The time was drawing near for my departure. Once more I was about to leave
the ruins amidst which I had spent so many happy hours, and to which I was
bound by so many pleasant and solemn ties; and probably to return no more.
I only waited the arrival of Abde, the late Pasha of Baghdad, who was now
on his way to his new government of Diarbekir. He was travelling with a
large company of attendants, and without a strong escort it was scarcely
prudent to venture on a journey. It was doubly necessary for me to have
proper protection, as I took with me the valuable collection of bronzes
and other small objects discovered in the ruins. I gladly, therefore,
availed myself of this opportunity of joining so numerous and powerful a
caravan.
At length, after the usual Eastern delays, the Pasha arrived at Mosul. He
remained encamped outside the town for two or three days, and during that
time visited the excavations, his curiosity having been excited by the
description he had received of the wondrous idols dug out of the ruins. He
marvelled at what he saw, as a Turk marvels at strange things which he can
neither understand nor explain. It would be in vain to speak to him of the
true objects of such researches, the knowledge they impart, the lessons
they teach, or the thoughts they beget.
In these pages I have occasionally indulged in reflections suggested by
the scenes I have had to describe, and have ventured to point out the
moral of the strange tale I have had to relate. I cannot better conclude
than by showing the spirit in which Eastern philosophy and Mussulman
resignation contemplate the evidences of ancient greatness and
civilization, suddenly rising up in the midst of modern ignorance and
decay. A letter in my possession contained so true and characteristic a
picture of the feelings that such an event excites in the mind of a good
Mohammedan, that I here give a literal translation of its contents. It was
written to a friend of mine by a Turkish Cadi, in reply to some inquiries
as to the commerce, population, and remains of antiquity of an ancient
city, in which dwelt the head of the law. These are its words:—
“My Illustrious Friend, and Joy of my Liver!
“The thing you ask of me is both difficult and useless. Although I
have passed all my days in this place, I have neither counted the
houses nor have I inquired into the number of the inhabitants; and as
to what one person loads on his mules and the other stows away in the
bottom of his ship, that is no business of mine. But, above all, as to
the previous history of this city, God only knows the amount of dirt
and confusion that the infidels may have eaten before the coming of
the sword of Islam. It were unprofitable for us to inquire into it.
“Oh, my soul! oh, my lamb! seek not after the things which concern
thee not. Thou camest unto us, and we welcomed thee: go in peace.
“Of a truth, thou hast spoken many words; and there is no harm done,
for the speaker is one and the listener is another. After the fashion
of thy people thou hast wandered from one place to another until thou
art happy and content in none. We (praise be to God) were born here,
and never desire to quit it. Is it possible then that the idea of a
general intercourse between mankind should make any impression on our
understandings? God forbid!
“Listen, oh my son! There is no wisdom equal unto the belief in God!
He created the world, and shall we liken ourselves unto him in seeking
to penetrate into the mysteries of his creation? Shall we say, behold
this star spinneth round that star, and this other star with a tail
goeth and cometh in so many years! Let it go! He from whose hand it
came will guide and direct it.
“But thou wilt say unto me, Stand aside, oh man, for I am more learned
than thou art, and have seen more things. If thou thinkest that thou
art in this respect better than I am, thou art welcome. I praise God
that I seek not that which I require not. Thou art learned in the
things I care not for; and as for that which thou hast seen I defile
it. Will much knowledge create thee a double belly, or wilt thou seek
Paradise with thine eyes?
“Oh, my friend! If thou wilt be happy, say, There is no God but God!
Do no evil, and thus wilt thou fear neither man nor death; for surely
thine hour will come!
“The meek in spirit (El Fakir),
“IMAUM ALI ZADE.”
On the 28th of April I bid a last farewell to my faithful Arab friends,
and with a heavy heart turned from the ruins of ancient Nineveh.
THE END.
INDEX.
A.
Abde Pasha, 383, 540.
Abdi Agha, 52.
Abd-ul-Azeez, mound of, 187.
Hills of, 259.
Abou-Jerdeh, mound, 186.
Abou-Khameera, ruins of, 201, 202.
Abou-Maria, excavations at, 278.
Abou-Sheetha, mound of, 188.
Abraham thrown into the furnace by Nimrod, 403.
Adremit, village of, 338.
Adrammelech, name of, according to Rawlinson, 497.
Æthiopia, mentioned in inscriptions, 121.
Afaij, visit to tribe of, 438.
Their boats, 443.
Their huts, 445.
Agab, Sheikh of the Afaij, 446.
Agammi river, 124, 475.
Agayl, tribe of, 395.
Akhlat, village of, 30.
Akhtamar, patriarch of, 339.
Visit to the island of, ib.
Church of, ib.
Akkari, sea of the Mediterranean, 296.
Akker-Kuf, ruin of, 382.
Akko, a Yezidi chief, 42, 47.
Albanian, an, 313.
Alabaster, jars in, 164, 165.
Alexander the Great, 174, 190.
Wish to uncover ruins of Temple of Belus, 420.
To rebuild it, 426.
To restore canals, 428.
Ali-Baba mountains, 24.
Altars discovered at Khorsabad, 110.
At Nimroud, 288.
American missionaries, their establishments, 313, 332, 334, and note.
Their schools at Ooroomiyah, 334.
Intercourse with Nestorians, 347.
Amran, mound of, 390.
Discoveries in, 414.
Ana, town of, mentioned in inscriptions, 294.
Anana, ruin and village, 436.
Antioch, Egyptian monument at, 295, note.
Ararat, name of Armenia, 403.
View of mount, 423.
Araxes river, 25.
Arban, arrival at, 223.
Description of, 226.
Excavations at, 228.
Departure from, 252.
Arbela, battle of, 174.
Arabs. See Bedouins.
Arab workmen, 88.
Instances of honesty in, 470.
Arabkha, a city under Sennacherib, 120.
Aramæans defeated by Sennacherib, 118.
Arch at Nimroud, 138.
Architecture, Armenian, 35.
Assyrian, 120.
Babylonian, 423.
Early Persian, 460.
Comparison between Assyrian and Jewish, 517.
Armenia, a bishop of, 27, 392.
Ploughs in, 29, 38.
Schools in, 331.
Reform in church, 332.
Books in language of, 334.
Ignorance of Christians in, 335.
Armour, parts of, discovered, 152, 162.
Worn by Bedouins, 251.
Arms in iron and bronze discovered, 162.
Arrows, heads of, discovered, 162.
Art, Assyrian, of lower period, 369.
Arvad, name of, in inscriptions, 296.
Ascalon, name of, in inscriptions, 122.
Ashayansk, village of, 340.
Ashtoreth, or Astarte, the moon, 291, and note.
Ashur, the supreme god of the Assyrians, 504.
Ashurakhbal. See Sardanapalus.
Ass, a wild, 224.
White, of Bagdad, 379.
Assordanes, name in inscriptions, 365.
Assurnadin, son of Sennacherib, 124.
Assyria, computation of time in, 178.
Greek coin of, 479.
Name of, on Egyptian monuments, 505.
Records of, compared with Jewish, 506.
Nature of government, 507.
Bounds of empire, 509.
Athur or Assur, mound of, 139.
Azeez Agha, a young Sheikh, 393.
B.
Baashiekhah, village of, 112.
Baazani, village of, 111.
Babel, mound of, 389, 397.
Excavations and discoveries in, 408.
Small objects from, 409.
Babylon taken by Sennacherib, 118, 178, 500.
In possession of early Nimroud king, 293.
Name of, in Wan inscriptions, 327.
Approach to ruins of, 389.
Excavations commenced at, 394.
Walls of, not traced, 397.
Dimensions of walls, 398.
General plan of, 400.
Hanging gardens of, 405.
Temple of Belus, 406.
Painted walls at, 412.
Deities of, 413.
Jews of the captivity at, 415.
Building materials of, 420.
History of, 425.
Destruction of, 427.
Commerce of, 428.
Fabrics of, 431.
Inhabitants impaled by Darius, 295, note.
Common origin of inhabitants with Assyrians, 423.
Cupidity of their priests, 427.
Commerce and roads of, 428.
Corruption of, 432.
Cylinders and gems of, 488.
Badger, the Rev. Mr., his intercourse with the Nestorians, 347, note.
Baghdad, departure for, 373.
Entrance to, 380.
Description of, 381.
Departure from, 465.
Baiandour, Sultan, the tomb of, 31.
Bairam, Mussulman feast of, 330.
Bash-Kalah, castle of, 315.
Bavian, sculptures of, 173.
Inscriptions of, 177, 494.
Baz, district of, 353.
Beavers of the Khabour, 247.
Bedouins, customs of, with regard to captured horses, 184.
On seeing a stranger, 202.
Their women, 217.
Their bread, 239.
Their hospitality, 240.
Their food, ib.
Diseases amongst, 242.
Their Cadis, 253.
Lovemaking of, 262.
Laws of Dakheel, or protection, 263.
Their poetry, 265.
Their sagacity, 269.
Their horses, 272.
Their honesty, 470.
Belad, ancient district of, 99.
Belib, made king of Babylon, 118, 500.
Bells discovered at Nimroud, 151.
Analyses of copper of, 160.
Benjamin of Tudela, his description of Babylon, 402.
Of tomb of Ezekiel, 407.
Of tomb of Ezra, 407, note.
Account of captive Jews, 416.
Beth-Khumri, or Samaria, 494.
Bimerstein, Dr., 323, note.
Birs-Nimroud, the, 401.
Restoration of, 404.
Bishi country conquered by Sennacherib, 119.
Bitlis, town of, 38.
Bitumen pits fired, 168.
Used for cement, 422.
Blood-revenge among Bedouins, 253.
Boats of Afaij, 443.
Borsippa, the Birs Nimroud, 402.
Bowen, the Rev. Mr., 300, 319, 334.
Bowls of bronze from Nimroud, 153.
Earthenware with Hebrew inscriptions, 415.
Date of, 417.
Brant, Mr., 20.
Bread, Arab mode of baking, 239.
Unlawful to see among Afaij, 457.
Bricks, painted, at Khorsabad, 110.
Nimroud, 139.
Babylonian, 141, 405.
Bronzes, discovery of, 151.
Analysis of, 160.
Origin of, 161.
Buffalos of Arabs, 406.
Bukra, village of, 209.
Bulls, winged, transport of represented in bas-reliefs, 91, 99.
At gateway, 102.
In façade of Kouyunjik, 115.
At Arban, 228.
Burchardt, his account of the Bedouins, 199, note, 263.
Bustard, the, 205.
Hawking the, 386.
C.
Calah, ancient name of Nimroud, 294.
Caldrons, discovery, at Nimroud, 151.
Value of, among ancients, 152.
Represented in bas-relief, 588.
Camanus mountain. See Kamana.
Camels of Nimroud, 36.
Abstinence from water, 215, note.
Represented in bas-reliefs, 476.
Canals of Babylonia, 478.
Canning, Sir S., 17.
Protects reformed Armenians, 333.
Captives in bas-reliefs, with feathers in their heads, 139.
With feathered head-dress, 192.
Captivity, Prince of the, 417.
The history of the Jews of the, 416.
Carchemish, 195, 236, 238.
Cavalry, Turkish irregular, 267.
Cavern, a natural, 255.
Artificial, at Wan, 328.
Cedar-wood brought by Assyrians from Lebanon, 297, 521.
Discovered at Nimroud, 297.
Employed in palaces, 527.
Centre Palace, Nimroud, builder of, 497.
State of, 534.
Chaldæans defeated by Sennacherib, 118.
Chariot, an Assyrian, 130.
Royal, 364.
Chark, a hawk used by Bedouins, 387.
Charms, Eastern, 418.
Chellek, village of, 48.
Cherubim of Jews compared with Assyrian figures, 519.
Chinese bottles discovered at Arban, 332.
Chesney, Col., expedition under, 381.
Cock, image of, on Babylonian gems, 432.
Commerce of Babylon, 432.
Coffins of earthenware at Arban, 234.
At Niffer, 449.
Of wood, at Babel, 408.
Colonies, Assyrian, 513.
Colors on bricks, 139.
Columns not found at Babylon, 423.
Used at Nineveh, 526.
Cooper, Mr., 16, 88.
Returns to England, 337.
Copper used in colors, 297.
Convent, a Nestorian, 311.
An Armenian, 339.
Corinthian capital, 194.
Cowley, Lord, protects the Armenians, 333.
Ctesiphon, ruin of, 460.
Tradition connected with, 461.
Cuneiform, progress in deciphering, 492.
Cuth, country of, 432, note.
Cylinders, of Sennacherib, 136.
Babylonian, 432.
Assyrian, 488.
Phœnician, 487.
Persian, 488.
Used as seals, 490.
Cyprus, Assyrian tablet found in, 499.
Cyrus, description of, 357.
Takes Babylon, 426.
D.
Dagon, represented in bas-reliefs, 284, 289.
Dakheel, the law of, among Bedouins, 263.
Dam, building up a, 385.
Dumlamajeh, spring of, 540.
Darius, cylinder of, 489.
Deloul. See Dromedary.
Denarii found at Kouyunjik, 479.
Dereboun, village of, 52.
Dereh Beys, the, 22.
Dervish, a Persian, 32.
Desert, the, described, 204, 205, 250.
Divanubar, name of Assyrian king, 496.
Diz, district of, 349.
Dizza, town of, 313.
Dromedary, the, 196, note, 249, 278.
Ducks, in marble, &c. used as weights, 486, and note.
Dudjook tribes, 21.
Dujail, canal of, 465.
Dura, plain of, 376.
E.
Earring of gold from Kouyunjik, 482.
Moulds for casting, ib.
Eclipse, Eastern prejudice concerning, 444, and note.
Effendi, the, a Yezidi chief, 200.
Egypt, seal of king of, 134.
Bronzes of Egyptian character, 154, 156, 157.
Relics of, discovered at Kouyunjik, 482.
Conquered by Essarhaddon, 501.
Egyptians, mode of transport of great stones, 98.
Defeated by Sennacherib, 121.
Antiquities of, at Antioch, 295.
Weights used by, 487.
Elam, ancient name of, 124, 365.
Conquest of, 178, 292, 362, 473.
Elulæus, king of Tyre, mentioned in inscriptions, 121.
Ekron, name in inscriptions, 121.
Embossing on bronze vessels, 153.
Enamel, Assyrian, 165, 297.
Babylonian, 412.
Enoch, book of, 418.
Erzeroom, roads to city of, 17, 20.
Eski Baghdad, ruins of, 377.
Eski Mosul, ruins at, 278.
Essarhaddon, name of, 136.
Cylinder of, 286.
Name at Nebbi Yunus, 484.
His monuments, 501.
His palace at Nimroud, 532.
Essarhaddon’s son, his bas-reliefs, 362.
His name, 365.
His palace at Shereef-Khan, 484.
His monuments, 501.
Eulæus, river, 125.
Eunuch, represented in bas-relief, 364.
Euphrates, river, 27.
Represented in bas-reliefs, 359.
Banks of, deserted, 374.
Navigation of, 381.
State of, ib.
Changes in its course at Babylon, 399.
Evemerus, king of Parthia, sends Babylonians to Media, 427.
Evil Spirit, the, represented in bas-reliefs, 289.
Eyes in marble and enamel, 297.
Ezekiel, tomb of, 407.
Ezra, tomb of 407, note.
F.
Façade of Kouyunjik palace, 115.
Falcons. See Hawking.
Faras, Sheikh of the Tai, 147.
Fawaz, a hawk, 224.
Fergusson, Mr., remarks on Assyrian cornice, 110.
Restoration of Assyrian palaces, 519, 520, 523, 526.
Ferhan, son of Sofuk, 276.
Ferry-boat at Mosul, 300.
Fish-god. See Dagon.
Footstool of bronze discovered, 166.
Ford, the Rev. Mr., 198.
Fountain, an Assyrian, 180.
Funduk, village of, 49.
Futhliyah, village and mound of, 111.
Fynyk, rock sculptures at, 50.
G.
Galleys represented in bas-reliefs, 192.
Gate of Eastern cities, 52.
Of Nineveh, 101.
Of palace, 529.
None discovered at Nimroud, 535.
Gaza, name of, in inscriptions, 122.
Gazelle, hawking the, 387.
Ghazir river, the, 148, 303.
Gherdi, district of, 306.
Gherara, mound of, excavated, 383.
Glass bowls, 164.
Vase of Sargon, 164.
From Babel, 409.
From Kouyunjik, 480.
Gods, the twelve Assyrian, 291.
Table of, 504.
Gold inlaid in bronze, 165.
Laid over figures in temples, 529.
Gomel river, 173.
Greek art, resemblance to Assyrian, 369.
Remains at Kouyunjik, 480.
Greyhound, Persian, 47.
Guagamela, battle of, 173.
Gula Shailu lake, 28.
Guli, village of, 23.
Gunduk, Assyrian bas-reliefs at, 304.
Guzelder, village of, 43.
H.
Hadj, the, or caravan to Mecca, 433.
Hagarenes, conquered by Sennacherib, 119.
Hakkiari, pashalic of, 307.
Hall, great, in palace of Kouyunjik, 360.
Hamki, village of, 40.
Hangings of silk in Babylonian palace, 422.
At Nineveh, 529.
Hanging gardens, 194, 405.
Harisa, an Arab dish, 77.
Hartushi Kurds, 344.
Haroun, mound of, 440.
Hatem Tai, anecdote of, 146, note.
Hawking, 223, 248.
Falcons, 277.
Training, 387.
Hazael, king of Syria, mentioned in inscriptions, 494.
Hebar. See Khabour.
Hercules, the Assyrian, 114, 179, 482, 484.
Herki, tribe of, 183.
Hermus, river, mentioned in inscriptions, 294.
Hezekiah, name of, in inscriptions, 121.
Wars of Sennacherib with, 122.
Hillah, arrival at, 391.
Governor of, 393.
Built of Babylonian bricks, 412.
Hincks, the Rev. Dr., translations of inscriptions, 99, 117, 177, 291.
Discovery of name of Sennacherib, 116.
Of Nebuchadnezzar, 116, note.
Of syllabarium, 286.
Discoveries, 492.
On Wan inscriptions, 327, 329.
Translation of inscription of Nebuchadnezzar, 422.
Hindiyah canal and marshes, 383, 401.
Hittites, the, name of Syrians, 120.
Tribute of, 293.
Name of, on Egyptian monuments, 505.
Horses, trappings of, 151.
Pedigrees of Bedouin, 184.
Bedouin, 215.
Turkish, 267.
Arab breeds, 272.
Represented in bas-reliefs, 282.
Clothed in armour, 363.
Howar, Sheikh of the Tai, 144, 183.
Hymer, the ruins of, 436.
I. J.
Idols of Assyrians carried away, 179.
Taken by Assyrians, 191, 474.
Jehesh, tribe of, 200.
Jehu, name of, on obelisk, 493.
Jelu, mountains of, 350.
Valley of, 350.
Ancient church in, 352.
Bishop of, 352.
Jerraiyah, mound of, 83.
Jews represented in bas-reliefs, 131, 367.
Dress of, 131.
Captives on the Hebar, 235, 359.
Families in Kurdistan, 308.
Nomades, 317.
Pilgrimage to Ezekiel’s tomb, 407.
Relics of, from Babylon, 414.
Their history after the captivity, 415.
Ancient political state of, compared with Assyria, 509.
Jiulamerik, town of, 346.
Illibi, a country conquered by Sennacherib, 120.
Impalement, 295.
India, overland road to, 375.
Intercourse of Babylonians with, 429.
Dogs of, brought to Babylon, 430.
Inclined way discovered, 370.
Inclosures of Nimroud and Kouyunjik, 514, 534.
Inlaying, art of, known to Assyrians, 164.
Inscriptions deciphered, 100.
Progress made in, 492.
Jones, Capt. Conduct towards Arabs, 455.
Jonah, tomb of, 482.
Excavations in mound of, 483.
His preaching, 507.
Jovian, retreat of, 377.
Iron, bronze cast over, 163.
Objects discovered in, 297, 482.
Judi mountain, ark rested on, 501.
Tablet at foot of, ib.
Jumjuma. See Amran.
Ivory, objects in, discovered, 297.
K.
Kadesia, site of battle, 378.
Kalah-Sherghat, excavations at, 471.
Kamana, mountain of, mentioned in inscriptions, 296.
Kara-chok, hills of, 185.
Karagol, village of, 26.
Kar-Duniyas, a city of Chaldæa, 118, 178, 295.
Karboul Sheikh, 440.
Karnaineh Khan, 468.
Karnessa ou Daoleh mountain, 345.
Kasr, the, of Rich, 411. See Mujelibé.
Kathimain, tombs of, 379, 465.
Keshaf, mound of, 183.
Khabour river, 52, 56.
Journey to, 195.
Arrival at, 223.
Discoveries on, 234.
Ancient condition of country on, 235.
Course of, 256.
Sources of, 259.
Khan-i-resh, village of, 308.
Khan Mahmoud, a Kurdish chief, 323, 340.
Kharareh, subdued by Sennacherib, 119.
Kharkhar, a country conquered by Sennacherib, 120.
Khatouniyah, lake of, 270.
Khauser, the river, 71, 101, 177.
Khazana Kapousi, tablet at Wan, 326.
Khelath. See Akhlat.
Kherimmi conquered by Sennacherib, 120.
Khoraif, a Bedouin, 197.
Khorkhor, name of gardens at Wan, 326.
Khorsabad, discoveries at, 109.
Builder of, 126.
Inclosure of, 449.
Kiamil Pasha, 71.
Kifil, tomb of Ezekiel, 407.
King, bas-relief of, at Nimroud, 290.
On bas-relief, 358.
Table of names, 502.
Kirikor, an Armenian monk, 338.
Kochers, or nomades, 184, 307.
Kormawor, inscription in church of, 335.
Kosh-ab, castle of, 317.
Kosli, village of, 25.
Koukab, volcanic hill of, 226, 255, 268.
Kouyunjik, discoveries at, 61, 69, 99, 118, &c.
General description of, 70.
Excavations renewed in, 85, 88.
Grand entrance discovered, 114.
Descending passage, 280.
Residence at, 301.
Extent of ruins excavated, 476.
Small objects from, 478, 481, 482.
Restoration of palace, 521, 527.
Inclosure and defences, 535.
Kurdistan, journey into, 305.
Dialects of, 309.
Chiefs of, 391.
Kurds, chief of, 49, 309.
Character of, 307.
Fanaticism, 310.
L.
Lachish, siege of, represented, 128.
Name of, on bas-reliefs, 130, 131, note.
Lak, mounds of, 109.
Lead found in ruins, 297.
Lebanon, cedar wood from, 101, 297.
Conquered by Sardanapalus, 299.
Ledjmiyat, encampment at, 248.
Lens of rock crystal, 164.
Levers used by Assyrians, 98.
Limestone in palace of Kouyunjik, 368.
Lions brought as tribute, 115.
Statue of at Arban, 231.
Found on the Khabour, 245.
Colossal statues, at Nimroud, 298.
Tame, at Hillah, 393.
Found in marshes of Babylonia, 456.
Mode of capturing, 456.
Bronze weights, 486, and note.
Lions (winged), removal of, 137, 167.
Sent to Baghdad, 170.
Colossal, discovered at Nimroud, 288.
Lion (headed) figure, 370.
Locusts represented in bas-reliefs, 281.
Loftus, Mr., discoveries at Wurka, 437.
M.
Mahmoudiyah valley and town of, 316.
Maidan Arabs, 456.
Makhoul hills, 468.
Makloub hills, 302.
Malan, Rev. Mr., 300.
Mar Shamoun, 352.
Mansouriyah, village of, 51.
Median Wall, 378, 467.
Marduk, a god of the Babylonians, 422.
Mecca, return of caravan from, 433.
Marshes represented in bas-reliefs, 475.
Of the Afaij, 443.
Of Southern Mesopotamia, 455.
Mar Shamoun, 346.
Mediterranean Sea mentioned in inscriptions, 296.
Meher-Kapousi, inscription of, 327.
Mehemet, Pasha of Wan, 320.
Melek Beniamen, 350.
Melek Taous of Yezidis, 46.
Menahem, discovery of name, 497.
Merodach Baladin, his name in inscriptions, 117, 124, 178.
War against, described by Eusebius, 500.
Meroe. See Æthiopia.
Mesopotamia, ancient state of, 204, 296, 513.
Journey into Southern, 437.
Present state of, 454.
Metallurgy of Assyrians, 161.
Mirage, remarkable effect of, 461.
Mijwell, a Bedouin chief, 253.
Mirkan, village of, 208.
Milli Kurds, 257, 8.
Minuas, name of Armenian king, 327, 336.
Mirza Agha, a Yezidi chief, 44.
Mohammed Emin, Sheikh, 196, 227.
His tents, 223, 237, 276.
Mokhamour, ruins of, 185.
Monoliths at Nimroud, 291, 298.
Moses of Chorene, description of Wan, 322.
Mosul, arrival at, 54.
Motassem Billah, palace of, at Samarrah, 377.
Mousa Bey, a Kurdish chief, 309.
Moulds for earrings discovered, 482.
Mound, building represented, 96.
Moxoene. See Mukus.
Montefik Arabs, 454.
Mujelibé, mound of, 390.
Discoveries in, 411.
Painted walls and basalt lion, 412.
Tree on, 413.
Mukus, pass into, 341.
District of, ib.
Musseiyib, village of, 385.
N.
Nabathæans, conquered by Sennacherib, 119.
Naghit, cities of, 124.
Nahiri. See Mesopotamia.
Naharwan, canal, 377.
Nahr-el-Kelb, tablets of Sennacherib at, 176.
Nahum, tomb of, 483, note.
Narek, village and church of, 340.
Namet Agha, chief of Zibari, 306.
Names, Assyrian royal, 125.
Nasr, Sheikh, 75.
Navkur, plain of, 305.
Nazi, a Yezidi chief, 47.
Nazik, lake of, 28.
Nebbi Unus. See Jonah.
Nebuchadnezzar, name of, 116, note.
His golden image at Dura, 376.
Bricks and stones bearing his name, 402, 410.
Rebuilt Babylon, 425.
Tablet of, 424.
Nedjd, road to, 279.
Present state of, 434.
Negoub, tablet from tunnel of, 497.
Nergal, an idol, 432.
Nerib, a city taken by Assyrians, 293.
Nestorian villages near Akra, 304.
Families in Gherdi, 309.
Bishop of Shemisden, 311.
Patriarch, 346.
Turkish oppression, 348.
A bishop, 352.
A church, ib.
Nimroud, return to, 85.
Discoveries at, 104.
Flood at, 287.
Small temples at, 288, 297.
Account of building of north-west palace in inscriptions, 293.
Restoration of platform, 530.
Niebuhr, remarks on Greek art, 369.
Niffer, first view of, 442.
Description of, 442.
Excavations at, 443.
Coffins discovered, 450.
Nimroud Dagh mountains, 36.
Nineveh, Roman coins of, 479.
Its founder, according to Rawlinson, 495.
Name of, on Egyptian monuments, 505.
Extent of, 513, 515.
Described by old English travellers, 539.
Ninos, castle of, on site of Nineveh, 478.
Noah, a temple to, 485, note.
Nur Ullah Bey, murderer of Schulz, 314.
Nuvaki, ancient name of Susiana or Elam, 292, 365.
O.
Oannes. See Dagon.
Obelisk, from Nimroud, by whom raised, 493.
Name of Jehu on, ib.
Omri, name of, on inscriptions, 493.
Ooroomiyah, American schools at, 334.
Ormuzd, form of, 490.
Orontes, river mentioned in inscriptions, 295.
Oxus river, supposed to be mentioned in inscriptions, 498.
P.
Palace, at Nimroud built, 293.
Of Nebuchadnezzar, 422.
Assyrian mode of lighting, 524.
More than one story, 527.
Internal decorations, 528.
Parasang, its length, 55.
Patriarch, of Akhtamar, 338.
Bodies of Chaldæan patriarchs discovered, 233.
Pearls brought to Babylon, 430.
Pedestals discovered at Kouyunjik, 477.
Persia, frontiers of, 314.
Costume of ancient kings of, 358, 363.
A prince of, 384.
Conquest of Babylon, 426.
Relics of, at Kouyunjik, 485.
Persian Gulf navigated by Babylonians, 429.
Cylinders, 489.
Houses compared with Assyrian, 525.
Phœnician seals, 138.
Letters on bronze, 159.
Workers in metal, 161.
Coast conquered by Assyrians, 192.
Tribute to Assyrian king, 295.
Trade with Babylon, 430.
Cylinders, 489.
Pine-apple in bas-reliefs, 281.
Plaster on walls of palaces, 421, 530.
Plough, Armenian, 314.
Poetry of Bedouins, 266.
Poole, Mr. Stuart, note on denarii, 479.
Pottery from Babylon, 409.
From Kouyunjik, 480.
Priest, Assyrian, sacrificing, 191.
Protestant religion, extension of, in Turkey, 331.
Propylæum at Khorsabad, 109.
Pul, monuments of, 498.
Pyramid at Nimroud, excavations in, 104.
Q.
Quarries of alabaster, 112.
Quintus Curtius, description of Persian king, 358.
R.
Rafts of skins, 194, 373.
Rassam, Mr. Hormuzd, 88.
Rathaiyah, the wife of Suttum, 219.
Rawlinson, Col., 87.
Sculptures purchased by, 110.
Discovery of annals of Sennacherib, 117;
of name of father of Sargon, 291.
Theory as to Babylon, 407.
Discoveries, 492, etc.
Records, chamber of, 286.
Of early Nimroud king, 298.
Nature of Assyrian, 511.
Rediff, meaning of term, 236.
Redwan, town of, 44.
Reshid Pasha, 20.
Rich, Mr., description of Babylon, 396, note.
Sketch of the Birs Nimroud, 404.
Discoveries at Babel, 408.
Rishwan, an Arab Sheikh, 214.
Roads, Turkish, 18.
Babylonian, 429.
Roman relics discovered at Kouyunjik, 479.
Ross, Dr., 380.
S.
Sabaco, seal of, 134.
Sabæan letters and dialect on Babylonian bowls, 417.
Sahiman, brother of Suttum, 215, 464.
Saladin, birthplace of, 374.
Samarrah, town of, 377.
Samaria, name in inscriptions, 498.
Sand hills, moving, 439.
Sandwith, Dr., 16, 337.
Sardanapalus, or Ashurakhbal, his tomb, 106.
Name read by Col. Rawlinson, 291.
His records, 290.
Builds a city on the Euphrates, 294.
Campaigns of, 294.
Small statue of, 299.
His records, 492, 494.
Sargon, name of, 127, and note.
Name on glass vase, 164.
His cotemporary at Wan, 329.
Monuments of, 498.
Sassanian ruins, 377.
Saulcy, M. de, investigations of, 492.
Saw of iron from Nimroud, 163.
Scarabs on bronzes, 164.
Egyptian, discovered at Arban, 233.
At Nineveh, 482.
Sceptre of ivory found at Nimroud, 164.
Schools, Armenian, at Wan, 331.
In Turkey, 332.
Schulz murdered, 314.
His account of Wan, 322.
Seals, Assyrian, discovered, 132.
Phœnician and Egyptian, 132.
Of king of Egypt, 134.
Importance of, in East, 490, note.
Seleucia, ruins of, 461.
Seleucus founded Seleucia, 427.
Seleucidæ, remains of period of, at Kouyunjik, 480.
Semiramis founded Wan, 321.
Sennacherib superintending transport of colossi, 95.
His annals discovered, 117.
Name of, 126.
His Signet, 135.
His sculptures at Bavian, 173.
His buildings at Shomamok, 186.
Name at Shereef-Khan, 484.
Date of accession, 494.
His monuments, 528.
Sert, river of, 38.
Seven Sleepers, the cave of, 173.
Shabbak, sect of, 181.
Shahan Bey, 22.
Shaheen, a falcon, 386.
Shammar, Gebel, present state of, 434.
Shalmaneser, name of, 127, and note.
Name on Monuments, 499.
Shat-el-Arab. See Euphrates.
Shell, engraved, from Wurka, 453.
Shedadi, mound of, 247.
Sheikh-Adi, 72.
Ceremonies at, 74.
Sheikh Tahar, 310.
Shepherds’ Gate, tradition of, at Wan, 327.
Shereef-Khan, excavations at, 484.
Sharutinian, the, 295.
The Shairetana of the Egyptians, ib. note.
Shomamok, plain of, 146.
Excavations in, 186.
The Kasr, 187.
The Gla, 188.
Shushan, city of, represented, 366.
Name of, in inscriptions, 367.
Sidon, name of, in inscriptions, 120, 296.
Mariners of, employed by Sennacherib, 124.
Workers in metal of, 161.
Singara, coin of, 207.
See Sinjar.
Suidones, 431.
Sinjar, the, 205, 207, 269.
Skins used for rafts, and to cross rivers, 373.
Snake-charmer, a, 212.
Sockets of gates of palace, 137.
Solomon, bronze vessels of, 161.
Jewish kingdom under, 510.
His buildings compared with Assyrian, 517.
Form of his house, 518.
Statue, an entire, discovered, 299.
Steamer, English, on Tigris, 381.
Stewart, Mr., Babylonian bowls from his collection, 414.
Storms, 201, 245, 301.
Studs, in mother of pearl and ivory, 151.
Subhan mountain, 316.
Suleiman Agha, visit to, 252, 257.
Summer, in Assyria, 301.
Summaichah, village of, 465.
Susiana, conquest of, 124.
Rivers of, 365.
See Elam.
Susubira, king of Chaldæa, 124, 475.
Suttum, a Bedouin Sheikh, 196, 198, 202.
His mare, 213.
His encampment, 215.
Rathaiyah, his wife, 219.
Adla, his wife, 244.
His hawk, 249.
His honesty, 470.
His death, ib. note.
Syria, conquered by Sennacherib, 120.
Syriac characters on Babylonian bowl, 415.
T.
Tablets, set up by Sennacherib, 120.
At Bavian, 174.
At Nahr-el-Kelb, 176, note.
Of Assyrian Kings, 290.
At Wan, 322.
From Wurka, 453.
Tai, tribe of, attack on Nimroud, 142.
Visit to, 144.
Talent, the Babylonian, 486, and note.
Talmud, the, 416.
Tekrit, town of, 378, 468.
Tel Ermah, mound, 202.
Tel Kef, village of, 54.
Temple of Jerusalem, compared with Assyrian palaces, 518.
Tent, an Arab, 144, 216.
Thief, a Bedouin, 246.
Tracing, 269.
Throne, a, 128.
Discovery of, 165.
Tiglath Pileser, monuments of, 498.
His annals said to be discovered, 498.
Tigris, the river, 47, 200.
Changes in course of, 71, note.
Sources of Eastern branch, 344.
Head waters of, 344.
Description of banks of, 374.
Navigation of, 378.
Timour Mirza, 384.
Tin, mixed with bronze, 160.
Tkhoma, district of, 354.
Tokkari, conquered by Sennacherib, 124, 193.
Tombs, in the rock, 31.
At Bavian, 175.
Mussulman, 967.
At Wan, 322, 325.
At Kouyunjik, 480.
Tortures, represented, 367.
Tower at Nimroud discovered, 104.
Tomb in, 106.
Treasure chamber discovered, 150.
Trebizond, 19.
Tripod, stands of bronze, 151.
Trumpet speaking in bas-reliefs, 94.
Tulip, an Assyrian ornament, 155.
Turkey, reforms in, 22.
State of frontiers, 317.
Turks, destructive policy of, 145, 374, 381, 454.
Turtle, a, taken in the Khabour, 245.
Tyre, mariners of, employed by Sennacherib, 124.
Name of, in inscriptions, 296.
U. V.
Vault at Nimroud, 138.
Venus, the Assyrian, images of, 388.
Verhan-Shehr, 260.
Umjerjeh, encampment at, 260.
Volcano. See Koukab.
W.
Wali Bey, a Turcoman chief, 147.
Walls represented, 193.
Of Kouyunjik, 539.
Walpole, Hon. F., 300.
Wan, first view of, 29, 316.
Jewish families taken there by Tigranes, 316.
Arrival at, 319.
History of, 322.
Inscriptions at, 325.
List of kings from monuments of, 327.
Language of inscriptions of, 329.
Weights, Assyrian, discovered at Nimroud, 486.
Well, a, at Kouyunjik, 66.
At Nimroud, 150.
Wine-strainer of bronze, 152.
Women, Arab, their dress, 217.
Of the Milli tribe, 260.
Singing, represented in bas-reliefs, 367.
Wothaiyah, 435.
Wurka, coffins discovered at, 451.
X.
Xenophon, retreat of the Ten Thousand, remarks on, 47, 50, 55, note, 188.
Description of Cyrus, 357.
Xerxes, inscription of, at Wan, 329.
Destroyed the temples of Babylon, 420.
Y.
Yavan, the Greek islands, 120.
Mariners of, employed by Sennacherib, 124.
Yedi Klissia, convent of, 335.
Cuneiform inscriptions at, 336.
Yusuf Cawal, 17, 40, 171.
Yezidis, state of, 17.
Reception by, 40, 42.
Bronze bird of, 46.
A meeting with, 53.
Sacred ceremonies of, 74.
A book of the, 80.
Customs of, 81.
A marriage, 171.
Of the Sinjar, 208.
Their houses, 209.
Their dress, 210.
On Persian frontiers, 317.
Z.
Zab river, 146, 183, 209, 345.
Zerga, plain of, 200.
Zibari Kurds, 307.
Chiefs of, 308.
Zibbliyah, ruin of, 459.
Zidkaha, king of Sidon, 121.
Zobeide, tomb of, 379.
Tribe of, 390.
Footnotes:
[1] The most unobservant and hasty traveller in Turkey would soon become
acquainted with this fact, could he read the modest and pious inscription,
carved in relief on a small marble tablet of the purest white, adorning
almost every half-ruined fountain at which he stops to refresh himself by
the wayside.
[2] Anabasis, lib. iv. c. 5.
[3] The small building which sometimes covers a Mohammedan tomb is so
called.
[4] Shah Armen, i. e., King of Armenia, was a title assumed by a
dynasty, reigning at Akhlat, founded by Sokman Kothby, a slave of the
Seljuk Prince, Kothbedin Ismail, who established an independent
principality at Akhlat in A. D. 1100, which lasted eighty years.
[5] The lowest order of the Yezidi priesthood.
[6] A large drum beaten at both ends, and a kind of oboe or pipe.
[7] Nineveh and its Remains, vol. i. p. 245.
[8] Anab. book iv. c. 3.
[9] It was at the foot of this steep descent that Xenophon was compelled
to turn off, as caravans still are, from the river, and to brave the
difficulties of a mountain pass, defended by the warlike Carduchi or
Kurds.
[10] The custom of assembling and transacting business in the gate is
continually referred to in the Bible. See 2 Sam. xix. 8., where king David
is represented as sitting in the gate; comp. 2 Chron. xviii. 9., and Dan.
ii. 49. The gates of Jewish houses were probably similar to that described
in the text. Such entrances are also found in Persia. Frequently in the
gates of cities, as at Mosul, these recesses are used as shops for the
sale of wheat and barley, bread and grocery. Elisha prophesies that a
measure of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two measures of
barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria. 2 Kings, vii. 1. and 18.
[11] Mr. Ainsworth would take the Greeks up to the modern ferry, where
there could never have been a ford, and which would have been some miles
out of their route. (Travels in the Track of the Ten Thousand.)
[12] In Chapter X. will be found some farther remarks on this subject.
[13] He probably took the more difficult road over the pass, and not that
round the spur, in order to cross the Khabour by a bridge or ferry. It
must be remembered that it was winter, and that the rivers were
consequently swollen.
[14] This halt, after so short a day’s march, may have been occasioned by
the Hazel. The distance corresponds with sufficient accuracy.
[15] It is a matter of surprise that Cyrus should have chosen the very
middle of summer for his expedition into Babylonia, and still more
wonderful that the Greeks, unused to the intense heats of Mesopotamia, and
encumbered with their heavy arms and armour, should have been able to
brave the climate. No Turkish or Persian commander would in these days
venture to undertake a campaign against the Arabs in this season of the
year; for, besides the heat, the want of water would be almost an
insurmountable obstacle. During their retreat, the Greeks had to encounter
all the rigor of an Armenian winter; so that, during the few months they
were under arms, they went through the most trying extremes of climate.
The expedition of Alexander was also undertaken in the middle of summer.
It must, however, be borne in mind, that Mesopotamia was probably then
thickly peopled and well cultivated, and that canals and wells of water
must have abounded.
[16] Had he seen this large inland sea, he would probably have mentioned
it.
[17] In no way, however, would a direct line of march between these two
rivers, nor between any other two rivers which can possibly answer to his
description, tally with the distances given by Xenophon.
[18] See Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 112.
[19] Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 107.
[20] The long lines of variously armed troops, described in my former work
(vol. ii. p. 107), as covering several slabs from top to bottom, form the
army of the king marching to this campaign.
[21] It is still the custom in Persia, and was so until lately in Turkey,
for soldiers to bring the heads of the slain to their officers after a
battle, and to claim a small pecuniary reward.
[22] For an account of these mounds represented in the Assyrian
sculptures, and the manner in which they illustrate various passages in
Scripture see my Nineveh and its Remains, vol ii. p. 281 and note.
[23] Such is the costume of the women in ships in a bas-relief discovered
during my former researches (see Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p.
116), and which, I have conjectured, may represent the capture of Tyre and
Sidon.
[24] See Nineveh and its Remains, vol. i. p. 131, for a description of the
discoveries previously made in this mound.
[25] “The little sheep.” Kouyunjik is, however, generally known to the
Arabs by the name of Armousheeyah.
[26] The river Tigris flows in this part of its course, and until it
reaches Saimarrah, on the confines of Babylonia, through a valley varying
from one to two miles in width, bounded on both sides by low limestone and
conglomerate hills. Its bed has been undergoing a continual and regular
change. When it reaches the hills on one side, it is thrown back by this
barrier, and creeps gradually to the opposite side, leaving a rich
alluvial soil quickly covered with jungle. This process it has been
repeating, backwards and forwards, for countless ages, and will continue
to repeat as long as it drains the great highlands of Armenia. At Nimroud
it is now gradually returning to the base of the mound, which it deserted
some three thousand years ago; but centuries must elapse before it can
work its way that far.
[27] Nineveh and its Remains, vol. i. ch. ix.
[28] A mixture of bruised wheat, chopped meat, milk and curds, boiled into
a thick pulpy mass, over which melted butter is poured. It is a favorite
dish in Syria and Mesopotamia, and is cooked by families on great
festivals, or on certain days of the year, in consequence of vows made
during sickness or in travel.
[29] For a translation of this singular poem, see the larger work, of
which the present volume is an abridgment.
[30] This reminds me of the Bedouins, who, when they come into a town in a
party, send one of their number to the mosque to pray for his companions
as well as himself.
[31] At Mosul, a bullock, very small certainly when compared with our
high-fed cattle, is sold for forty or fifty piastres, 8s. or 10s.; a
fat sheep for about 4s.; a lamb for 2s. or 2s. 6d. Other articles
of food are proportionably cheap. The camel-load of barley was selling at
my departure for ten or twelve piastres (2s. or 2s. 6d.). A common
horse is worth from 3l. to 5l.; a donkey about 10s.; a camel about
the same as a horse.
[32] See p. 64.
[33] It will be borne in mind that it was necessary to carry tunnels round
the chambers, and along the walls, leaving the centre buried in earth and
rubbish, a very laborious and tedious operation with no more means at
command than those afforded by the country.
[34] All these entrances were formed in the same way as that in the
south-eastern side, described p. 66., namely, by a pair of human-headed
bulls, flanked on each side by a winged giant, and two smaller figures one
above the other.
[35] P. 67.
[36] P. 66. I assume the building to be due north and south, although it
is not so. It faces nearly north-east and south-west.
[37] In my former work I had stated that all the Assyrian sculptures
were carved in their places against the walls of the building.
[38] I have described the mode of irrigation now generally employed by the
Mesopotamian Arabs, in my “Nineveh and its Remains,” vol. ii. p. 321.
[39] It may be remarked, that precisely the same framework was used for
moving the great sculptures in the British Museum.
[40] See woodcut, p. 92.
[41] Although in these bas-reliefs, as in other Assyrian sculptures, no
regard is paid to perspective, the proportions are very well kept.
[42] 1 Kings, vi. 23. I shall hereafter compare the edifices built by
Solomon with the Assyrian palaces, and point out the remarkable
illustrations of the Jewish temple afforded by the latter.
[43] A peculiar deity is mentioned who probably presided over the earth,
but his name is as yet unknown; it is here denoted by a monogram.
[44] Nahum, iii. 13.
[45] Anab. lib. iii. c. 4.
[46] Col. Rawlinson remarks in his memoir on the “Outlines of Assyrian
History” (published by the Royal Asiatic Society in 1842), that “the great
pyramid at Nimroud was erected by the son of the builder of the north-west
palace;” and as the Greeks name that monument the tomb of Sardanapalus, he
believes that “a shaft sunk in the centre of the mound, and carried down
to the foundations, would lay bare the original sepulchre. The
difficulties (he adds) of such an operation have hitherto prevented its
execution, but the idea is not altogether abandoned.” He appears thus,
curiously enough, to be ignorant of the excavations in that ruin described
in the text, although he had just visited Nimroud. The only likely place
not yet examined would be beneath the very foundations.
[47] Palaces of Nineveh and Persepolis restored, p. 223.
[48] Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii.—plan of Kouyunjik.
[49] I had also shown the probability that the palace of Khorsabad owed
its erection to a monarch of this dynasty, in a series of letters
published in the Malta Times, as far back as 1843.
[50] Vol. xxii. p. 34. I take this opportunity of attributing to their
proper source the discoveries of the names of Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon,
inadvertently assigned to others in my “Nineveh and its Remains.” We owe
these, with many others of scarcely less importance, to the ingenuity and
learning of Dr. Hincks. (Literary Gazette, June 27, 1846.)
[51] Isaiah, xxxix. 1, and 2 Kings, xx. 12, where the name is written
Berodach.
[52] Col. Rawlinson reads Bel-adon. This Belib is the Belibus of Ptolemy’s
Canon. The mention of his name led Dr. Hincks to determine the accession
of Sennacherib to be in 703 B. C.
[53] Col. Rawlinson gives 11,180 head of cattle, 5230 camels, 1,020,100
sheep, and 800,300 goats. He has also pointed out that both Abydenus and
Polyhistor mention this campaign against Babylon.
[54] Joseph. 1. ix. c. 14., and see Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p.
306, where I had long before the deciphering of the inscriptions
endeavoured to point out the representation of this event, in some
bas-reliefs at Kouyunjik.
[55] Isaiah, xxxvii. 2 Kings, xix. 9.
[56] 2 Kings, xviii. 13.; and compare Isaiah, xxxvi. 1.
[57] “And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah, king of Judah, 300
talents of silver and 30 talents of gold.” (2 Kings, xviii. 14.)
[58] Shalmaneser, who made war against Hosea, and who is generally
supposed to have carried away the ten tribes from Samaria, although the
sacred historian does not distinctly say so (2 Kings, xvii.), is
identified by general consent with Sargon, who sent his general against
Ashdod (Isaiah, xx.).
[59] Chap. VIII.
[60] Xenophon Cyrop. lvii. c. 3. Quintus Curtius, liii. c. 3.
[61] Botta’s Monumens de Ninive, Plate 146.
[62] 2 Kings, xviii. 14. Isaiah xxxvi. 2. From 2 Kings, xix. 8., and
Isaiah, xxxvii. 8., we may infer that the city soon yielded.
[63] Isaiah, iii. 18—24. &c. (See translation by the Rev. J. Jones.) This
description of the various articles of dress worn by the Jewish women is
exceedingly interesting. Most of the ornaments enumerated, probably indeed
the whole of them, if we were acquainted with the exact meaning of the
Hebrew words, are still to be traced in the costumes of Eastern women
inhabiting the same country. Many appear to be mentioned in the Assyrian
inscriptions amongst objects of tribute and of spoil brought to the king.
See also Ezekiel xvi. 10—14. for an account of the dress of the Jewish
women.
[64] M. Botta also found, at Khorsabad, the ashes of string in lumps of
clay impressed with a seal, without being aware of their origin.
[65] The impressions of the signets of the Egyptian and Assyrian kings,
besides a large collection of seals found in Kouyunjik, are now in the
British Museum.
[66] The sockets, which are now in the British Museum, weigh 6 lb. 3¾
oz.; the diameter of the ring is about five inches. The hinges and frames
of the brass gates at Babylon were also of brass (Herod. i. 178).
[67] “Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh.” (Gen. x.
11.)
[68] On Egyptian monuments captives are portrayed with similar feathers
attached to their heads; but they appear to be of a negro race, whilst
those on the Nimroud bricks bear no traces of negro color or physiognomy.
(Wilkinson’s Ancient Egyptians, vol. 1. plate, p. 385.)
[69] That is, as will be hereafter shown, to Pul, or Tiglath Pileser.
[70] The canvass of such tents is divided into strips, which, packed
separately on the camels during a march, are easily united again by coarse
thread, or by small wooden pins.
[71] The reader may remember a well-known anecdote of this celebrated
Sheikh, still current in the desert. He was the owner of a matchless mare
whose fame had even reached the Greek Emperor. Ambassadors were sent from
Constantinople to ask the animal of the chief, and to offer any amount of
gold in return. When they announced, after dining, the object of their
embassy, it was found, that the tribe suffering from a grievous famine,
and having nothing to offer to their guests, the generous Hatem had slain
his own priceless mare to entertain them.
[72] It was parallel to, and to the south of, the chamber marked A A, in
the plan of the north-west palace. (Nineveh and its Remains, vol. i. Plan
III.)
[73] Few wells in the plains bordering on the Tigris yield sweet water.
[74] The caldrons contained about eighty bells. The largest are 3¼
inches high, and 2¼ inches in diameter, the smallest 1¾ inch high,
and 1¼ inch in diameter. With the rest of the relics they are now in
the British Museum.
[75] 2 Chron. iv. 2. The dimensions, however, of this vessel were far
greater. It is singular that in some of the bas-reliefs large metal
caldrons supported on brazen oxen are represented.
[76] They were dedicated to the gods in temples. Colœus dedicated a
large vessel of brass, adorned with griffins, to Heré. Herod. iv. 152.
[77] The Egyptian goddess Athor is represented with similar ears and hair.
[78] 1 Kings, vii. 13, 14. 2 Chron. iv.
[79] 2 Kings, xxiv. 14, 16. Jeremiah xxiv. 1.; xxix. 2.
[80] In ancient history, embossed or inlaid goblets are continually
mentioned amongst the offerings to celebrated shrines. Gyges dedicated
goblets, Alyattes, a silver cup, and an inlaid iron saucer (the art of
inlaying having been invented, according to Herodotus, by Glaucus), and
Crœsus similar vessels, in the temple of Delphi. (Herod. i. 14. and 25.
Pausanias, l, x.) They were also given as acceptable presents to kings and
distinguished men, as we see in 2 Sam. viii. 10. and 3 Chron. ix. 23, 24.
The Lacedæmonians prepared for Crœsus a brazen vessel ornamented with
forms of animals round the rim (Herod. i. 70.), like some of the bowls
described in the text. The embossings on the Nimroud bronzes may furnish
us with a very just idea of the figures and ornaments of the celebrated
shield of Achilles, which were probably much the same in treatment and
execution.
[81] Such may have been “the bosses of the bucklers” mentioned in Job, xv.
26.
[82] 1 Kings, x. 16, 17.; xiv. 25, 26.
[83] Jer. li. 11. Ezek. xxi. 21., and compare Isaiah, xlix. 2., where a
polished shaft is mentioned.
[84] Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 319.
[85] Ezek. xxvii. 15. Ivory was amongst the objects brought to Solomon by
the navy of Tharshish (1 Kings x. 22).
[86] The height of the glass vase is 3¼ inches; of the alabaster, 7
inches.
[87] See p. 129.
[88] 1 Kings, x. 18. This is a highly interesting illustration of the work
in Solomon’s palaces. The earliest use of metal amongst the Greeks appears
also to have been as a casing to wooden objects.
[89] Herod, i. 14.
[90] Both sculptures have, however, been completely restored in the
British Museum.
[91] No tradition is more generally current in the East than the well
known story of the Seven Sleepers and their Dog. There is scarcely a
district without the original cave in which the youths were concealed
during their miraculous slumber.
[92] They were first visited by the late M. Rouet, French consul at Mosul.
In my Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 114 note, will be found a short
description of the sculptures by my friend Mr. Ross. These are the
rock-tablets which have been recently described in the French papers, as a
new discovery by M. Place, and as containing a series of portraits of the
Assyrian kings!
[93] These tombs are not of the Assyrian epoch. The Jews, as well as other
nations of antiquity, were, however, accustomed to make such rock-chambers
for their dead, as we learn from Isaiah, xxii. 16. “What hast thou here?
and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here,
as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an
habitation for himself in a rock?”
[94] I examined the remarkable tablets at the Nahr-el-Kelb, on my return
to Europe in 1851. They were sculptured, as I stated in my first work, by
Sennacherib, the king of the Bavian monuments.
[95] See p. 117.
[96] Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. chap. 12.
[97] The names of the principal are Tel-el-Barour, Abbas, Kadreeyah,
Abd-ul-Azeez, Baghurtha, Elias Tuppeh, Tarkheena, and Doghan.
[98] Anab. b. ii. c. 4.
[99] See p. 56.
[100] Isaiah, xxxvi. 18, 19.
[101] Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 104.
[102] See p. 124.
[103] 2 Kings, xviii. 11. Ezek. i. 2.
[104] 2 Chron. xxxv. 20.
[105] I use the word “dromedary” for a swift riding camel, the Deloul of
the Arabs, and Hejin of the Turks: it is so applied generally, although
incorrectly, by Europeans in the East.
[106] Burckhardt, the English traveller best acquainted with the Bedouin
character, and admirably correct in describing it, makes the following
remarks: “With all their faults, the Bedouins are one of the noblest
nations with which I ever had an opportunity of becoming acquainted....
The sociable character of a Bedouin, when there is no question of profit
or interest, may be described as truly amiable. His cheerfulness, wit,
softness of temper, good nature and sagacity, which enable him to make
shrewd remarks on all subjects, render him a pleasing, and often a
valuable companion. His equality of temper is never ruffled by fatigue or
suffering.” (Notes on the Bedouins, pp. 203, 208.) Unfortunately, since
Burckhardt’s time, closer intercourse with the Turks and with Europeans,
has much tended to destroy many good features in the Arab character.
[107] See p. 187.
[108] The following are the names of the principal mounds seen during this
day’s march: Ermah, Shibbit, Duroge, Addiyah, Abou-Kubbah, and Kharala,
each name being preceded by the Arabic word Tel, i. e. mound. They are
laid down in the map accompanying this volume, their positions having been
fixed by careful bearings, and in some instances by the sextant.
[109] Nineveh and its Remains, vol. i. p. 258.
[110] Nineveh and its Remains, vol. i. p. 259.
[111] The traveller who has looked down from Mardin, for the first time,
upon the plains of Mesopotamia, can never forget the impression which that
singular scene must have made upon him. The view from the Sinjar hill is
far more beautiful and varied.
[112] In the spring months, when the pastures are good, the sheep and
camels of the Bedouins require but little water, and the tents are seldom
pitched near a well or stream; frequently as much as half a day’s journey
distant. Suttum assured me that at this time of the year the camels need
not be watered for two months, such is the richness of the grass of the
Desert.
[113] It is an error to suppose that the Bedouins never ride horses; for
several reasons, however, they seldom do so.
[114] It is considered exceedingly inhospitable amongst the Shammar to
place a hot dish before guests, as they are obliged to eat quickly out of
consideration for others, who are awaiting their turn, which they cannot
do, unless the mess be cool, without burning their mouths, or wasting half
their time picking out the colder bits. On one occasion, Ferhan, the great
chief of the Shammar, and a large number of horsemen having alighted at my
tent, I prepared a dinner for them. The Sheikh was afterwards heard to say
that the Bey’s feast was sumptuous, but that he had not treated his guests
with proper hospitality, as the dishes were so hot nobody could eat his
fill.
[115] These are “the rings and nose jewels,” which Isaiah (iii. 21.)
describes as worn by the Jewish women. It is curious that no
representation of them has hitherto been found in the Assyrian sculptures.
I take this opportunity of mentioning, that I saw a finger-ring sculptured
on a fragment at Khorsabad.
[116] As this was known to be a mere matter of form with me, as I made it
a rule never to accept presents of this kind, Suttum might have offered me
his bay colt, the most valuable horse amongst the Shammar, to increase the
display of hospitality. The reason he did not was this, that although he
knew I would have returned the horse, I might have expressed a wish to buy
it, and have offered a price. An offer of this kind would have at once
injured the value of the animal in the eyes of the Bedouins, and its owner
might have been ultimately compelled to sell it. On one occasion, when I
was amongst the Shammar, at Al Hather, an Arab rode into my encampment on
a beautiful grey colt. I was so much struck with the animal, that I at
once expressed a wish to its rider to purchase it. He merely intimated
that the sum I named was beneath the value. I increased it, but he only
shook his head, and rode off. Nevertheless, the report spread amongst the
tribes that he had bargained for the sale of his horse. Although of the
best blood, the animal was looked upon with suspicion by the Bedouins, and
the owner was, some months after, obliged to sell him at a lower price
than I had bid, to a horse-dealer of Mosul! A knowledge of such little
prejudices and customs is very necessary in dealing with the Arabs of the
Desert, who are extremely sensitive, and easily offended.
[117] Its note resembles the cry of the camel-driver, when leading the
herds home at night, for which it is frequently mistaken.
[118] Literally, “strength-money:” the small tribes, who wander in the
Desert, and who inhabit the villages upon its edge, are obliged to place
themselves under the protection of some powerful tribe to avoid being
utterly destroyed. Each great division of the Shammar receives a present
of money, sheep, camels, corn, or barley, from some tribe or another for
this protection, which is always respected by the other branches of the
tribe. Thus the Jehesh paid kowee to the Boraij, the Jebours of the
Khabour to Ferhan (the hereditary chief of all the Shammar), the people of
Tel Afer to the Assaiyah. Should another branch of the Shammar plunder, or
injure, tribes thus paying kowee, their protectors are bound to make good,
or revenge, their losses.
[119] Cawal Yusuf actually became the farmer of the revenues for a sum
scarcely exceeding 350l. The inhabitants of the Sinjar were greatly
pleased by this concession to one of their own faith, and were encouraged
to cultivate the soil, and to abstain from mutual aggressions.
[120] These relics are now in the British Museum.
[121] The height of this fragment was 5 ft. 8 in.
[122] A lion very similar to that discovered at Arban, though more
colossal in its dimensions, exists near Serong. (Chesney’s Expedition,
vol. i. p. 114.)
[123] 2 Kings, xvii. 6. Ezek. i. 1. In the Hebrew text the name of this
river is spelt in two different ways. In Kings we have חָבור, Khabour,
answering exactly to the Chaboras of the Greeks and Romans, and the
Khabour of the Arabs. In Ezekiel it is written כְּבָר, Kebar. There is
no reason, however, to doubt that the same river is meant.
[124] The name occurs in Ezekiel, iii. 15. “Then I came to them of the
captivity at Tel-Abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar.” In the
Theodosian tables we find Thallaba on the Khabour, with which it may
possibly be identified. (Illustrated Commentary on the Old and New
Testaments, published by Charles Knight, a very useful and well-digested
summary, in note to word.) It is possible that Arbonad, a name apparently
given to the Khabour in Judith, ii. 24., may be connected with Arban:
however, it is not quite clear what river is really meant, as there
appears to be some confusion in the geographical details. The cities on
the Khabour, mentioned by the Arab geographers, are Karkisia (Circesium,
at the junction of the river with the Euphrates), Makeseen (of which I
could find no trace), Arban, and Khabour. I have not been able to discover
the site of any ruin of the same name as the river. Karkisia, when visited
in the twelfth century by Benjamin of Tudela, contained about 500 Jewish
inhabitants, under two Rabbis. According to Ibn Haukal, it was surrounded
by gardens and cultivated lands. The spot is now inhabited by a tribe of
Arabs.
[125] In speaking of the Bedouins I mean the Aneyza, Shamma, Al Dhefyr,
and other great tribes inhabiting Mesopotamia and the Desert to the north
of the Gebel Shammar. With the Arabs of the Hedjaz and Central Arabia I am
unacquainted.
[126] Polygamy, it may be here mentioned, is very common amongst the
Bedouins.
[127] The title of haraymi (thief), so far from being one of disgrace, is
considered evidence of great prowess and capacity in a young man. Like the
Spartans of old, he only suffers if caught in the act. There was a man of
the Assaiyah tribe, who had established an immense renown by stealing no
less than ninety horses, amongst which was the celebrated mare given by
Sofuk to Beder Khan Bey.
[128] Easterns never hawk, if they can avoid it, when the sun is high, as
the bird of prey described in the text then appears in search of food.
[129] One of the principal objects of the Bedouins in battle being to
carry off their adversaries’ mares, they never wound them if they can
avoid it, but endeavour to kill or unhorse the riders.
[130] Burckhardt has thus defined the terms of this law: “The Thar rests
with the khomse, or fifth generation, those only having the right to
revenge a slain parent, whose fourth lineal ascendant is, at the same
time, the fourth lineal ascendant of the person slain; and, on the other
side, only those male kindred of the homicide are liable to pay with their
own for the blood shed, whose fourth lineal ascendant is at the same time
the fourth lineal ascendant of the homicide. The present generation is
thus comprised within the number of the khomse. The lineal descendants of
all those who are entitled to revenge at the moment of the manslaughter
inherit the right from their parents. The right to blood-revenge is never
lost; it descends on both sides to the latest generation.” (Notes on
Arabs, p. 85.)
[131] I. e. The ancient ruined city, a name very generally given by the
Turks to ruins.
[132] The form of salutation used by the Turks, consisting of raising the
hand from the breast, or sometimes from the ground, to the forehead.
[133] Burckhardt remarks that “Bedouins are, perhaps, the only people of
the East that can be entitled true lovers.” (Notes on Bedouins, p. 155.)
[134] In the winter of the year my residence in Babylonia, after an
engagement near Baghdad, between the Boraij and the Turkish regular
troops, in which the latter were defeated, a flying soldier was caught
within sight of an encampment. His captors were going to put him to death,
when he stretched his hands towards the nearest tent, claiming the Dakheel
of its owner, who chanced to be Sahiman, Mijwell’s eldest brother. The
Sheikh was absent from home, but his beautiful wife Noura answered to the
appeal, and seizing a tent-pole beat off his pursuers, and saved his life.
This conduct was much applauded by the Bedouins.
[135] The manner in which reports are spread and exaggerated in the Desert
is frequently highly amusing. In all encampments there are idle vagabonds
who live by carrying news from tribe to tribe, thereby earning a dinner
and spending their leisure hours. As soon as a stranger arrives, and
relates anything of interest to the Arabs, some such fellow will mount his
ready-saddled deloul, and make the best of his way to retail the news in a
neighbouring tent, from whence it is carried, in the same way, to others.
It is extraordinary how rapidly a report spreads in this manner over a
very great distance. Sofuk sent to inform the British resident at Baghdad,
of the siege and fall of Acre, many days before the special messenger
dispatched to announce that event reached the city; and I have frequently
rejected intelligence received from Bedouins, on account of the apparent
impossibility of its coming to me through such a source, which has
afterwards proved to be true.
[136] Nineveh and its Remains, vol. i. p. 93.
[137] I have elsewhere described the ruins and springs of Abou Maria.
(Nineveh and its Remains, vol. i. p. 257.)
[138] The Tigris this year had risen much higher than usual. I have
already mentioned that the plain of Nimroud was completely under water;
opposite Mosul the flood nearly reached the mounds of Kouyunjik and Nebbi
Yunus.
[139] Burckhardt (Notes on the Bedouins, p. 269) gives the following
account of the mode of preparing them:—“The Arabs in preparing locusts as
an article of food, throw them alive into boiling water, with which a good
deal of salt has been mixed: after a few minutes they are taken out and
dried in the sun. The head, feet, and wings are then torn off; the bodies
are cleansed from the salt and perfectly dried; after which process whole
sacks are filled with them by the Bedouins. They are sometimes eaten
broiled in butter; and they often constitute materials for a breakfast
when spread over unleavened bread mixed with butter.” It has been
conjectured that the locust eaten by John the Baptist in the wilderness
was the fruit of a tree; but it is more probable that the prophet used a
common article of food, abounding even in the Desert.
[140] Cory’s Fragments, page 30.
[141] The authorities respecting this god are collected in Selden, “De Dis
Syris,” and in Beyer’s commentary. Abarbanel, in his commentary on Samuel,
says that Dagon had the form of a fish, from the middle downwards, with
the feet and hands of a man.
[142] 1 Sam. v. 4.
[143] Judges, xvi. 23.
[144] Joshua, xv. 41. From the connection of this verse with the 33rd, it
would appear that the town was in a valley.
[145] Joshua, xix. 27. 1 Mac. x. 83.
[146] Ezra, vi. 1.
[147] Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 147.
[148] Page 125.
[149] This is evident from Lucian’s “De Deâ Syrâ,” c. 4.; and see
Gesenius’s “Thesaurus” in voce “Ashtoreth.” (1 Kings, xi. 5. 33. 2 Kings,
xxiii. 13.) Quære, whether the bull’s horns placed on the head of this
divinity, were not originally the horns of the moon’s crescent?
[150] This city, one apparently of considerable size and importance, must
have stood somewhere near Antioch, or between Antioch and Aleppo. The
Sharutinians may probably be identified with the Shairetana of the
Egyptian monuments, at one time the allies, and at another the enemies, of
Egypt. Few travellers are aware that, above the city of Antioch, carved in
the rock, are colossal figures of an Egyptian sphinx and two priests. I
have been informed that there are other similar monuments in the
neighbouring mountains.
[151] This barbarous practice, frequently represented in the bas-reliefs,
seems, therefore, to have prevailed from the earliest times in the East.
Darius impaled 3000 Babylonians when he took their city. (Herod. iii.
159.) The last instance with which I am acquainted of this punishment
having been inflicted in Turkey, was at Baghdad, where, about ten years
ago, Nejib Pasha impaled four rebel Arab Sheikhs, one at each corner of
the bridge. They survived for many hours. It is said that, unless they
drink water, when they instantly die, persons so treated will live even
for two or three days.
[152] Might this word, translated conjecturally pearls, mean the shell
fish from which the Tyrian dye was extracted?
[153] The whole of the last passage is very obscure; the translation is
partly conjectural.
[154] Isaiah, xv. 6. Translation by the Rev. John Jones.
[155] For this valley I received three different names, Hassanawa,
Hassanmaima, and Nahala, the latter from the Zibari chief. The difficulty
of getting a correct name either of a place or a person from a Kurd is
very great, and travellers in Kurdistan can scarcely avoid falling into
frequent errors in this respect. The same name is pronounced in a variety
of ways, and is subject to all manner of additions and contractions. If it
have any meaning, the difficulty is, of course, less.
[156] Khan-i-resh is, by observation, 4372 feet above the level of the
sea.
[157] It was this chief, or one of his dependants, I believe, who
plundered and was about to murder two American missionaries, who attempted
to cross the mountains the year after my visit.
[158] As I have used the word convent, it may be necessary to remind the
reader that the Nestorians have no establishments answering to Roman
Catholic places of retirement, and that monastic vows are not taken by
them.
[159] The height of the convent above the level of the sea is, by
observation, 6625 feet.
[160] Nineveh and its Remains, vol. i. p. 141.
[161] The place of our encampment at Bash-Kalah was, by observation, 7818
feet above the level of the sea.
[162] The Jewish encampment was 9076 feet above the level of the sea.
[163] Amongst the Jewish population scattered widely over this part of
ancient Media, might be sought the descendants of the ten tribes, with
more probability than in the various lands which ingenious speculation has
pointed out as dwelling-places of the remnant of Israel.
[164] I must not omit to mention the name of Dr. Bimerstein, a German
gentleman at the head of the quarantine establishment, from whom I
received much civility and assistance during my stay at Wan, and who, by
the influence he had obtained over the Pasha, and by his integrity and
good sense, had contributed considerably towards the improvement in the
condition of the Christians, and the general prosperity of the pashalic.
He was a pleasing exception in a class made up of the refuse and outcasts
of Europe, who have done more than is generally known to corrupt the
Turkish character, and to bring an European and a Christian into contempt.
I am proud to say that an Englishman is not, I believe, to be found
amongst them.
[165] Wan is about 5600 feet above the level of the sea.
[166] This inscription was copied, with a strong telescope, by Schulz, and
is published with the rest of his transcripts.
[167] The Mussulmans have only two great annual feasts in which labor
gives way to rejoicings and festivities; the Christians of all sects have
little else but fasts and festivals throughout the year. A lazy Christian
will add to his own holidays the Friday of the Mohammedans, and the
Saturday of the Jews.
[168] The desire of a large number of the Armenians to improve their
institutions, and to adopt the manners of Europe, is a highly interesting,
and indeed important, fact. I was amused, after having contributed a
trifle to the funds of the school, at having presented to me a neatly
printed and ornamented receipt, with the amount of my donation duly filled
up in the blank space left for the purpose, the document being signed by
the head of the school.
[169] I cannot refrain from recording the names of the Rev. Messrs.
Goddall, Dwight, Holmes, Hamlin, and Schauffler, of the Constantinople
missionary station; the late excellent and enterprising Dr. Smith, who,
like the estimable Dr. Grant, his fellow-laborer in the same field, and
many others of his countrymen, has recently fallen a victim to his zeal
and devotion; the Rev. Eli Smith of Beyrout, and Perkins of Ooroomiyah;
men who will ever be connected with the first spread of knowledge and
truth amongst the Christians of the East, and of whom their country may
justly be proud. Personally I must express my gratitude to them for many
acts of kindness and friendship. The American mission has now
establishments in Smyrna, Brousa, Trebizond, Erzeroom, Diarbekir, Mosul,
Aintab, Aleppo, and many other cities in Asia Minor, together with native
agents all over Turkey.
[170] The several streams forming the headwaters of the eastern branch of
the Tigris mentioned in this Chapter were not before known, I believe, to
geographers.
[171] The encampment at Billi was 8612 feet above the level of the sea.
[172] The bearing I obtained of Mount Ararat (N. 15°. 30″ E.), corresponds
correctly with its position on the best maps. Our distance was about 145
miles.
[173] Those who wish to have a painful picture of the nature of the
interference amongst the Nestorians, to which I allude, may read Mr.
Badger’s Nestorians and their Rituals, and Mr. Fletcher’s Travels in
Assyria. Although Mr. Badger naturally gives his own version of these
transactions, the impartial reader will have no difficulty in seeing the
misfortunes to which the unfortunate opposition to the American missions
naturally led.
[174] Consuls are so called in Southern Turkey and Persia, and all
European strangers are supposed to be consuls.
[175] Nineveh and its Remains, vol. i. p. 180.
[176] On my return to Mosul I sent to Constantinople a report of the
exactions and cruelties to which the Nestorians had been subjected by
their Turkish rulers; but nothing, I fear, has been done to amend their
condition.
[177] This bas-relief is now in the British Museum.
[178] Cyrop. lib. viii. c. 3.
[179] Quint. Curt. lib. iii. c. 3. I have quoted this description in my
Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 279. The Persian king, although
represented on the walls of Persepolis with a crown, also wore a high cap
or upright turban, as we learn from Xenophon (Anab. lib. ii. c. 5).
[180] 2 Kings, xvii. 6.
[181] Cyrus covered his chariot-horses, all but the eyes, with armour.
(Xenophon, Inst. 1. vi.)
[182] Wilkinson’s Ancient Egyptians, vol. ii. p. 109.
[183] So many characters are unfortunately wanting in this epigraph, that
the inscription cannot be satisfactorily translated. It commences, it
would appear, with the name of the Susianian king, although written
without the first character found on the other slabs. The captive,
however, was not the monarch himself, who was slain, as it has been seen,
in the battle. The name of Shushan, written, as in the book of Daniel, for
Susa, is highly interesting. It places beyond a doubt the identification
of the site of the campaign.
[184] 1 Sam. xviii. 6.
[185] Isaiah, v. 12. In Daniel, iii. 5., we have mention of the “cornet,
flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer;” but it is scarcely possible
to determine what these instruments really were: they probably resembled
those represented in the bas-reliefs described in the text. The instrument
of ten strings mentioned in Psalm xxxiii. 2., xlii. 3., and cxliv. 9., may
have been the harp of the sculptures, and the psaltery the smaller
stringed instrument.
[186] Niebuhr’s Thirty-fourth Lecture on Ancient History.
[187] See especially Narrative of a Residence in Koordistan, &c., by the
late C. J. Rich, Esq,. vol. ii. chap, xviii.
[188] Daniel, iii.
[189] The white ass of Baghdad is much esteemed in the East. Some are of
considerable size, and, when fancifully dyed with henna, their tails and
ears bright red, and their bodies spotted, like an heraldic talbot, with
the same color, they bear the chief priests and the men of the law, as
they appear to have done from the earliest times. (Judges, v. 10.)
[190] Baghdad contained, before the great plague of 1830, 110,000
inhabitants, but can now scarcely hold many more than 50,000. It is
divided into two parts by the Tigris, the smaller quarters forming suburbs
on the western bank.
[191] Jeremiah, 1. 38.
[192] This is the Kasr of Rich and subsequent travellers.
[193] Isaiah, xiii. 19-22., and compare Jeremiah, 1. 39.: “therefore the
wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the island shall dwell
there, and the owls shall dwell therein.” A large grey owl is found in
great numbers, frequently in flocks of nearly a hundred, in the low shrubs
among the ruins of Babylon.
[194] From this tribe was the celebrated lady of Haroun-al-Reshid, “the
Zobeide,” as she was called from her origin.
[195] The generous hospitality frequently shown by men living, like Zaid,
upon the smallest means, is one of the most interesting features of Arab
character.
[196] The most accurate and careful description is that by Mr. Rich, to
whom I shall have frequent occasion to refer, and whose valuable memoirs
on the site of the city were my text-books during my researches at
Babylon. In the preface, by his widow, to the collected edition of his
memoirs, will be found an interesting summary of the researches and
discoveries of previous travellers. Ker Porter, Mr. Buckingham, and
several other travellers, have given accounts more or less full of the
ruins.
[197] Abydenus states (ap. Euseb. Præp. Evang. l. ix. c. 41.) that the
first wall of Babylon, built by Belus, had disappeared, and was rebuilt by
Nebuchadnezzar. It must be borne in mind how much ancient authors copied
from one another. Nearly all the descriptions which have reached us of
Babylon appear to have been founded on the account of Herodotus and the
uncertain statements of Ctesias.
[198] I had visited it on several occasions during previous journeys. For
the first time in 1840, with Mr. Mitford.
[199] These dimensions are from Rich. I was unable to take any
measurements during my hurried visit.
[200] See Chap. XI.
[201] Lib. ii. c. 8.
[202] Lib. ii. c. 10. Such is the form that Calmet and other antiquaries
have given to the hanging gardens of Babylon in their restored plans of
the city.
[203] Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 139.
[204] Isaiah, xiv. 23.
[205] On the Tigris, near its junction with the Euphrates, is the
traditionary tomb of Ezra. The Jews, from the first centuries of the
Christian era, also appear to have visited this spot as the place of
sepulture of the prophet. Benjamin of Tudela says of it, “The sepulture of
Ezra, the priest and scribe, is in this place (name lost), where he died
on his journey from Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes.” In the early part of
the 13th century, a celebrated Jewish poet, named Jehuda Charisi ben
Salomo, described both tombs in verse. (Dr. Zunz’s Essay in 2d volume of
Asher’s ed. of Benjamin of Tudela.)
[206] For an interesting account of those singular relics, and for
translations of the inscriptions on the bowls, see the larger work in 8vo.
[207] Josephus against Appian, l. i. cviii. The Jewish historian quotes
from Hecatæus, who gives a characteristic account of the attachment of the
Jews to their faith.
[208] Benjamin of Tudela’s Travels; and see Milman’s History of the Jews,
book xix. &c.
[209] The form of the letters certainly approach the cuneiform character
when written with simple lines, as it is sometimes seen on Assyrian relics
and monuments. (See Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 143.) I am not,
however, at present ready to admit that the early Chaldee square letters
were derived from this source.
[210] See Book of Enoch translated by Archbishop Lawrence, particularly
chap. vii. sect. 2. and chap. lxviii. Among the names of the angels who
came down to the daughters of men and instructed them in sorcery and the
magic arts, we find Tamiel, Agheel, Azael, and Ramiel.
[211] Strabo, lib. xvi. p. 1049. Oxf. ed. Arrian, lib. vii. 17.
[212] Isaiah, xxi. 9.
[213] Daniel, v. 5.
[214] Esther i. 6.
[215] This inscription was obtained from some ruins near Baghdad by Sir
Harford Jones, and is now in the Museum of the East India Company. A
facsimile of it has been published.
[216] Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. 2d part, chap. ii.
[217] The usual dimensions of the Babylonian bricks are as nearly as
possible one foot square, by three and a half inches thick. Rich says
thirteen inches square. Mr. Birch has conjectured that they may represent
multiples of some Babylonian measure, perhaps the cubit.
[218] Mr. Birch has found more than one notice of Babylon on Egyptian
monuments of the time of Thothmes III.
[219] Ezekiel, xvii. 4.
[220] Daniel, v. 30, 31. This event took place B. C. 538. Whether the
Darius of the book of Daniel be Cyrus himself, or a Median who commanded
the armies of that monarch, and was afterwards appointed viceroy of
Babylon, is one of the many disputed points of ancient history.
[221] Arrian, Exp. Alex. 1. vii. c. 17. See Jeremy’s Epistle in the
Apocryphal hook of Baruch, vi. 10, 11, and 28, for instances of the
cupidity of the Babylonian priests. They had even stripped the idols of
their robes and ornaments to adorn their wives and children. This epistle
contains a very curious account of the idol worship of the Babylonians.
[222] Isaiah, xiv. 23. Jeremiah, li. 42.
[223] See an interesting Memoir on Babylon, by M. de St. Croix, in the
48th vol. of the Transactions of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles
Lettres, in which all the authorities on the subject of the gradual decay
of the city are collected.
[224] Isaiah, xliii. 14.
[225] Ezekiel, xxvii. 15.
[226] Of the early reputation of the looms of Babylon we may form an idea
from the fact of “a goodly Babylonish garment” (i. e. garment of Shinar)
being mentioned in the book of Joshua (vii. 21) amongst the objects buried
by Achan in his tent. In a curious decree of the time of Diocletian,
regulating the maximum value of articles of clothing and food throughout
the Roman empire, several objects from Babylon are specified. Babylonian
skins of the first quality are rated at 500 denarii; of the second quality
at 40; Babylonian shoes, called mullai, at 120 denarii per pair; and a
Babylonian girdle at 100. Plain Babylonian socks are also mentioned, but
the amount at which they were valued is wanting. This decree was
discovered at Eski Hissar, the ancient Stratoniceia, in Asia Minor. (See
Leake’s Asia Minor.)
[227] “And the men of Cuth made Nergal,” in Samaria, where they had been
transplanted after the first captivity. (2 Kings, xvii. 30.) The country
of the Cuthites was probably in the neighbourhood of Babylon, though the
commentators have not agreed upon its exact site. Josephus says that it
was in Persia (Antiq. ix. 14.)
[228] xviii 2.
[229] The common notion amongst ignorant Mohammedans is, that an eclipse
is caused by some evil spirit catching hold of the sun or moon. On such
occasions, in Eastern towns, the whole population assembles with pots,
pans, and other equally rude instruments of music, and, with the aid of
their lungs, make a din and turmoil which might suffice to drive away a
whole army of evil spirits, even at so great a distance.
[230] Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 139, note.
[231] Isaiah, xxi. 1.
[232] I have lately learnt, to my great grief, that poor Suttum has been
killed in some affray with the Aneyza.
[233] Of the same size and form as that containing the records of
Essarhaddon, given by me to the British Museum. It has been only partly
restored, and the inscription, which appears to be historical, has not yet
been deciphered.
[234] See Chapter 20.
[235] Isaiah, xxxvii. 18, 19.
[236] 1 Kings, vii. 23-25. The brazen sea of Solomon stood upon twelve
oxen, three facing each cardinal point. It must be borne in mind that the
Assyrian sculptor frequently represented only one figure to signify many,
and that more than one ox probably supported the vessel portrayed in this
bas-relief.
[237] These measurements merely include that part of the palace actually
excavated.
[238] Since my departure a fine entire bas-relief has, I understand, been
found near the ruined tomb in the centre of the mound.
[239] The distance from centre to centre of the pedestals facing each
other was 9 feet three inches; their diameter, 11½ inches in the
broadest part. The second pair found were about 84 feet distant from the
first. There were the remains of a wall of sundried bricks, 6 feet 3
inches from the centre of one of the pedestals.
[240] Tacit. Ann. lib. xii. c. 13., and Ammianus Marcell. 1. xxiii. c. 20.
The latter author especially mentions that the town had belonged to the
Persians.
[241] In the same shape as the Egyptian. (See Wilkinson’s Ancient
Egyptians, vol. ii. p. 112.)
[242] See Nineveh and its Remains, vol. i. Introduction, p. xiv. Benjamin
of Tudela places the tomb of Nahum at Ain Japhata, to the south of
Babylon.
[243] According to Col. Rawlinson (Outlines of Assyrian History, p. xx.),
to Neptune or Noah!
[244] The actual weight of the large ducks in the British Museum being 480
oz. troy, the mana would be equal to 16 oz., with a small fraction over.
The Attic mana has been computed to be 14 oz., with a small fraction. It
would consequently be to the Babylonian talent as 7 to 8. According to
Herodotus (lib. iii. c. 89.) the Eubœan talent was to the Babylonian as
6 to 7. If this statement be correct, the Eubœan would be to the Attic
as 48 to 49. (Dr. Hincks.)
[245] One cylinder bears his name.
[246] Lib. i. c. 195. As a written signature is of no value, except in
particular cases, in the East, and as all documents to be valid must be
sealed with seals bearing the names of the parties to them, the engraved
signet is of great importance, and the trade of an engraver one of
considerable responsibility. The punishment for forging seals is very
severe, and there are many regulations enforced for securing their
authenticity.
[247] Compare Job, xxxviii. 14. “It is turned as clay to the seal.”
[248] Compare 1 Kings, xix. 16. and 2 Kings, ix. 2.
[249] Sargon is called on the monuments of Khorsabad, “the conqueror of
Samaria and of the circuit of Beth Khumri.” (Dr. Hincks, Trans, of the R.
Irish Acad. vol. xx.)
[250] 1 Kings, xix. 15.
[251] Colonel Rawlinson suggests about 930 B. C.
[252] Especially if, as Egyptian scholars still maintain, the name is
found on Egyptian monuments of the 18th dynasty.
[253] See my Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 155, where this
genealogy was first pointed out.
[254] Discovered during the first expedition. (Nineveh and its Remains,
vol. i. p. 83.)
[255] This interesting discovery was first announced in the Athenæum of
Jan. 3, 1852.
[256] These three kings came against Israel (2 Kings, xv. 19, and 29, and
1 Chron. v. 26); but Pul is particularly mentioned as receiving tribute
from Menahem, and Tiglath Pileser, as carrying away Israelites into
captivity in the time of Pekah, between whose reign and that of Menahem
only two years elapsed. (2 Kings, xv. 23.)
[257] See an interesting note on this subject in Rich’s Narrative, vol.
ii. p. 123.
[258] 2 Chron. xxxiii.
[259] We have a curious illustration of the magnificent suicide of
Sardanapalus in the history of Zimri, king of Israel. “And it came to
pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace
of the king’s house, and burnt the king’s house over him with fire and
died.” 1 Kings xvii. 18. There is nothing, therefore, improbable in the
romantic history of the Assyrian king.
[260] The reading according to Col. Rawlinson is marked R—that according
to Dr. Hincks, H.
[261] Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 185.
[262] It was not necessary to the effect of his preaching that Jonah
should be of the religion of the people of Nineveh. I have known a
Christian priest frighten a whole Mussulman town to tents and repentance
by publicly proclaiming that he had received a divine mission to announce
a coming earthquake or plague.
[263] 2 Kings, xx. 19.
[264] 2 Kings, xxv. 19.
[265] Driving away the cattle and sheep of a conquered people, and
accounting them amongst the principal spoil, has ever been the custom of
Eastern nations who have not altogether renounced a nomadic life, and
whose chief wealth consequently consisted in these animals. When Asa
defeated the Ethiopians, “he carried away sheep and camels in abundance;
and returned to Jerusalem.” (2 Chron. xiv. 15.)
[266] The same thing may, indeed, be inferred from several passages in
Chronicles and Kings. See particularly 2 Kings, xvi. 7, xvii. 4.
[267] 1 Kings, iv. 21, and 24. “He reigned over all the kings from the
river even unto the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt;”
and the kings “brought him every man his present, vessels of silver, and
vessels of gold, and raiment, harness, and spices, horses and mules, a
rate year by year.” (2 Chron. ix. 24, 26.) Such were probably the very
articles brought yearly to the Assyrian king, and enumerated in his
records.
[268] 2 Chron. v. 62.
[269] 1 Chron. v. 6 and 26.
[270] 2 Kings, xvii. 6, xviii. 11.
[271] 2 Kings, xvii. 29.
[272] See woodcuts, Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. p. 340.
[273] Ch. iii. 12-14.
[274] From this propylæum came the two colossal bulls in the British
Museum; it was part of the royal palace.
[275] Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. part ii. ch. 2. A recent
trigonometrical survey of the country by Captain Jones proves, I am
informed, that the great ruins of Kouyunjik, Nimroud, Karamless, and
Khorsabad, form very nearly a perfect parallelogram, corresponding with
the conjecture I ventured to make in my former work. A recent writer
(Bonomi, Nineveh and its Palaces, p. 94), adopting the theory of the
greater extent of Nineveh, has endeavored to prove that the Gebel Makloub
is the remains of its eastern walls, stating that he “has the testimony of
a recent observant traveller, Mr. Barker, who has no doubt that the
so-called ‘mountain’ is entirely the work of man.” Unfortunately it
happens that the Gebel Makloub is somewhat higher, and far more
precipitous and rocky than the Malvern hills. It would, indeed, have
required Titans to raise such a heaven-reaching wall! Scarcely less
extravagant are the conjectures that the mound is called Kouyumjik, not
Kouyunjik, because silver ornaments may have been found there, and that
Yaroumjeh, a mere Turkish name meaning “half-way village,” is “roum,”
“signifying the territory and inhabitants of the Roman empire,” and,
consequently, a part of Nineveh, “Roman and ancient being synonymous
terms!” The line, too, indicated in Mr. Bonomi’s diagram for the former
bed of the Tigris, in order to complete the parallelogram, would take the
river over a range of steep limestone hills. I may here observe that the
name of “Niniouah” is not known in the country as applied either to the
mound of Nebbi Yunus, or any other ruin in the country. Before founding
theories upon such grounds, it would be as well to have some little
acquaintance with the localities and with the languages spoken by the
people of the country.
[276] 1 Kings, v. 15.
[277] The Jewish cubit appears to have been about eighteen inches.
[278] The height, according to 2 Chron. iii. 4, was 120 cubits, which
would appear to be an error slipt into the text, although Josephus gives
the same dimensions, adding an upper story or structure.
[279] Mr. Fergusson has pointed out, from the account of Josephus, the
probability of the temple having had two stories. (The Palaces of Nineveh
restored, p. 222.)
[280] See Calmet’s Dictionary of the Bible.
[281] See frontispiece to Fergusson’s Palaces of Nineveh restored.
[282] Josephus, b. viii. c. 2. Fergusson’s Palaces of Nineveh, p. 229.
[283] It will be remembered that the annals on the bulls of Kouyunjik
include six years of his reign, and must consequently have been inscribed
on them in the seventh year.
[284] 1 Kings, v. 8.
[285] See Frontispiece to this volume.
[286] Such also appears to have been the case at Nimroud.
[287] 1 Kings, vii. 2. It is only by supposing it to have been one great
hall that we can at all understand the proportions and form of the
building as subsequently given. The Hebrew word, as its Arabic equivalent
still does, will bear both meanings. Pharaoh’s daughter’s house, which was
“like unto the porch,” was probably the harem or private apartment.
[288] Palaces of Nineveh restored, p. 181. That the Assyrians were,
however, acquainted with slanting roofs may be inferred from a bas-relief
discovered at Khorsabad. (Botta, Plate 141.)
[289] Jerem. xix. 13.
[290] Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii. part ii. ch. 2.
[291] Daniel, v. 5.
[292] 1 Kings, vi. 28. I cannot, however, but express my conviction that
much of the metal called gold both in the sacred writings and in the
profane authors of antiquity, was really copper, alloyed with other
metals, the aurichalcum, or orichalcum, of the Greeks, such as was used in
the bowls and plates discovered at Nimroud.
[293] Rich estimates the entire length of the inclosure at about four
miles, and its greatest breadth at nearly two. This appears to me rather
above the actual extent of the ruins. It must also be remembered that they
narrow off from the northern side to a few hundred yards at the southern.
I have not hitherto had time to lay down my survey of Nimroud. The general
plan of the mound in my first work must be considered as a mere rough
sketch.
[294] Rich’s Narrative, vol. ii. p. 60.
[295] It will be borne in mind that the Tigris has now changed its course.
[296] According to Mr. Rich, the distance from the inside of the inner
wall to the inside of the outer was 2007 feet. Allowing 200 feet for the
outer the breadth of the whole fortifications would be about 2200 feet, or
not far from half a mile.
[297] If the city, or this part of it, were ever taken by the river having
been turned upon the walls, as some ancient authors have declared, the
breach must have been made at the north-western corner. There are no
traces of it.
[298] Sir Anthony Shirley’s Travels in Persia. Purchas, vol. ii. p. 1387.
[299] Narrative of a Residence in Kurdistan, vol. i. pp. 40, 51.
