the east-
ern shores of the Mediterranean, but that the species are in
most instances distinct. The northern division, however,
from its comparatively elevated character, possesses a very
different entomological fauna. It is nearly related to that
of the Caucasus, which is remarkable for producing many
fine species of CarabidcB, a tribe which seems to have its
principal seat in the mountainous districts of Western
Asia.* Not a few European and even British forms, such
as Papilio machaon, Parnassius Apollo, Pieris brassicce, and
Limenitis aceris, are well known to occur in the Himalayan
range ; and it is very probable that they likewise exist on
the Taurus and its subordinate branches, as a kind of inter-
mediate locality.

Dr. Heifer had made a considerable collection, more
particularly on the Euphrates, the publication of which
was anxiously expected by entomologists.t In the mean
while we present the following short summary, which ap-
pears in Mr. Ainsworth's work. The most characteristic
groups during the dry months are Truxales, Locvstce, and
Acridium ; some striped Lepidoptera, chiefly of the genus
Maniola, also still flutter about. Four species of Pimelia
occur in the most arid spots, two of which are very com-
mon. After the rains, 200 Coleoptera were obtained, among
which many genera, supposed to be exclusively proper to
the temperate and northern parts of Europe, or which have
only a few representatives in a southern region, occur.
Such are the Brachyletrous beetles, of which forty species
were found, and five of Pselaphon, the t3^pe of which is
considered Swedish. Dr. Hope had questioned whether
there were a true Carabus on these plains ; but Dr. Heifer

+ See Men^tie's Catalog-ue des objets d'histoire naturelle, recueillis
dans un voyage fait au Caucase, &c., and the Bulletin de la Soc. des Nat.
de Moscoii.

t We regret to learn that this accomplished naturalist, having incau-
tiously exposed himself on the Andaman islands, Bay of Bengal, was cut
off by the savage inhabitants on the last day of January, 1840. See Asj
atic Journal, vol xxxii., May to August, 1840, p. 152.

ZOOLOGY. 327

found the C Heinprickii one of the most common insects
there. Mdasonice and PlmdiarUe are very numerous. I'he
Ciirculioiiides furnished sixty species; Coccinellcc were in
abmidance ; Cryspnicllnce^ rare ; the Lanieilicomcs also fur-
nished a bad harvest. Aphodi were particularly common,
in certain seasons in flights like locusts. The prevailing
types during spring are the Heteromera, and among these,
especially, Plmdlaria:*

A lew cursory remarks were made by Mr. Rich in his
travels through the eastern parts of the country, which may
here be introduced. When describing his house at Soly-
maneah, he says, " In the divan khaneh (that part of the
house where the master sees his visiters, and the men-ser-
vants reside) is a large hall, supported by posts, and al-
most dark : this is said to be a cool retreat in summer ; but
much annoyance arises from scorpions, which are said to
be numerous, large, and venomous. Centipedes are also
found here, but, I believe, are not much dreaded." In an-
other place he remarks that a great quantity of honey of
the finest quality is produced in Kurdistan, the bees being
kept in hives of mud. Moschetoes and fleas, however, ev-
idently attracted the largest share of this gentleman's at-
tention. He talks of the latter as a terrible nuisance all
over the East. Again, when courting repose at Solyman-
eah, swarms of sandflies soon demonstrated the folly of the
attempt, "and our beds," he states, "were drawn into the ta-
lar; here our success was no better, and we vv^ere kept
awake by these Kurdistan tormentors." In allusion to the
Tigris, near Bagdad, he says, " The swarms of mosche-
toes are incredible ; they literally filled the air, though
there was a good strong breeze from the northwest, and the
wind was cold. It was impossible to obtain the slightest
rest for a moment."t

If we are to give credit to Keferstein, the Cossus of the
Greeks and Romans, which was regarded as a great luxu-
ry, was the larva of a large species of weevil (^Calandra)^
and was brought from Persia and Mesopotamia to supply
the tables of the rich. However this may be, we knov/
that a large species of the same genus {C. palmarum) is in
great request in Brazil, of which country it is a native, as
an article of food.

* Ainsworth's Researches, p. 47.

t Rich's Narrative, vol. i., p. 84-86, 142 ; vol. ii., p, 167.

INDEX

A.

Abbassides, p. 230.

Abulfeda's account of Babylonian
canals, 30, 32. Marshes and lakes,
35, 36.

Accad, ancient city of, 99, 129.

Ainsworth's account of the Babylo-
nian canals, 30, 34. Marshes,
25, 36. His geological observa-
ioQs, 96-98. See also Geology
of Assyria and Mesopotamia.

Akkerkoof, an ancient Babylonian
ruin, 99, 128, 129.

Ak-su, River, 28.

Aleppo, pachalic of, 22.

Alexander the Great, 31, 70, 72,
124.

Al Heimar, mound of, 116, 118, 122,
123.

All UUahis, sect of, 229, 289.

Al Jeudi, mountains of, 199.

Al Kosh, town of, 150.

Alp Arslan, a Seljuk monarch, 235.

Altun Kupri, town of, 28, 210.

Amadieh, pachalic and pacha of,
219.

Amrak, hill of, 111,117, 120.

Anah, town of, 27.

Aneiza Arabs, a powerful tribe, 23,
247,266.

Angora goat, 316.

Antony, Marc, 178 ; invades the
Parthian Empire, 178-180.

Arab bravado, 253. Arab hospital-
ity, 254, 255.

Arabs, various tribes of, 22, 23, 260.
Their religion, 261. Character,
261, 262. See Religion, and El-
liot's Sketches.

Arbaces and Belesis, their revolt,
and capture of Nineveh, 52, 53, 61.

Arbela, battle of, 18, 168, 210.

Arghana, copper mines of, 24, 27,
293.

Asshur, founder of the Assyrian
kingdom, 41, 54, 74.

Assyria, boundaries of, 19. Its an-

E

cient and modern divisions, 20-
25. Formed the ninth satrapy of
Darius, 20, 29. Pi^esent condi-
tion of, 207-229. Town of Seit,
207, 208. Jezirah ibn Omar, 209.
Arbile, the celebrated Arbela,

210. Altun Kupri, z6. Kirkook,

211. Kufri, zZ>. Aspect of Low-
er Assyria, 212-214. Pachalic
and town of Solymaneah, 214-
218. Rewandooz and Amadieh,
218-223. Antiquities at Shahra-
ban, 223. The Zendan, ib. Pa-
chalic and town of Zohab, 226-
229.

Assyrian monarchy, history of, 37-
60. Uncertainty of the early
chronology, 37. Errors of, and
discrepancy of opinion between,
various authors, 37-39. Mode of
notation adopted, 39. Sources
of information — Sacred Writ-
Greek historians, ih. Herodotus,
ib. Ctesias, ib. Commencement
of the empire according to each,
40. Syncellus and Polyhistor, ib.
Scriptural account, 41. List of
kings to the fall of Babylon, 42-
45. Claims of Ctesias to credit
discussed, 45. His account of the
Assyrian monarchy, 46, 47. Ni-
nus, ib. Semiramis, 47-51. INin-
yas, 51. Thonos Concolerus : his
identity with Sardanapalus, 52.
Errors of Ctesias, 52-54. Histo-
ry of the monarchy according to
Scripture and Ptolemy's Canon,
54-60. Asshur its founder, 54.
Pul— Tiglath-Pileser, Shalmane-
ser, 55. Sennacherib, ib. Esar-
haddon supposed to be Sardana-
palus, 56. Saosducheus suppo-
sed to be Nabuchodonosor, 57.
Fall of Nineveh and of the eiu-
pire, 58-60.

Assyrians, origin of, 74. Govern-
ment, 75. Religion, 75, 87, 88.

e2

330

INDEX.

Astronomical knowledge of the an-
cient Chaldees, 89, 90.
Athem, River, 33.

B.

Babel Mountains, 24, 294.

Babel, tower and city of, 79, 89, 96,
97, 98.

Babylon, ancient, 18. Taken by
Cyrus, 69-71. Fulfilment of the
prophecies concerning, 70, 71.
Its gradual decay, 71. Its de-
struction by Darius, ib. By
Xerxes, 72. By Seleucus, 72, 73.
Accounts of its desolation by va-
rious authors, 73. The Chalde-
ans the dominant people, 84, 85.
Its vast ruins, 95. Discussions
regarding its site, 95, 96, 98. De-
scription of, 101. Its extent, ib.
Height and structure of its wails,
ib. Streets, ib. Intersected by
the Euphrates, 102. New palace
and hanging gardens, 102, 103.
Temple of Belus, 103, 104. Oth-
er gigantic works, 104. Canals,
ib. Artificial lake, 104, 105. Pop-
ulation, 105. Space occupied by
buildings, ib. Scriptural denun-
ciations against, 106. Allusions
to the ruins by ancient authors,
107, 108. Described by Niebuhr
and Beauchamp, 108. By Oli-
vier, 108, 109. By Rich, 109-116.
Principal mounds described, 110,
111. Hill of Amran, 111. El-
kasr, 111-113. Mujelibe, 113,
114. BirsNimrod, 114-116. Oth-
er ruins, 116. Buckingham's ac-
count of the ruins, 116-119. Sir
Robert Ker Porter's description
of the same ruins, 119-121. Dif-
ficulty of reconciling the position
of these ruins with ancient histo-
ry, 121-125. Ains worth's sug-
gestion of a change of names for
the ruins, 125, 126. Vitrified
masses, 126, 127. Much room
for investigation respecting these
ruins, 127.

Babylonia, ancient, 20, 24. Its fer-
tility, 29. Canals and system of
irrigation, 29-33. Marshes, 35.
Antiquities of, 94, 95. Vestiges
of former greatness everywhere

abundant, 95. Ruins of the cap-
ital, ib. Discussions regarding
the identity of site of ancient Ba-
bel and Babylon, 95, 96. Mr.
Beke's speculations, 96, 97. Ains-
worth's geological observations,
96-98. Akkerkoof and other ru-
ins, 128-141. Teredon, 130.
Workha, 131. Sunkhera, ib.
Iskhuriah, 132. Zibliyeh, 135.
Other ruins, ib. Seleucia and
Ctesiphon, 135, 136. Site of
Opis, 136. Median wall, 137.
Sittace, 138. Samarra, ib. Te-
creet and Ilatra, 139-141. Felu-
gia, 141.

Babylonia, modern, 230-259. Bag-
dad, 230-247. Sketch of a march
in, 248-259. Camp of the Zobeid
sheik, 249-252. Arab bravado
and hospitality, 253-255. Madan
Arabs, 255, 256. Montefic Arabs,
256-258. Interview v/ith their
chief, 258, 259.

Babylonian empire, its rise and fall,
60-74. The only authentic rec-
ord contained in Holy Writ, 60.
Ptolemy's Canon affords the only
true chronology, 61. Nabonas-
sar, ib. Merodach Baladan, ib.
Esarhadd(m, the warlike king of
Assyria, 02. Nabopolassar, his
power, ib. Nebuchadnezzar, ib.
He carries the Jews into captivi-
ty, ib. Plumbles Pharaoh Necho,
ib. His dreams, 63. Evil Mer-
odach, the Belshazzar of Daniel,
66-68. Neriglissar, 68. Labo-
rosoarchod, ib. Nabonadius, ib.
Nitocris, ib. Finally subverted
by Cyrus, 69, 70. See Babylon,
ancient.

Babylonian kings, lists of, 42-45.

Babylonians, government of, 76.
Names of their monarchs, ib.
Officers and functionaries, ib.
Their titles, ib. Royal establish-
ment, ib. Laws, 77. Religion,
ib. Mythology, 87, 88. Manners
and customs, 88. Learning and
science, 89-91. Manufactures,
91. Commerce, 91-94.

Bagdad, city of, 70, 230. Its origin
and history, 230-234. W^alls and
gates, 234. Mosques and shrines,

INDEX.

331

234, 235. The Ti^'s, 236, 237.
Bazars, 238, 239, 246. Bucking-
ham's sketch of the city, 239-242.
Population, 242, 245, 246. Plague
in 1831, its rapid progress and
great mortality, 243-245. Slaves,
246. Battle within the walls,
247.

Bagdad, pachalic of, 22.

Bedouins, 26, 95, 137, 270.

Beke's " Origines Biblicoe," 40, 75,
83, 84, 96.

Belshazzar, king of Babylon. See
Evil Merodach.

Belus, temple of, 72, 103, 104, 124.

Beni Lara Arabs, 23, 262, 265.

Beni Saeed Arabs, 266, 267.

Betlis, 27.

Bir, city of, 27, 189, 190, 298.

Birs Nimrod, an ancient Babylonish
rain, 114, 116, 118, 119,120,122,
123, 126.

Borsippa, ancient city of, 123, 124.

Botany of Assyria and Mesopota-
mia, 306-315. First or mountain
district, 306. Forest trees, 307.
Cultivated plants, 308, 309. Sec-
ond district, 309. Plains of As-
syria, 309, 310. Spring and
summer flowers, 311. Common
plants, lb. Potherbs, fruits, and
cultivated plants, 312, Vegeta-
bles, 312, 313. Third district,
313. Succulent plants, grasses,
and sedges, 314. Babylonian wil-
low, lb. Vegetation at the ex-
treme limits of the alluvial soil,
ib. Mariscus elongatus, 314, 315.

Brant, Mr., his account of Diarbe-
kir, 198.

Buckingham's account of Babyloni-
an ruins, 116-119, 122. His trav-
els in Mesopotamia and Assyria,
1 89-20 1 . His sketch of Bagdad,
239-242.

Eumadus,"River, 28, 148, 149.

Bussora, 27.

C.

Calah, ancient town of, 228.

Cahieh, ancient city of, 98, 99. 100.

Canals, ancient, 29-33, 104. Mod-
ern, 34, 35.

Carduchi, a people of Mesopotamia,
22.

Carchemish, city of, 62.

Chaab Arabs, 23.

Chaldea, ancient, 21 . See Babylon.

Chaldean marshes, 35.

Chaldeans, opinions regarding their
origin, 77, 78, 80. Their migra-
tions, 80, 81. Theory of the
progress of their religion, and of
the dispersion of mankind after
the flood, 78-82. Remarks ou
Faber's tiicory, 83. Mr. Beke's
theory, ib. Supported by coin-
cidence of ancient and modern
names, ib. Bochart's opinion, 84.
The dominant people in ancient
Babylon, ib. Origin and progress
of their religion, 85. Their cos-
mogony and doctrines according
to Berosus, 85, 86. Similarity
with the Sciiptural account of the
Noachic deluge, 86, 87. Their
mythology, 87, 88. Learning and
science, 89. Astronomy and as-
trology, 89, 90. Mathematics and
music, 90, 91. Skill in working
metals and gems, 91.

Chalonitis, a district of Assyria, 22,
100.

Charrg), ancient city of, 173, 181,
193.

Chesnev, Colonel, his description
of the Euphrates, 25, 27, 123.

Christianity, its early progress in
the East, 279, 280.

Chyniladan, king of Assyria and
Babylon, 57, 58.

Circesium, ancient city of, 21.

Commerce of ancient Babylon, 91-
94.

Crassus. See Mesopotamia and
Assyria, history of.

Ctesias the historian, his system
of notation, 39. His claims to
credit discussed, 45-54.

Ctesiphon, ancient city of, 99, 100,
135. Taken by the Mohammed-
ans, 188.

Cunaxa, battle of, 18, 30, 158-160.
Site of the town, 161.

Cyaxares the Mede and Nabopolas-
sar the Babylonian take Nineveh,
58-60.

Cyrus the Great, 67, 69, 70.

Cyrus the Younger, 156. His do
feat and death, 158-160.

332

INDEX

Daniel, the prophet, 03, 60, 70, 76.
Darius, king, 71, 72, 106.
Delaim Arabs, 23.
Diala, River, 28, 33, 226.
Diarbekir, district of, 22. City of,

196, 197. Its population, 197,

198.
Dijeil Canal, 35.
E

Edessa, ancient city of, 21. See
Orfa.

Elliot, Mr,, his sketches of the
Arabs on the banks of the Eu-
phrates, 265-278. Beni Saeed,
266, 267. Kurds, 267. Their
mode of decamping and encamp-
ing, 269, 270. Their manners
and character, 271-273. Selim
Aga, 273, 274. Roostum Aga,
274-276. National character of
the Kurds, 276, 277.

Erbile (Arbela), 210.

Erech, ancient city of, 98, 99.

Erzen, River, 27.

Erzeroum, 25, 93.

Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, 56.
He reduces Babylon, to which he
carries Manasseh, king of Judah,
captive, 57, 62.

Euphrates, River, 25-27. Its navi-
gation, 25. Scenery and places
along its banks, 25, 26. Its peri-
odical inundations, 26, 27. Mag-
nitude, ih. Its division into two
streams, 31. Canals connected
with, 29-35. A branch of it in-
tersected Babylon, 102. Changes
in its course, 123. Geological
formation of the valley of, 300-
306.

Evil Merodach, 57. Considered the
Belshazzar of Daniel, 66, 67.

F.

Faber's account of the ancient Chal-
deans, 78-82. Remarks on his
theory, 83.

Feilee Arabs, 23.

Felugia, ruins of, 141.

Fishes of Assyria and Mesopotamia,
324, 325.

Forbes, Mr., his journey from Mo-
sul to the Sinjar Hills, 202-206.

a

Geology of Assyria and Mesopota-
mia, 292-306. First district, pri-
mary rock, 292. Kebban lead
and silver mines, 293. Copper
mines of Arghana, ih. Carbona-
ceous marls and sandstone, 293,
294. Second district, formations
between Orfa and Mosul, 294-
296. Plutonic rocks, 295. Lime-
stone deposites, ih. Marble, 297.
Sulphur springs and mines, ih.
Hills of Kurdistan, 298. Hill of
Flames, 299. Kufri and Hamrine
HiUs, ih. Valley of the Euphra-
tes, 300-306. Formations, 300,

301. Hills of denudation, 301.
Sandhills, ih. Naphtha springs,

302, 303. Third district, its lim-
its, 304. Moving sandhills, ih.
Salt efflorescences, 305. Marsh-
es, ih. Water-country, 305, 306.

Gerrha, town of, 92.
Gordyaean Mountains, 22, 23.

H.

Hales, Dr., his chronology of the

Ass3T'ian monarchy, 37, 38.
Hamrine Mountains, 24, 212, 295.

Geology of, 299.
Haran, identical with the Charra

of the Romans, 193, 283.
Hatra, ancient ruins of, 139-141.
Heraclius, Emperor, his triumphani

expeditions, 186-188.
Hermas or Huali, River, 28.
Herodotus, his description of the

boundaries of Assyria, 20, 29.

His account of Nitocris, 69. Of

the taking of Babylon, ib. Of the

city, 101, 102, 124. Of the canals,

104, 105.
Hillah, town of, 25, 26, 32.
Hit, town of, 25, 26, 302.
Holofernes, general of Nabuchodo-

nosor, his defeat and death, 57, 58.
Hulwan, River, ruins near, 228.

I.

India, trade of ancient Babvloa
with, 93, 94.

Insects of Assyria and Mesopotamia,
325-327.

Irak-Arabi, its fertility, 23. Ves-
tiges of Its former greatness, 95.

INDEX.

333

Irrigation, system of artificial, in
ancient Babylon, 29, 34.

Isklmriah, ancient mounds and ru-
ins, 132.

J.

Jacobite Christians, 147, 149.

Schism, 280, 281.
Jerbah Arabs, 23.
Jewar, mountains of, 24, 222.
Jezirah, district of, 22. Town of,

209.
Jezirah ul Omar, town of, 27.
Jonah the prophet sent to the King

of Nineveh, 41, 53, 54.
Julian's expedition to the East, 181.

His death, and disastrous retreat

of his army, 183-185.

K.

Kadesia, on the Tigris, ruins of,

139.
Karkisia, the ancient Circesium,

28.
Kasr^ an ancient ruin. 111, 120, 125.
Kerbelah, city of, 248.
Kerrend, pass of, 19.
Khabour, River, the ancient Cha-

boras, 27, 28, 206.
Khatuniyah, Lake of, 206.
Khezail Arabs, 23.
Khoosroo Purveez, his victorious

career, 185, 186. Opposed by

rieraclius, 186, 187. His death,

188.
Kirkook, town of, 211.
Korna, town of, 27, 28, 36.
Kufri Hills, geology of, 299.
Kufri, town of, 211.
Kurdistan, mountains of, 24, 298.
Kurds, 22, 267-278. See Elliot,

Mr., his sketches of the Arabs on

the Euphrates.

L.

Lake, artificial, in Babylonia, 104,

105.
Lemlum Marshes, 23, 35, 305.

M.

Madan Arabs, 255, 256. Their

houses and flocks of buffaloes,

256.
Manasseh, king of Judah, carried in

chains to Babylon, 62.

]Manic:ha"-dns, their history and doc-
trines, 2b4, 285.

Manufactures of the ancient Baby-
lonians, 91.

Mardm, town of, 193-196.

Marshes of ancient Babvlonia, 35.

Masius, Mount, 21, 24, 27.

Median Wall, joining the Euphrates
and the Tigris, 21, 136, 137.

Mediyad, plain of, 208.

Merodach Baladan, king of Babylon,
41, 60, 61.

Mesopotamia and Assyria, interest
attached to their early history,
17. Ancient boundaries and di-
visions, 19-22. Modern divisions,
22. Inhabitants, ib. Soil and
climate, 23, 24. Mountain-ranges,
24. Rivers, 24-28.

Mesopotamia and Assyria, subse-
quent history of, 1^-176. Ar-
taxerxes and Cyrus7l567 Battle
of Cunaxa and death of Cyrus,
156-160. Retreat of the Ten
Thousand Greeks, 161-168. Bat-
tie of Arbela, 168. The Seleuci-
dsR, ib. ArsacidiE, ib. Expedi-
tions of Crassus, 168, 169 ; who
is attacked by Surenas, 170-173.
Death of Crassus and destruction
of his army, 175. Reflections on
the conduct of Xenophon and
Crassus, 175, 176. Parthians
overrun the country, 177, 178.
Invaded by Antony, 178-180.
Successes of Augustus Cssar,
180. Andof Trajan, i6. Julian's
expedition, 181-184. Jovian's
retreat, 184, 185. Invasion of the
Huns, 185. Nooshirwan's career
checked by Belisarius, ib. Inva-
sions of Khoosroo Purveez arrest-
ed by Heraclius, 185-188.

Mesopotamia, present state of, 189-
206. Account of Bir, 189, 190.
Orfa, 190-192. Haran, 193. Mar
din, 194-196. Diarbekir, 196-
198. Nisibin, 199. Mosul, 200-
202. Description of the Sinjar
district, 202-206.

Mesopotamia and Assyria, religion,
character, manners, and customs
of the inhabitants of, 260-290.
Variety of races, 260, 261 A Tabs',
their religion, ohaiactei, and

334

INDEX.

Mr. Elliot's
Sketches of the Arabs on the Eu-
plirates, 266-278. Christian pop-
ulation, 278. Nestorians, Sabie-
ans, and other sects, 278-290.
>Montefic Arabs, 32, 256. Their
reed huts, 257. Their town, ib.
Interview with the sheik, 258,
259. Their blood-feuds, 262.

Mosul, city of, 200. Its population,
201. Trade, ib. Climate, ib.
Geology, 297. See Nineveh, an-
cient.

Mujelibe, an ancient Babylonish
riiin, 110, 113, 114, 117, 120,125.

N.
Nabonassar, king- of Babylon, 41,

45,61.
Nabopolassar, in alliance with Cy-

axares, overthrows Nineveh, 58-

60. Removes the seat of empire

to Babylon, 62.
Nabuchodonosor, king- of Babylon,

57, 58.

Nahrawan Canal, 33, 36, 139. Its
magnitude, 33.

Nahr xMalikah Canal, 30, 182.

Nahr Sares Canal, 30.

Naphtha sprins:s on the Euphrates,
302, 303. On the Tigris, 303.

Natural History of Assyria and Me-
sopotamia, 290-327. See Geolo-
gy, Botany, Zoolog-y.

Nebuchadnezzar, king- of Babylon,

58, 62. Overruns Syria and car-
ries the Jews into captivity, 62,
64. Humbles Pharaoh Necho,
62. His dreams, 63, 64. Divine
predictions, 65. His humiliation,
repentance, and death, 65, 66.
Hang-ing- gardens of Babylon
erected by, 102.

NejefFAli, city of, 247.
NejefF, Lake or Sea of, 31, 32.
Neriglissar, king- of Babylon, 67,

68.
Nestorians, 207, 222, 223. Various

sects of, 279-282.
Nimrod, founder of the Babylonian

kingdom, 18, 41, 79, 80, 98-100.
Nineveh, ancient, 18, 19. Is taken

by Arbaces and Belesis, 52, 53.

Its destruction by Cyaxares and

Nabopolassar, 58-60. City and

its emnrons, 142-155. A_ccount
of, by Diodorus, 143. Mentioned
by Herodotus, ib. By the proph-
ets Jonah and Nahum, ib. Rlr.
Rich's account of its ruins, 143-
146 ; his voyage down the Tigris
— ancient sites on the banks, 146 ;
his visit to numerous ruins and
remarkable objects in the neigh-
bourhood of Mosul, 147-155.

Ninus, king of Assyria, 45-48.

Ninyas succeeded Semiramis on the
throne of Assyria, 48-51.

Niphates Mountains, 27. Geology
of, 292.

Nisibin, modern town of, 199,

Nisibis, ancient city of, 21, 185.

Nitocris, queen of Babylon, 66, 68.

Nooshirwan, his exploits, 185.
Checked by BeHsarius, ib.

O.

Opis, ancient city of, 13G, 137, 162.

Orfa, city of, 180, 190-193, 296.
Population, 192. Manufactures,
ib. Identity with ancient Ur,
193.

P.

Pacoras defeated by Ventidius, 178-

Pallacopas, ancient canal of, 31, 32>
306.

Parthian Empire invaded bv Anto-
ny, 178-180.

Parthians overrun Mesopotamia
• and Assyria, 177. Are defeated
by Ventidius, 178. Their wars
with the Romans, 177-185.

Perisabor, town of, 182.

Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, 62.

Porter, Sir R. K., his description of
Babylonian rums, 119-121, 123.

Ptolemy's divisions of Assyria, 20.
His account of ancient canals, 30.
His canon, 41, 61. Affords the
only true chronology of the Baby-
lonian empire, 61.

Pul, king of Assyria, 54, 55, 87,
100.

R.

Ragau, battle of, 57.

Rawlinson, Major, remarks on an«

cient ruins by, 227, 228.
Religion of theiuliabitants of mod'

INDEX,

335

ern Mesopotamia and Assyria,
278-290. Christian population,

278. Nestorians, Chaldeans, or
Syrians, 278-282. Early prog--
ress of Christianity in the East,

279. ' Nestorian heresy, 279, 280.
Jacobite schism, 280. Armenians
and Roman Catholics, 281. Sa-
baans, 282-284. Manichaeans,
284, 283. Yezidees, -285-289.
Ah Ullahis, 289.

RenncU's illustrations of the expe-
dition of Cyrus, 156, 157, 168.

Rewandooz, state and cliief of, 218-
222.

Rich's memoir on the ruins of Baby-
lon, 98, 109-116. Description of
the ruins of Nineveh, and resi-
dence in Kurdistan, 143-155, 218,
223-226. His account of the
Yezidees, 285, 286.

Roomyah, marshes of, 31, 35.

Roostum Ag-a, a Kurdish chief,
274-276.

Ross, Dr., his journey- to Samarra,
and account of ancient ruins, 136,
137, 139,210,218,219,221.

Roumkala, geology of, 295.

Russell, Dr., his chronology of the
Assyrian monarchy, 38, 39, 40,
46.

s:

Sabaeans, their origin and tenets,
282-284.

Samarra, ruins of, 136, 138.

Samosata, town of, 295.

Saosducheus, king of Assyria and
Babylon, 57.

Sarac, supposed Sardanapalus, last
Assyrian monarch, 58.

Sardanapalus, king of Assyria, 52,
53, 58, 62.

Scenite Arabs, 21, 92.

Scriptural account of the Assyrian
inonarchy, 41, 46, 54-56. Scrip-
tural denunciations against Baby-
lon, 70, 106.

Seleucia, city of, 73, 135.

Selim Aga, a Kurdish chief, 273,
274.

Seljuk dynasty, 233.

Semiramis, the celebrated queen of
Assyria, 47-50, 61, 02.

Ssiixiacherib, king" of Assyria, in-

vades Judea, 55, 56. Destruction

of his army, 56.
Sert, town of, 207, 208.
Shahraban, antiquities near, 223.
Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, 55.
Shapoor, exploits of, 180, "181, 184.
Sheil, Colonel, his journey to Jezi-

rah ibn Omar, 207-210.
Shinar, plains of, 17, 96, 98.
Shut el Arab, River, 28.
Shut el Hye, valley and river, 35^

Sinjar, mountain-ranges of, 24, 97,

198, 395. District of, described,

202-206.
Sittace, ancient tov/n of, 138, 161.
Solymaneah, pachaiic and town of,

214-218.
Sook el Shiook, town of, 257.
Southgate Mr., his notice of Mosul,

202.
Strabo's divisions of Assyria, 20.

His boundaries, 21. Account of

Seleucia, 73.
Susiana, marshes of, 33, 36.
Syrian Christians, 278.

T.

Tamerlane, 233, 234.

Taurus, mountain-range of, 21, 24.
Geology of, 292.

Tecreet, town of, 139.

Teredon, ancient city of, 92, 130.

Thapsacus, ancient town of, on tha
Euphrates, 21, 156, 157.

Thonos Concolerus or Sardanapa-
lus, loses his throne and his life
by Arbaces and Belesis, 52, 53.

Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, 55.

Tigris, River, 27. Its tributaries,
ih. Cg,nals connected with, 33.
Junction with the Euphrates, 27.
Scenery on its banks, 237. Boats
navigating, 237, 238.

Trajan overruns Mesopotamia and
Assyria, 180.

U.

Umgeyer, ancient Babylonian re-
mains, 129, 130.
TJr of the Chaldees, 83, 84, 193.

W.

Waasut, town of, 35, 36, 1 36.
Workha, ruiu-s of, 33, 130, 131

336

INDEX.

Xenophon's account of the retreat
of the Ten Thousand Greeks,
156-168.

Xerxes destroys the Temple of Be-
lus, 72, 104.

Y.

Yezidee villages, 209.

Yezidees, 147, 148, 150, 202-205.
Supposed orig-in of, 285, 286. Ac-
count of their tenets, 286. Tribes
of, 287. Legends of their sects,
287-289.

Z.

Zab, ^eater and lesser, rivers, 82,

209, 210.
Zagros, Mount, 19.
Zendan» an interesting ruin, 223,

224.
Zeugma, on the Euphrates, 169,

173.
Zibliyeh, ancient mounds and ruins,

135.
Zinghis Khan, 233.
Zobeid sheik, his camp, 249. His

tent and entertainment, 249-252.
His expenditure, 252.

Zohab, pachalic and town of, 226-
229.

Zoology of Assyria and Mesopota-
mia, 315-327. Bears, 315. The
glutton, ib. Panther, 316. Lynx,
wolf, and fox, 316, 317, 318.
Deer, antelope, 316. Angora and
Taurus goat, 316, 317. Bats,
317. Lion and tiger, *6. Hyena,
ib. Domestic cat and dog, 318.
Otter, beaver, and gerboa, ib.
Hare and rabbit, ib. Wild boar,
horse, and ass, 318, 319. Camel,
dromedary, and gazelle, 319.
Sheep, 320. Ornithology, 320-

323. Vulture, eagle, owl, 320.
Blackbird, thrush, nightingale,

321. Lark, sparrow, bee-eater,
ib. Grouse, partridge, pheasant,

322. Ostrich, bustard, pelican,
geese, and duck, 322, 323. Rep-
tiles, 323, 324. Tortoise, lizard,
snake, frog, 323, 324. Fishes,

324, 325. Insects, 325-327.

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