Chapter V: Part 5

The monuments, now called the Elgin marbles, were chiefly obtained from the Erectheum, the Propylæa, and the Parthenon, more especially the last. We must here give room to the observations, vindicative of this proceeding:--"Perhaps one of the most judicious measures of government, with reference to the advancement of the arts in this country, was the purchase of these remains. We may go farther, and add, that the removal of them from Athens, where their destruction was daily going forward, to place them where their merits would be appreciated, and their decay suspended, was not only a justifiable act, but one which deserves the gratitude of England and of the civilised world. The decay of the Athenian monuments may be attributed to various causes. 'Fire and the barbarian' have both done their work. Athens has seen many masters. The Romans were too refined to destroy the monuments of art: but the Goths had a long period of spoliation; and then came the Turks, at once proud and ignorant, despising what they could not understand. The Acropolis became a garrison in their hands, and thus, in 1687, it was bombarded by the Venetians, whose heavy guns were directed against the porticoes and colonnades of the ancient temples. But the Turks still continued to hold their conquests; and the business of demolition went steadily on for another century and a half. Many travellers who visited Athens about a hundred years ago, and even much later, describe monuments of sculpture which now have no existence. The Turks pounded the marble into dust to make lime; one traveller after another continued to remove a fragment. The museums of Egypt were successively adorned with these relics; at last, when, as column after column fell, the remains of Athens were becoming less and less worthy of notice, covered in the dust, or carted away to be broken up for building, Lord Elgin, who had been ambassador at Constantinople in 1799, obtained, in 1801, an authority from the Turkish government, called a firmaun, which eventually enabled the British nation to possess the most valuable of the sculptures of which any portion was left. The authority thus granted empowered Lord Elgin to fix scaffolding around the ancient temple of the Idols 'to mould the ornamental and visible figures thereon in plaster and gypsum;' and, subsequently, 'to take away any pieces of stone with old inscriptions or figures thereon.' For several years the intentions of Lord Elgin were carried into effect at his private risk, and at a cost which is stated to have amounted to 74,000_l_, including the interest of money. In 1816, the entire collection was purchased of Lord Elgin by act of parliament for 35,000_l._ It is unnecessary for us to go into the controversy, whether it was just to remove these relics from their original seats. Had the Greeks been able to preserve them, there can be no doubt of the injustice of such an act. The probability is, that if foreign governments had not done what Lord Elgin did as an individual, there would not have been a fragment left at this day to exhibit the grandeur of the Grecian art as practised by Phidias. The British nation, by the purchase of these monuments, has secured a possession of inestimable value[86]."

From these observations, it would appear that the spoliation of the Parthenon may be vindicated on the ground, that neither the Turks nor the citizens cared any thing about them, and that if they had not been taken away, they would, in a short time, have been destroyed. Respectable testimony, however, is opposed to this: most travellers have inveighed against the spoliation; and two, highly qualified, have given a very different account from what the above statement implies. These are Dr. Clarke and Mr. Dodwell. We shall select the testimony of the latter in preference to that of Dr. Clarke, only because he was at Athens at the very time in which the spoliation was going on. "During my first tour to Greece," says he, "I had the inexpressible mortification of being present when the Parthenon was despoiled of its finest sculpture, and when some of its architectural members were thrown to the ground." * * * "It is, indeed, impossible to suppress the feelings of regret which must arise in the breast of every traveller, who has seen these temples before and since their late dilapidation! Nor have I any hesitation in declaring, that the Athenians in general, nay, even the Turks themselves, did lament the ruin that was committed; and loudly and openly blamed their sovereign for the permission he had granted! I was on the spot at the time, and had an opportunity of observing, and, indeed, of participating, in the sentiment of indignation, which such conduct universally inspired. The whole proceeding was so unpopular in Athens, that it was necessary to pay the labourers more than their usual profits, before any one could be prevailed upon to assist in this work of profanation."

"Such rapacity is a crime against all ages and all generations," says Mr. Eustace; "it deprives the past of the trophies of their genius and the title-deeds of their fame; the present of the strongest inducements to exertion, the noblest exhibitions that curiosity can contemplate; and the future of the master-pieces of art, the models of imitation. To guard against the repetition of such depredations is the wish of every man of genius, the duty of every man in power, and the common interest of every civilised nation."

"That the Elgin marbles will contribute to the improvement of art in England," says Mr. Williams, "cannot be doubted. They must, certainly, open the eyes of the British artists, and prove that the true and only road to simplicity and beauty is the study of nature. But had we a right to diminish the interest of Athens for selfish motives, and prevent successive generations of other nations from seeing those admirable structures? The temple of Minerva was spared as a beacon to the world, to direct it to the knowledge of purity and of taste. What can we say to the disappointed traveller, who is now deprived of the rich satisfaction that would have compensated his travel and his toil? It will be little consolation to him to say, he may find the sculpture of the Parthenon in England[87]."

NO. XVII.--BABYLON.

Babylon and Nineveh appear to have resembled each other, not only in form but in extent and population. Quintus Curtius asserts, that Babylon owed its origin to Semiramis. In the Bible, however, it having been stated, that one of the chief cities of Nimrod was Babel; many authors have given into the idea, that Babylon was built by Nimrod. If we attend strictly to the words of Moses, however, we shall find that to have been an impossible circumstance.

Moses states, that Nimrod had four large cities[88]. Those were Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneth. Nimrod was a descendant of Ham; but the temple of Babel, on the establishment of which depends the origin of Babylon, was built by the descendants of Shem:--at least, we have the right to believe so; for Moses mentions the descendants of Shem last, and then goes on to say:--"The whole earth was of one language and of one speech: and it came to pass, as they journeyed from the East, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there."

When they had dwelt there some time, they said to one another, "Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar." This was the first of the subsequent town. They had not yet aspired to any particular distinction. At length they said to themselves, "Let us build a city and a tower; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." They were interrupted in their design, and "they left off building the city." There is, however, no account of its having been destroyed; nor any in regard to the destruction of the temple. The people, however, were scattered[89].

This city was, subsequently, called Babel; and the temple of Belus being the oldest temple recorded in history, it has been generally supposed, that it was no other than the tower, the family of Shem had endeavoured to build. This, however, is far from being certain; for Josephus, who, in this case is not without his weight, relates that the tower was thrown down by an impetuous wind or violent hurricane; and that it never was rebuilt.

The fact is, that the real origin of Babylon is lost in the depth of history; and all that can be stated, with any degree of certainty, is, that Nineveh and Babylon were founded much about the same time, and that Ninus, Semiramis, Ninyas, and Sardanapalus were sovereigns, though not during their whole lives, of both cities. This appears to us to be the only way in which we can understand the history of the first Assyrian empire.

We have no space to enter into the particular history of this most celebrated of all cities; neither does the plan of our work admit of it: our province only being to record its origin, to describe its ancient state, to give an account of its destruction, and then describe, from the pages of authentic travellers, the ruins which still remain.

Having given some account of its origin, we proceed to describe the height to which it was exalted. "The Assyrians," says Herodotus, "are masters of many capital towns; but their place of greatest strength and fame is Babylon[90]; where, after the destruction of Nineveh, was the royal residence. It is situated on a large plain, and is a perfect square; each side, by every approach is, in length, one hundred and twenty furlongs; the space, therefore, occupied by the whole, is four hundred and eighty furlongs: so extensive is the ground which Babylon occupies. Its internal beauty and magnificence exceeds whatever has come within my knowledge. It is surrounded by a trench, very wide, deep, and full of water; the wall beyond this is two hundred royal cubits high[91], and fifty wide; the royal exceeds the common cubit by three digits[92]." "It will not be foreign to my purpose," continues the historian, "to describe the use to which the earth dug out of the trench was converted, as well as the particular manner in which they constructed the wall. The earth of the trench was first of all laid in heaps, and when a sufficient quantity was obtained, made into square bricks, and baked in a furnace. They used, as cement, a composition of heated bitumen, which, mixed with the tops of reeds, was placed between every thirtieth course of bricks. Having thus lined the sides of the trench, they proceeded to build the wall in a similar manner; on the summit of which, and fronting each other, they erected small watchtowers of one story, leaving a space betwixt them, through which a chariot and four horses might pass and turn. In the circumference of the wall, at different distances, were a hundred massy gates of brass[93], whose hinges and frames were of the same metal. Within eight days' journey from Babylon is a city called Is, near which flows a river of the same name, which empties itself into the Euphrates. With the current of this river, particles of bitumen descend towards Babylon, by means of which its walls are constructed. The great river Euphrates, which, with its deep and rapid streams, rises in the Armenian mountains, and pours itself into the Red Sea[94], divides Babylon into two parts. The walls meet and form an angle at the river at each extremity of the town, where a breast-work of burnt bricks begins, and is continued along each bank. The city, which abounds in houses from three to four stories in height, is regularly divided into streets. Through these, which are parallel, there are transverse avenues to the river opened through the wall and breast-work, and secured by an equal number of little gates of brass."

The historian then proceeds to describe the fortifications and the temple of Belus. "The first wall is regularly fortified; the interior one, though less in substance, is of about equal strength. Besides these, in the centre of each division of the city, there is a circular space surrounded by a wall. In one of these stands the royal palace, which fills a large and strongly-defended place. The temple of Jupiter Belus[95] occupies the other, whose huge gates of brass may still be seen. It is a square building, each side of which is of the length of two furlongs. In the midst, a tower rises of the solid depth and height of one furlong, upon which, resting as a base, seven other turrets are built in regular succession. The ascent is on the outside; which, winding from the ground, is continued to the highest tower; and in the middle of the whole structure there is a convenient resting-place. In the last tower is a large chapel, in which is placed a couch magnificently adorned, and near it a table of solid gold; but there is no statue in the place." Herodotus, however, states, that in another part of the temple there was a statue of Jupiter, in a sitting posture, with a large table before him; and that these, with the base of the table and the seat of the throne, were all of the purest gold, and were estimated in his time, by the Chaldeans, at not less than eight hundred talents.

We may here give place to a passage in a modern poem, highly descriptive of its ancient state.

Those walls, within
Whose large inclosure the rude hind, or guides
His plough, or binds his sheaves, while shepherds guard
Their flocks, scure of ill: on the broad top
Six chariots rattled in extended front.
For there, since Cyrus on the neighbouring plain,
Has marked his camp, th' enclosed Assyrian drives
His foaming steeds, and from the giddy height
Looks down with scorn on all the tents below.
Each side in length, in height, in solid bulk,
Reflects its opposite; a perfect square;
Scarce sixty thousand paces can mete out
The vast circumference. An hundred gates
Of polished brass lead to that central point,
Where through the midst, bridged o'er with wondrous art,
Euphrates leads a navigable stream,
Branch'd from the current of his roaring flood.

DR. ROBERTS, _Judah Restored_.

Thus we find the walls to have extended to a vast circumference--from forty-eight to sixty miles; but we are not to suppose them to have been entirely filled up with houses;[96] but, as in the old city of Moscow, to have been in no small part taken up with gardens and other cultivated lands.

In regard to the size of some ancient Eastern cities, Mr. Franklin has made some very pertinent remarks, in his inquiry concerning the site of the ancient Palibothra:--"For the extent of the city and suburbs of Palibothra, from seventy-five to eighty miles have been assigned by the Puranas; a distance, said to be impossible for the space occupied by a single city. So, indeed, it might, were we to compare the cities of Asia with those of Europe. The idea of lofty houses of brick and stone, consisting of many stories, with a number of inhabitants, like those of London, Paris, Vienna, and many others, must not be compared with the nature of the Asiatic cities. To look in them for regularly-built squares, and spacious and paved streets, would be absurd."

Herodotus gives the extent of the walls of Babylon at one hundred and twenty stades on each side, or four hundred and eighty stades in circumference. Diodorus three hundred and sixty stades in circumference. Clitarchus, who accompanied Alexander, three hundred and sixty-five. Curtius states it at three hundred and sixty-eight; and Strabo at three hundred and eighty-five stades. The general approximation of these measurements would lead us to suppose that the same stade was used by the different reporters; and if this was the Greek itinerary stade, we may estimate the circumference of the great city at twenty-five British miles[97]. "The lines, drawn on maps, are often only used to divide distant mounds of ruin. Accumulations of pottery and brickwork are met with occasionally over a great tract; but the connection, supposed between these and the corn-fields and gardens, within the common precincts of a wall, is gratuitous in the extreme. Imagine London and Paris to be levelled, and the inhabitant of some future city to visit their ruins, as those of then remote antiquity; if, in the one instance, Sèvres, Mont Rouge, and Vincennes, or, in the other, Greenwich, Stratford-le-Bow, Tottenham, Highgate, Hammersmith, Richmond, and Clapham, be taken in as boundaries, or identified respectively as the ruins of Paris and London, what a prodigious extent would those cities gain in the eyes of futurity[98]!"

Babylon, as we have already stated, stood upon the Euphrates, as Nineveh did upon the Tigris. A branch of it ran entirely through the city from north to south; and on each side was a quay, walled towards the river, of the same thickness as the city walls. In these, also, were gates of brass, from which persons descended to the water by steps; whence, for a long time, they crossed to the other side in boats; that is, until the building of a bridge. These gates were open always in the day, but shut at night. A bridge was at length erected; and this bridge was equally celebrated with the other great buildings; for it was of vast size; but Diodorus would seem to make it to have been much larger than it really was. He says it was five furlongs in length. Now as the Euphrates, at the spot, was only one furlong wide, this would be impossible; so we suppose that there must have been a causeway on each side of the bridge; and that Diodorus included the two causeways, which were, probably, merely dry arches, as we find in a multitude of modern bridges. It was, nevertheless, thirty feet in breadth, and built with great skill. The arches were of hewn stone, fastened together with chains of iron and melted lead. To effect the building with the greater care and safety, they turned the course of the river[99], and laid the channel dry. While one part of the workmen were doing this, others were shaping the materials for the quays, so that all were finished at the same time.

During a certain portion of the year (viz., June, July, and August) the Euphrates overflows its banks, as the Nile does in Egypt, the Ganges in India, and the Amazon in South America. To remedy the manifold inconveniences arising from this, two large canals were cut to divert the superabundant waters into the Tigris, before they could reach Babylon[100]; and to secure the neighbouring country still the better, they raised artificial banks,--as the Dutch have done in Holland,--of a vast size, on both sides the river; not built, however, of earth, as in Holland, but of brick cemented with bitumen, which began at the head of the canals, and extended for some distance below the city. To effect all this, the Euphrates, which had been turned one way, in order to build the bridge, was turned another to build the banks. To this end they dug a vast lake, forty miles square, and one hundred and sixty in compass, and thirty-five feet deep. Into this lake the river was diverted, till the banks were finished; after which it was re-diverted into the former channel. The lake was, however, still preserved as a reservoir[101].

Perhaps some of our readers may be curious to know how long it would take to fill this lake up. It is thus stated in the Edinburgh Review[102]:--"Taking it at the lowest dimensions of a square of forty miles, by thirty feet deep; and supposing the Euphrates to be five hundred feet wide, ten deep, and to flow at the rate of two miles an hour, it would require one thousand and fifty-six days to fill the lake, allowing no absorption to the sides; but if absorption and evaporation are taken into the account, we may put the time at four years, or thereabouts; which, no doubt, would be sufficient, considering the number of hands employed, to complete the embankment[103]."

This lake, the bridge, and the quays of the river are ascribed to Nitocris, by Herodotus; but most of the other wonders of Babylon are ascribed by Josephus to Nebuchadnezzar, her father-in-law. "Perhaps," says one of the historians, "Nitocris might only finish what her father had left imperfect at his death, on which account the historian might give her the honour of the whole undertaking."

We are now called upon to describe other wonders. These are the palaces and hanging gardens. At each end of the bridge stood a palace; and those two palaces had a communication each with the other by means of a passage under the bed of the river, vaulted at the time in which it was laid dry[104]. The _old_ palace, which stood on the east side of the river, was three miles and three quarters in compass. It stood near the temple of Belus. The _new_ palace stood on the west side. It was much larger than the old one; being seven miles and a half in compass[105]. It was surrounded with three walls, one within the other, with considerable spaces between; and these, with those at the other palace, were embellished with an infinite variety of sculptures, representing all kinds of animals to the life; amongst which was one more celebrated than all the rest. This was a hunting piece, representing Semiramis on horseback throwing a javelin; and Ninus, her husband, piercing a lion.

Near the old palace stood a vast structure, known from all antiquity, and celebrated in every age as the most wonderful structure ever yet built; viz., the temple of Belus. We have given some account of it from Herodotus already. A tower of vast size stood in the middle of it. At its foundation it was a square of a furlong on each side; that is, half a mile in its whole compass, and the eighth part of a mile in height. It consisted of eight towers, built one above another, gradually decreasing in size to the top. Its height exceeded that of the largest of the pyramids[106]. It was built of bricks and bitumen. The ascent to the top was on the outside, by means of stairs, winding, in a spiral line, eight times round the tower from the bottom to the top. There were many large rooms in the different stories, with arched roofs, supported by pillars. On the top was an observatory, the Babylonians having been more celebrated than any other people of ancient times for their knowledge of astronomy[107].

Notwithstanding the opinions of many, that this tower was built expressly for astronomical purposes, it appears certain that it was used as a temple also; for the riches of it were immense; consisting of statues, tables, censers, cups, and other sacred vessels, all of massy gold. Among these was a statue, weighing a thousand talents of Babylon, forty feet high. Indeed, so rich was this temple, that Diodorus does not hesitate to value all it contained at not less than six thousand three hundred Babylonian talents of gold; which implies a sum equivalent to twenty-one millions of pounds sterling! Surely some error must have crept into the MS.

This temple stood till the time of Xerxes. On the return of that prince from Greece he plundered it; and then caused it to be entirely demolished. When Alexander returned from India, he formed the design of rebuilding it upon the ancient plan; and probably, had he lived, he would have accomplished his wish. Ten thousand men were put to work to clear away the rubbish; but he died in the midst of his preparation.

Many of the chief erections in this city were planned and executed by Semiramis. When she had finished them, she made a progress through the various divisions of her empire; and wherever she went left monuments of her magnificence, by many noble structures, which she erected, either for the convenience or the ornament of her cities[108]. She was the best political economist of ancient times, and may truly be styled the first utilitarian: for she applied herself to the formation of causeways, the improvement of roads, the cutting through mountains, and the filling up valleys. She applied herself, also, most particularly, to the forming of aqueducts, in order that water might be conveyed to such places as wanted it: in hot climates desiderata of the first importance.

Valerius Maximus[109] records a circumstance of her, which paints the influence she possessed over her people in a very striking manner. One day, as she was dressing herself, word was brought that a tumult was raging in the city. Without waiting to dress herself, she hurried from her palace with her head half dressed, and did not return till the disturbance was entirely appeased[110].

We now pass on to the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, because the accomplishment of that dream is connected with the splendid state of Babylon in the time of its glory. This dream was, that[111] "he saw a tree in the midst of the earth, whose height was great: the tree grew, and was strong, and the height of it reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of the earth. The leaves were fair, and the fruit much; and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. I saw the visions of my head on the bed, and, behold, a watcher, and an holy one, came down from heaven; he cried aloud, and said thus:--'Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit; let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches. Nevertheless, leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given to him. This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand of the word of the holy ones, to the intent that the living may know, that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.'"

This dream was expounded by Daniel. "Let the dream be to them, O king, that hate thee; and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies." The prophet then declared, "that the king should be driven from the company of men for seven years; should be reduced to the fellowship of the beasts of the field, and feed upon grass like oxen; that his kingdom should, nevertheless, be preserved for him, and he should repossess his throne, when he should have learnt to know and acknowledge, that all power is from above, and cometh from heaven."

At the end of twelve months, as Nebuchadnezzar was walking in his palace, and admiring the beauty and magnificence of his buildings, he became so elated at the sight of the structures he had erected, that he exclaimed--"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?" In an instant, a voice came from heaven declaratory of his fate, and his understanding was taken from him. He was driven from men, and did eat grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.

At the expiration of seven years he recovered his intellectual powers. He was restored to his throne, and became more powerful than he had been before. At this period he is supposed to have built the hanging gardens, which have been so celebrated in every age. Amytis, his wife, having been bred in Media,--for she was the daughter of Astyages, king of that country,--had been much taken with the mountains and woody parts of her native country, and therefore desired to have something like it at Babylon. To gratify this passion, the king, her husband, raised the hanging gardens. Diodorus, however, ascribes them to Cyrus; and states that he built them to gratify a courtezan.

They are thus described by Quintus Curtius:--"Near the castle are those wonders, which are so often celebrated by the Greek poets; gardens elevated in the air, consisting of entire groves of trees, growing as high as the tops of the towers, marvellously beautiful and pleasant from their height and shade. The whole weight of them is sustained and borne up by huge pillars, upon which there is a floor of square stone, that both upholdeth the earth, that lies deep on the pillar, and also the cisterns with which it is watered. The trees that grow upon this are many of them eight cubits in circumference, and every thing is as fruitful as if they grew on the natural ground; and, although process of time destroys things made by mortal hands, and also even the works of nature, yet this terrace, although oppressed with the weight of so much earth, and so great a multitude of trees, still remains unperished, being held up by seventy broad walls, distant from each other about eleven feet. When these trees (concludes Curtius), are seen afar off, they seem to be a wood growing upon a mountain." This may well be, since they comprised a square of about four hundred feet on every side, and were carried up into the air in the manner of several large terraces, one above another, till the highest equalled the height of the walls of the city. The floors were laid out thus[112]:--On the top of the arches were first laid large flat stones, sixteen feet long, and four feet broad; and over them a layer of reed, mixed with a great quantity of bitumen; over which were two rows of bricks, closely cemented by plaister; and then, over all, were laid thick sheets of lead; and, lastly, upon the lead a vast quantity of mould. The mould was of sufficient depth to let grow very large trees, and such were planted in it, together with other trees, and every description of plant and flower, that was esteemed proper for shrubberies and flower-gardens. To improve all this, there was, on the highest of the terraces, a water-engine, to draw the water out of the river below, wherewith to water the whole garden[113].

Besides all this, there were magazines for corn and provision, capable of maintaining the inhabitants for twenty years; and arsenals, which supplied with arms such a number of fighting men, as seemed equal to the conquest or defence of the whole monarchy.

If Babylon was indebted to Nebuchadnezzar for many great buildings, it was still more so to his daughter Nitocris. She erected a great multitude; and amongst the rest, one of the gates. On this gate she caused to be inscribed a command to her successors, that, when she should be buried under it, none of them should open the tomb to touch the treasure which laid there, unless impelled by some great and overwhelming necessity. Many years passed away, and no one opened it. At length Darius came to the city. Reading the inscription, he caused the tomb to be opened; but alas! instead of finding the vast treasures he had expected, he beheld only this inscription:--_"If thou hadst not an insatiable thirst for money, and a most sordid avaricious soul, thou wouldst never have broken open the monuments of the dead."_

Astyages, king of the Medes, was succeeded by Cyaxares, uncle to Cyrus. Cyaxares, learning that the king of Babylon had made great preparations against him, sent for Cyrus, son of Cambyses, king of Persia, and placed him at the head of his army. Before marching, Cyrus addressed those officers who had followed him from Persia, in the following manner. "Do you know the nature of the enemy you have to deal with? They are soft, effeminate, enervated men, already half conquered by their own luxury and voluptuousness; men not able to bear either hunger or thirst; equally incapable of supporting either the toil of war, or the sight of danger: whereas you, that are inured, from your infancy, to a sober and hard way of living; to you, I say, hunger and thirst are but as sauce, and the only sauce, to your meals; fatigues are your pleasure; dangers are your delight; and the love of your country, and of glory, your only passion. Besides, the justice of our cause is another considerable advantage. They are the aggressors. It is the enemy that attacks us; and it is our friends and allies that require our aid. Can any thing be more just than to repel the injury they would bring upon us? Is there any thing more honourable, than to fly to the assistance of our friends? But what ought to be the principal motive of your confidence is, that I do not engage in this expedition without having first consulted the gods, and implored their protection; for you know it is my custom to begin all my actions, and all my undertakings, in that manner."

Cyrus, after several battles, laid siege to Babylon. It was in the days of Belshazzar. That prince was absorbed in luxury and sloth. A great festival was to be held within the palace, and Cyrus heard of it. He prepared himself, therefore, and all his army. The court, in the meantime, was rife in every species of dance, feast, and revelry. In the pride of his heart, Belshazzar ordered all the gold and silver vessels, which had been taken from the temple of Jerusalem, to be brought to the banqueting-room; and he and his officers, and his wives and his concubines, drank out of them. No sooner was this done, than the fingers of a man's hand came out from the wall, and wrote over the candlestick upon the plaster.

The king saw the hand; and when he saw it "his countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another."

He summoned the magi, and made proclamation. "Whoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom." Daniel, the prophet, interpreted this writing. "This is the writing that was written: MENE MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing. MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; thou art weighed in the balances, and found wanting. PERES; thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians[114]."

Notwithstanding this interpretation, Belshazzar continued the feast, and to grace it the more, performed his promise. He commanded, and "they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler of the kingdom."

In the meantime, Cyrus, well aware of the riot and luxury prevailing in the king's palace, entered the city by the river, the waters of which he had managed to be drawn dry, by means of the sluices. He and his army entered through the gates of brass, which opened on the quays. This they did in two divisions; then they proceeded through the city; met before the palace; slew the guards; and some of the company having come out to see what was the cause of the noise they heard, the soldiers rushed in and immediately made themselves masters of the palace. The king, however, in this last extremity, acted in a manner more worthy than might have been expected. He put himself at the head of those who were inclined to support him; but he was quickly despatched, and all those that were with him. Thus terminated the Babylonian empire, after a duration of two hundred and ten years, from the beginning of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who was its founder; and the fate of which had been so truly foretold.

"Babylon, the glory of kingdoms," says Isaiah, "and the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited: neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation; neither shall the Arabians pitch their tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there; but wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there; and the wild beasts of the island shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces. I will also make it a possession for the bittern and pools of water; and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction." Events answered the prophecy, though not precisely at this time[115].

From this period Babylon belonged to the Persian kings: but having become greatly affronted by the transference of the royal court to Susa, the inhabitants revolted. By this insult, they drew upon themselves the whole force of the Persian empire. The inhabitants had provided themselves with every necessary to support a siege. But lest it might last longer than they anticipated, they put the most barbarous act in practice that ever had then been heard of from the creation of the world. They assembled all their wives and children, and strangled them; no man being allowed to preserve more than one wife and a servant to do the necessary business of his house. The siege lasted eighteen months. Darius himself began to despair.

Some friends having taken the liberty, one day, to propose the question to Darius, who was then holding a pomegranate in his hand:--"What good is there you would wish to multiply as often as that fruit contains seeds?" "Such friends as Zopyrus," answered the king, without hesitation. This answer threw Zopyrus into one of those paroxysms of zeal, which can only be justified by the sentiment that gives them birth.

One morning the king observed one of his courtiers make his appearance before him, bathed in blood, with his ears and nose entirely cut off, and his whole body wounded in many places. When Darius saw this, he started from his throne, advanced to the wounded person, and eagerly inquired of him who had treated him in so terrible a manner? "You, yourself, O king!" answered Zopyrus. "My wish to render you a service has put me in this condition. As I was persuaded that you would never have consented to this method, I have consulted none but the zeal I have for your service." He then told the king that he had formed the plan of going over to the enemy in that condition.

His plan will be explained in the result. He left the camp, and proceeded to the walls of Babylon. When he arrived before the gates, he told the Babylonians who he was. He was immediately admitted and carried before the governor. There he complained of Darius, accusing him of having reduced him to such an unfortunate condition: and that because he had advised him to give up the siege. Saying this, he offered his services to the governor and people of Babylon: stating that his revenge would be a sufficient stimulus and reward for his exertions; and that he would be found fully adequate to cope with the enemy, since he was well acquainted with all the arts, and discipline, and stratagems of the Persians.

When the Babylonians heard all this, and saw the dreadful condition in which Zopyrus was, they gave him the command of as many troops as he desired. With these he made a sally, and cut off more than a thousand of the enemy: Darius having previously concerted with him. In a few days he made another sally, when he cut off double the number. In a third he destroyed not less than four thousand. "Nothing," say the historians, "was now talked of but the condition and success of Zopyrus." This was, indeed, so much the case, that he was at length appointed commander-in-chief. The whole matter, as we have stated before, was a stratagem between Zopyrus and Darius. Now, then, as Zopyrus had become master of the forces, he sent intelligence to the king. The king approached with his army. Zopyrus opened the gates, and the city was delivered into the king's hands.

No sooner did Darius find himself master of the town, than he ordered its hundred gates to be pulled down, and its walls to be partly demolished[116]: but, in order to keep up the population, he caused fifty thousand women to be brought from the several provinces of his empire to supply the place of those the inhabitants had so cruelly destroyed at the beginning of the siege; and for having perpetrated that horrific act, he caused three thousand of the most distinguished of the nobility to be crucified[117].

Babylon remained in the possession of the kings of Persia for several generations[118]. But it soon ceased to be a royal residence, the sovereigns having chosen to reside either at Shusan, Ecbatana, or Persepolis; and, the better to reduce it to ruin, they built Seleucia in its neighbourhood, and caused the chief portion of its inhabitants to remove to Ctesiphon.

The course of our subject now descends to the time, when Darius Codomanus became sovereign of Babylon, in right of being king of Persia. This prince was conquered at the Granicus by Alexander. Not long after, he lost another battle; viz. that of Arbela: after which the conqueror made what is called his "triumphant entry" into Babylon. He entered, we are told, at the head of his army, as if he had been marching to a battle. "The walls," says the historian, "were lined with people, notwithstanding the greatest part of the citizens were gone out before, from the impatient desire they had to see their new sovereign, whose renown had far outstripped his march. The governor and guardian of the treasure strewed the street with flowers, and raised on both sides of the way silver altars, which smoked not only with frankincense, but the most fragrant perfumes of every kind. Last of all, came the presents, which were made to the king; viz. herds of cattle and a great number of horses; also lions and panthers, which were carried in cages. After these the magi walked, singing hymns after the manner of their country; then the Chaldæans, accompanied by the Babylonian soothsayers and musicians. It was customary for the latter to sing the praises of their king to their instruments; and the Chaldæans to observe the motion of the planets and the vicissitudes of seasons." "The rear," continues the author, from whom we quote, "was brought up by the Babylonish cavalry, which, both men and horsemen, were so sumptuous, that imagination can scarce reach their magnificence." The king caused the people to walk after his infantry, and, himself surrounded by his guards, and seated on a chariot, entered the city, and from thence rode to the palace. On the next day he took a survey of all Darius' money and movables. These, however, he did not keep to himself. He distributed a large portion of it to his troops: giving to each Macedonian horseman fifteen pounds; to each mercenary horseman about five pounds; to every Macedonian foot-soldier five pounds; and to every one of the rest two months of their ordinary pay. Nor did he stop there. He gave orders, that all the temples which had been thrown down by the order of Xerxes should be rebuilt; most especially that of Belus.

On his second visit to this city, he was met some miles from the town by a deputation of old men, who told him that the stars had indicated that, if he ventured into the city, some signal misfortune would befal him. At first the king was greatly alarmed and perplexed. But having consulted some Greek philosophers who chanced to be in his army, they threw such contempt on astrology in general, and the Babylonish astrologers in particular, that he resolved to continue his march, and the same day entered the city with all his army.

Soon after this, designing to raise a monument to his friend Hephæstion, he caused nearly six furlongs of the city wall to be beat down; and having got together a vast number of skilful workmen, he built a very magnificent monumental structure over the part he had caused to be levelled.

That the reader may have a distinct idea of the grandeur of this structure, it is necessary to admit a full account of it. It is thus given in Rollin's "History of Alexander":--"It was divided into thirty parts, in each of which was raised a uniform building, the roof of which was covered with great planks of palm-tree wood. The whole formed a perfect square, the circumference of which was adorned with extraordinary magnificence. Each side was a furlong, or an hundred fathoms in length. At the foot of it, and in the first row, there was set two hundred and forty-four prows of ships gilded, on the buttresses or supporters whereof the statues of two archers, four cubits high, with one knee on the ground, were fixed; and two other statues, in an upright posture, completely armed, bigger than the life, being five cubits in height. The spaces between the rows were spread and adorned with scarlet cloth. Over these prows was a colonnade of large flambeaux which, ending at top, terminated towards eagles, which, with their heads turned downwards, and extended wings, served as capitals. Dragons fixed near, or upon the base, turned their heads upwards towards the eagles. Over this colonnade stood a third, in the base of which was represented, in relievo, a party of hunting animals of every kind. On the superior order, that is, the fourth, the combat of Centaurs was represented in gold. Finally, on the fifth, golden figures, representing lions and bulls, were placed alternately. The whole edifice terminated with military trophies after the Macedonian and Babylonian fashion, as so many symbols of the victory of the former, and the defeat of the latter. On the entablatures and roofs were represented Syrens, the hollow bodies of which were filled, but in an imperceptible manner, with musicians, who sang mournful airs and dirges in honour of the deceased. This edifice was upwards of one hundred and thirty cubits high; that is, one hundred and ninety-five feet. The beauty and the design of this structure," concludes our author, "the singularity and magnificence of the decorations, and the several ornaments of it, surpassed the most wonderful productions of fancy, and were all in exquisite taste. The designer and architect of the whole, was Stasicrates; he who offered to cut Mount Athos into the shape of a man. The cost of this monument was no less than twelve thousand talents; that is, more than one million eight hundred thousand pounds!"

Alexander resided at Babylon more than a year. During this time he planned a multitude of things; amongst which, we are told that, finding Babylon to surpass in extent, in conveniency, and in whatever can be wished, either for the necessities or pleasures of life, all the other cities of the East, he resolved to make it the seat of his empire[119]. With this view he planned many improvements, and undertook some; and would have, doubtless, accomplished much that he intended, for he was still but a very young man, when death cut him short in the midst of his career--

Leaving a name, at which the world grew pale,
To point a moral, or adorn a tale[120].

And this calls to our recollection the prophecies which had been uttered:--"I will cut off from Babylon the name and remnant." "I will make it a possession for the bittern." "I will sweep it with the besom of destruction." "It shall never be inhabited; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation."

Such was the fate of this city; insomuch that, in process of time it became entirely forsaken, and the Persian kings made a park among its ruins, in which they kept wild beasts for hunting. Instead of citizens, there were boars, leopards, bears, deer, and wild asses. Nothing remained but portions of its walls, a great part even of these at last fell down. They were never repaired, and for many ages, so great was the ruin, that even the remains of it were supposed to have been swept from the face of the earth[121].

A short time after the death of Alexander, Babylon became a theatre for hostility between Demetrius and Seleucus. Seleucus had got possession of the city. When Antigonus learned this, he sent his son, Demetrius, with an army to drive him out of it. Demetrius, according to his father's order, gathered all the force he could command at Damascus, and marched thence to Babylon; where, finding that Seleucus had gone into Media, he entered the city without opposition; but, to his great surprise and mortification, he found it in great part deserted. The cause was this: Seleucus had left the town under the charge of a governor named Patrocles. When Demetrius was within a short distance, this governor retreated out of the walls into the fens, and commanded all persons to fly from the city. This multitudes of them did; some into the deserts, and others beyond the Tigris. Demetrius, finding the town deserted, laid siege to the castles; for there were two, both well garrisoned and of large extent. One of these castles he took; and, having plundered not only the city, but the whole province, of every thing he could lay his bands on, he returned to his father, leaving a garrison. The robbery, however, did not go unpunished; for the Babylonians were so grievously offended at it, that, at the return of Seleucus, they received him with open arms; and thus began the true reign of Seleucus. That prince, however, did not long make Babylon his capital. He built Seleucia on the western bank of the Tigris, forty miles from Babylon, over against the spot where now stands the city of Bagdad. To this new city, Seleucus invited the Babylonians generally to transplant themselves. This they did, and Babylon became, in process of time, so desolate, that Strabo assures us[122] that, in his time, Babylon, "once the greatest city that the sun ever saw," had nothing left but its walls. The area had been ploughed.

In the fourth century St. Jerome notes, that Babylon was become a park for the Parthian and afterwards for the Persian kings to keep their wild beasts for hunting in; the walls being kept up to serve for a fence for the enclosure. No writer for several hundred years has been found to mention this city from this time, till Benjamin of Tudela[123] (in Navarre) visited the spot, and related, on his return, that he had stood where this old city had formerly stood; and that he had found it wholly desolated and destroyed. "Some ruins," said he, "of Nebuchadnezzar's palace remain; but men are afraid to go near them on account of the multitude of serpents and scorpions there are in the place."