STATE OF THE RUINS OF BABYLON.--CAUSE OF THE DISAPPEARANCE OF
BUILDINGS.--NATURE OF ORIGINAL EDIFICES.--BABYLONIAN BRICKS.--THE
HISTORY OF BABYLON.--ITS FALL.--ITS REMARKABLE
POSITION.--COMMERCE.--CANALS AND ROADS.--SKILL OF BABYLONIANS IN THE
ARTS.--ENGRAVED GEMS.--CORRUPTION OF MANNERS, AND CONSEQUENT FALL OF
THE CITY.--THE MECCA PILGRIMAGE.--SHEIKH IBN RESHID.--THE GEBEL
SHAMMAR.--THE MOUNDS OF EL HYMER.--OF ANANA.
Such then were the discoveries amongst the ruins of ancient Babylon. They
were far less numerous and important than I could have anticipated, nor
did they tend to prove that there were remains beneath the heaps of earth
and rubbish which would reward more extensive excavations. It was not even
possible to trace the general plan of any one edifice; only shapeless
piles of masonry, and isolated walls and piers, were brought to
light--giving no clue whatever to the original form of the buildings to
which they belonged. If the tradition be true that Xerxes, to punish the
Babylonians and humiliate their priests, ordered them utterly to destroy
their temples and other great public edifices, and that Alexander the
Great employed 10,000 men in vain to clear away the rubbish from the
temple of Belus alone,[211] it is not surprising that with a small band of
Arabs little progress should have been made in uncovering any part of the
ancient buildings.
No sculptures or inscribed slabs, the panelling of the walls of palaces,
have been discovered amongst the ruins of Babylon as in those of Nineveh.
Scarcely a detached figure in stone, or a solitary tablet, has been dug
out of the vast heaps of rubbish. "Babylon is fallen, is fallen; and all
the graven images of her gods he hath broken unto the ground."[212]
The complete absence of such remains is to be explained by the nature of
the materials used in the erection of even the most costly edifices. In
the immediate vicinity of Babylon there were no quarries of alabaster, or
of limestone, such as existed near Nineveh. The city was built in the
midst of an alluvial country, far removed from the hills. Consequently
stone for building purposes could only be obtained from a distance. The
black basalt, a favorite material amongst the Babylonians for carving
detached figures, and for architectural ornaments, as appears from
numerous fragments found amongst the ruins, came from the Kurdish
mountains, or from the north of Mesopotamia. It was probably floated down
the Euphrates and Tigris on rafts from those districts. The Assyrian
alabaster could have been brought from Nineveh, and the water
communication by the rivers and canals offered great facilities for
transport; yet enormous labor and expense would have been required to
supply such materials in sufficient quantities to construct an entire
edifice, or even to panel the walls of its chambers.
The Babylonians were, therefore, content to avail themselves of the
building materials which they found on the spot. With the tenacious mud of
their alluvial plains, mixed with chopped straw, they made bricks, whilst
bitumen and other substances collected from the immediate neighborhood
furnished them with an excellent cement. A knowledge of the art of
manufacturing glaze, and of compounding colors, enabled them to cover
their bricks with a rich enamel, thereby rendering them equally ornamental
for the exterior and interior of their edifices. The walls of their
palaces and temples were also coated, as we learn from several passages in
the Bible, with mortar and plaster, which, judging from their cement, must
have been of very fine quality. The fingers of the man's hand wrote the
words of condemnation of the Babylonian empire "upon the plaster of the
wall of the king's palace."[213] Upon those walls were painted historical
and religious subjects, and various ornaments, and, according to Diodorus
Siculus, the bricks were enamelled with the figures of men and animals.
Images of stone were no doubt introduced into the buildings. We learn from
the Bible that figures of the gods in this material, as well as in metal,
were kept in the Babylonian temples. But such sculptures were not common,
otherwise more remains of them must have been discovered in the ruins.
On one of the most important Babylonian relics brought to this country we
have some highly curious notices of the architecture of the Babylonians.
They are contained in tablets inscribed upon a black stone, and divided
into ten columns. The inscription commences according to Dr. Hincks, with
the name and titles of Nebuchadnezzar the Great, whose reign began, it may
be inferred from Ptolemy's Canon, B. C. 604. He is called
"Nabukudurruchur, king of Babylon, son of Nabubaluchun, king of Babylon."
We may infer that his grandfather was not a king from the omission of his
name. The subsequent part of the inscription contains no notice of any
foreign conquests, but speaks of the building of various temples and
palaces in addition to the walls of Babylon and Borsippa. If the tablets
could be completely deciphered, and the meaning of many doubtful words
accurately ascertained, much information would be obtained relating to
Babylonian architecture. The walls were built of burned bricks and bitumen
lined with gypsum and other materials. Some seem to have been wainscotted.
Over these walls was woodwork, and on the top an awning sustained by
poles, like "the white, green, and blue hangings, fastened with cords of
fine linen and purple to silver rings, and pillars of marble," in
Ahasuerus' palace at Shushan.[214] Some of the woodwork is said to have
been gilt, other parts silvered: and a large portion of it was brought
from Lebanon.
Marduk appears in this inscription as the principal deity of Babylon,
holding the place that Ashur does on the monuments of Nineveh. He is
called "the great Lord," "Lord of Lord," "Elder of the Gods," &c. Nebu
seems to hold the second rank. The king offers him thanksgiving for what
he has already done, and prays for his blessing on himself and his
house.[215]
It may be conjectured that in their general plan the Babylonian palaces
and temples resembled those of Assyria. We know that the arts, the
religion, the customs, and the laws of the two kindred people were nearly
identical. They spoke, also, the same language, and used, very nearly, the
same written characters. One appears to have borrowed from the other; and,
without attempting to decide the question of priority of independent
existence as a nation and of civilisation, it can be admitted that they
had to a certain extent a common origin, and that they maintained for many
centuries an intimate connection. We find no remains of columns at
Babylon, as none have been found at Nineveh. If such architectural
ornaments were used, they must have been either of wood or of brick. The
massy pillars, with Egyptian-like capitals, usually chosen by artists for
the restoration of Belshazzar's palaces and temples, are the mere
creations of fancy, and are not warranted by any existing remains
whatever. The Babylonian column more probably resembled, in form and
proportions, that of Nineveh and Persepolis. It may have been a
modification of the Assyrian which afterwards gave birth to the Persian,
for it was through Babylon that the arts appear to have penetrated partly,
if not entirely, into Persia.
Although the building materials thus used in the great edifices of Babylon
may seem extremely mean when compared with those employed in the
stupendous palace temples of Egypt, and even in the less massive edifices
of Assyria, yet the Babylonians appear to have raised, with them alone,
structures which excited the wonder and admiration of the most famous
travellers of antiquity. The profuse use of color, and the taste displayed
in its combination, and in the ornamental designs, together with the
solidity and vastness of the immense substructure upon which the buildings
proudly stood, may have chiefly contributed to produce this effect upon
the minds of strangers. The palaces and temples, like those of Nineveh,
were erected upon lofty platforms of brickwork. The origin of Assyrian
architecture, which I have elsewhere described,[216] was especially that
of Babylon. The bricks, as in Assyria, were either simply baked in the
sun, or were burnt in the kiln. The latter are of more than one shape and
quality. Some are square; others are oblong.[217] Those from the Birs
Nimroud are generally of a dark red color, whilst those from the Mujelibe
are mostly of a light yellow. Specimens have been frequently brought to
this country, and are to be found in many public and private collections.
The Babylonian inscribed bricks long excited the curiosity of the learned,
and gave rise to a variety of ingenious speculations as to their use and
meaning. By some they were believed to be public documents; others saw in
the writing dedications to the gods, or registers of gifts to temples. The
question has now been entirely set at rest by the discovery made by Dr.
Hincks, that almost every brick hitherto obtained from the ruins of
Babylon bears the same inscription, with the exception of one or two
unimportant words, and that they record the building of the city of
Nebuchadnezzar the son of Nabubaluchun (?)
A few inscribed tablets of stone and baked clay, figures in bronze and
terracotta, metal objects of various kinds, and engraved cylinders and
gems, have been almost the only undoubted Babylonian antiquities hitherto
brought to Europe. Such relics are preserved in many cabinets. The small
original collection in the British Museum belonged partly to Sir Robert
Ker Porter, and partly to Mr. Rich.
It may not be out of place to add a few remarks upon the history of
Babylon. The time of the foundation of this celebrated city is still a
question which does not admit of a satisfactory determination, and into
which I will not enter. Some believe it to have taken place at a
comparatively recent date; but if, as Egyptian scholars assert, the name
of Babylon is found on monuments of the eighteenth Egyptian dynasty, we
have positive evidence of its existence at least in the fifteenth century
before Christ.[218] After the rise of the Assyrian empire, it appears to
have been at one time under the direct rule of the kings of Nineveh, and
at another to have been governed by its own independent chiefs.
Expeditions against Babylonia are recorded in the earliest inscriptions
yet discovered in Assyria; and, as it has been seen, even in the time of
Sennacherib and his immediate predecessors, large armies were still
frequently sent against its rebellious inhabitants. The Babylonian kingdom
was, however, almost absorbed in that of Assyria, the dominant power of
the East. When this great empire began to decline, Babylon rose for the
last time. Media and Persia were equally ready to throw off the Assyrian
yoke, and at length the allied armies of Cyaxares and the father of
Nebuchadnezzar captured and destroyed the capital of the Eastern world.
Babylon now rapidly succeeded to that proud position so long held by
Nineveh. Under Nebuchadnezzar she acquired the power forfeited by her
rival. The bounds of the city were extended; buildings of extraordinary
size and magnificence were erected; her victorious armies conquered Syria
and Palestine, and penetrated into Egypt. Her commerce, too, had now
spread far and wide, from the east to the west, and she became "a land of
traffic and a city of merchants."[219]
But her greatness as an independent nation was short-lived. The
neighbouring kingdoms of Media and Persia, united under one monarch, had
profited, no less than Babylon, by the ruin of the Assyrian empire, and
were ready to dispute with her the dominion of Asia. Scarcely half a
century had elapsed from the fall of Nineveh, when "Belshazzar, the king
of the Chaldaeeans, was slain, and Darius, the Median, took the
kingdom."[220] From that time Babylonia sank into a mere province of
Persia.
After the defeat of Darius and the overthrow of the Persian supremacy,
Babylon opened its gates to Alexander, who deemed the city not unworthy to
become the capital of his mighty empire. On his return from India he
wished to rebuild the temple of Belus, which had fallen into ruins, and in
that great work he had intended to employ his army, now no longer needed
for war. The priests, however, who had appropriated the revenues of this
sacred shrine, and feared lest they would have again to apply them to
their rightful purposes, appear to have prevented him from carrying out
his design.[221]
The last blow to the prosperity and even existence of Babylon was given by
Seleucus when he laid the foundation of his new capital on the banks of
the Tigris (B. C. 322). Already Patrocles, his general, had compelled a
large number of the inhabitants to abandon their homes, and to take refuge
in the Desert, and in the province of Susiana. The city, exhausted by the
neighbourhood of Seleucia, returned to its ancient solitude. According to
some authors, neither the walls nor the temple of Belus existed any
longer, and only a few Chaldaeans continued to dwell around the ruins of
their sacred edifices.
Still, however, a part of the population appears to have returned to their
former seats, for in the early part of the second century of the Christian
era we find the Parthian king, Evemerus, sending numerous families from
Babylon into Media to be sold as slaves, and burning many great and
beautiful edifices still standing in the city.
In the time of Augustus, the city is said to have been entirely deserted,
except by a few Jews who still lingered amongst the ruins. St. Cyril, of
Alexandria, declares, that in his day, about the beginning of the fifth
century, in consequence of the choking up of the great canals derived from
the Euphrates, Babylon had become a vast marsh: and fifty years later the
river is described as having changed its course, leaving only a small
channel to mark its ancient bed. Then were verified the prophecies of
Isaiah and Jeremiah, that the mighty Babylon should be but "pools of
water," "that the sea should come upon her, and that she should be covered
with the multitude of the waves thereof."[222]
In the beginning of the seventh century, at the time of the Arab invasion,
the ancient cities of Babylonia were "a desolation, a dry land, and a
wilderness." Amidst the heaps that marked the site of Babylon herself
there rose the small town of Hillah.[223]
Long before Babylon had overcome her rival Nineveh she was famous for the
extent and importance of her commerce. No position could have then been
more favourable than hers for carrying on a trade with all the regions of
the known world. Even only moderate skill and enterprise could scarcely
fail to make Babylon, not only the emporium of the Eastern world, but the
main link of commercial intercourse between the East and the West.
The inhabitants did not neglect the advantages bestowed upon them by
nature. A system of navigable canals that may excite the admiration of
even the modern engineer, connected together the Euphrates and Tigris,
those great arteries of her commerce. With a skill, showing no common
knowledge of the art of surveying, and of the principles of hydraulics,
the Babylonians took advantage of the different levels in the plains, and
of the periodical rises in the two rivers, to complete the water
communication between all parts of the province, and to fertilise by
artificial irrigation an otherwise barren and unproductive soil.
Alexander, after he had transferred the seat of his empire to the East,
so fully understood the importance of these great works, that he ordered
them to be cleansed and repaired, and superintended the work in person,
steering his boat with his own hand through the channels.
High-roads and causeways across the Desert united Syria and Palestine with
Babylonia. Fortified stations protected the merchant from the wandering
tribes of Arabia, walled cities served as resting-places and store-houses,
and wells at regular intervals gave an abundant supply of water during the
hottest season of the year. One of those highways was carried through the
centre of Mesopotamia, and crossing the Euphrates near the town of
Anthemusia led into central Syria. A second appears to have left Babylon
by the western quarter of the city, and entered Idumaea, after passing
through the country of the Nabathaeans. Others branched off to Tadmor, and
to cities which were built in the midst of the Desert almost solely for
purposes of trade.
To the east of Babylonia was the celebrated military and commercial road
described by Herodotus. It led from Sardis to Susa in ninety days journey,
and was furnished, at intervals of about fifteen miles, with stations and
public hostelries, probably resembling the modern caravanserais of Persia.
Merchandise and travellers descended the rivers upon rafts of skins, as
well as in boats built of reeds coated with bitumen, or of more solid
materials. The land trade was no doubt principally carried on, as at the
present day, by caravans of merchants, who loaded their goods on the backs
of camels, horses, and asses.
It is difficult to determine to how far the Babylonians may have navigated
in vessels the Indian Ocean. Of the various articles of merchandise stored
in Babylon, the produce of the islands and shores of the Persian Gulf,
and even of India, formed no inconsiderable part. Pearls, from the
fisheries of Bahrein, which still supply Arabia, Persia, and Turkey, and
perhaps even from Ceylon; cotton, spices, frankincense, precious stones,
ivory, ebony, silks, and dyes, were amongst the objects of trade brought
to her markets. They could only have been obtained from the southern
coasts of Arabia, and directly or indirectly from the Indian peninsula. We
learn from the Kouyunjik inscriptions that the people inhabiting the
country at the mouths of the united waters of the Tigris and Euphrates
possessed vessels in which, when defeated by the Assyrians, they took
refuge on the sea. The prophet Isaiah also alludes to the ships of the
Chaldaeans.[224] Timber for shipbuilding could have been floated with ease
from the mountains of Armenia to the very quays of Babylon, or to her
ports at the head of the Persian Gulf.
A race of dogs, much prized by the Babylonians, was brought from India. A
satrap of Babylon is declared to have devoted the revenues of four cities,
to the support of a number of these animals. On a small terracotta tablet
in the British Museum, from Col. Rawlinson's collection, obtained, I
believe, at Baghdad, but probably found in some ancient ruin in the
neighbourhood, is the figure of a man leading a large and powerful dog,
which has been identified with a species still existing in Thibet.
Tin, cedar-wood, and various articles, were brought from Phoenicia and
other parts of Syria, which were in return supplied with the produce of
India and the Persian Gulf, through Babylon.[225]
Whilst the Babylonians thus imported the produce of the East and West,
they also supplied foreign countries with many valuable articles of
trade. Corn, which according to tradition first grew wild in Mesopotamia,
and was there first eaten by man, was cultivated to a great extent, and
was sent to distant provinces. The Babylonian carpets, silks, and woollen
fabrics, woven or embroidered with figures of mythic animals and with
exquisite designs, were not less famous for the beauty of their texture
and workmanship, than for the richness and variety of their colors. The
much-prized Sindones, or flowing garments, were the work of the looms of
Babylon even long after she had ceased to be a city.[226]
The engraved gems and cylinders discovered in the ruins bear ample witness
to the skill of the Babylonian lapidaries. Many of these relics exist in
European collections, and, during my residence at Hillah, I was able to
obtain several interesting specimens from the Arabs, who usually pick them
up on the mounds after rain. The most remarkable of them is a cylinder of
spotted sienite, upon which are incised seven figures, and a few
Babylonian characters. The letters of the inscription are rudely formed,
and have not yet been deciphered.
Another interesting gem obtained by me at Babylon is an agate cone, upon
the base of which is engraved a winged priest or deity, standing in an
attitude of prayer before a cock on an altar. Above this group is the
crescent moon. The Hebrew commentators conjecture that Nergal, the idol of
the men of Cuth, had the form of a cock.[227]
The vast trade, that rendered Babylon the gathering-place of men from all
parts of the known world, and supplied her with luxuries from the remotest
climes, had at the same time the effect of corrupting the manners of her
people, and producing that general profligacy and those effeminate customs
which mainly contributed to her fall. The description given by Herodotus
of the state of the population of the city when under the dominion of the
Persian kings, is fully sufficient to explain the cause of her speedy
decay and ultimate ruin. The account of the Greek historian fully tallies
with the denunciations of the Hebrew prophets against the sin and
wickedness of Babylon. Her inhabitants had gradually lost their warlike
character. When the Persians broke into their city they were revelling in
debauchery and lust; and when the Macedonian conqueror appeared at their
gates, they received with indifference the yoke of a new master.
It is not difficult to account for the rapid decay of the country around
Babylon. As the inhabitants deserted the city, the canals were neglected.
When once those great sources of fertility were choked up, the plains
became a wilderness. Upon the waters conveyed by their channels to the
innermost parts of Mesopotamia depended not only the harvests, the
gardens, and the palm groves, but the very existence of the numerous
towns and villages far removed from the river banks. They soon turned to
mere heaps of earth and rubbish. Vegetation ceased, and the plains,
parched by the burning heat of the sun, were ere long once again a vast
arid waste.
Such has been the history of Babylon. Her career was equally short and
splendid; and although she has thus perished from the face of the earth,
her ruins are still classic, indeed sacred, ground. The traveller visits,
with no common emotion, those shapeless heaps, the scene of so many great
and solemn events. In this plain, according to tradition, the primitive
families of our race first found a resting-place. Here Nebuchadnezzar
boasted of the glories of his city, and was punished for his pride. To
these deserted halls were brought the captives of Judaea. In them Daniel,
undazzled by the glories around him, remained steadfast to his faith, rose
to be a governor amongst his rulers, and prophesied the downfall of the
kingdom. There was held Belshazzar's feast, and was seen the writing upon
the wall. Between those crumbling mounds Cyrus entered the neglected
gates. Those massive ruins cover the spot where Alexander died.
Soon after my arrival at Hillah, the caravan of the Hadj, or annual
pilgrimage to Mecca, passed through the town on its way to Baghdad. The
holy places had this year been visited by the cholera, and of the many who
had crossed the Desert few had survived. In the crowd that had assembled
on the high road were mingled scenes of grief and joy. The mournful wail
of the women was heard above the merry laugh of those who had again found
their friends. The wild Bedouins of Nejd, who had guided and protected the
pilgrims during their arduous journey, passed through the throng on their
weary dromedaries.
After a lapse of some years the annual hadj from the south of Turkey and
Persia had been able to follow the direct road to Mecca across the desert
of Nejd and the interior of Arabia. Since, Ibn Reshid, a chief of the
Gebel Shammar, has by his courage and abilities acquired the whole of that
district; and has rendered himself sufficiently powerful to hold in check
the various tribes which surround it. Pilgrims under his protection could,
therefore, again venture to take the shortest road to Mecca. He undertook
to furnish them with camels, and to answer for their safety from Hillah to
the holy cities and back.
The chief punctually fulfilled his engagement, and the caravan I have
described was the first that had crossed the Desert for many years without
accident or molestation. It was under the charge of Abd-ur-Rahman, a
relation of Ibn Reshid. I frequently saw this Sheikh during his short
residence at Hillah, and he urged me to return with him to the Gebel
Shammar. Zaid and several other Agayls offered to accompany me; and it was
with great regret that I felt unable, on various accounts, to undertake a
journey into a country so little known, and so interesting, as central
Arabia. A better opportunity could scarcely have occurred for entering
Nedjd.
Sheikh Abd-ur-Rahman described the Gebel Shammar as abounding in fertile
valleys, where the Arabs had villages and cultivated lands. The
inhabitants are of the same great tribe of Shammar as those who wander
over the plains of Mesopotamia. Suttum told me that his family still
possessed their gardens in the hills; and although, from long absence,
their produce had been gathered by strangers, yet that he could by law at
any time return and claim them.
Ibn Reshid was described to me as a powerful, and for an Arab, an
enlightened chief, who had restored security to the country, and who
desired to encourage trade and the passage of caravans through his
territories. His mares and horses, collected from the tribes of central
Arabia, were declared to excel all those of the Desert in beauty and in
blood. Hawking and hunting are his favorite amusements, and game abounds
in the hills and plains. Amongst the wild animals are lions, leopards,
deer, and a kind of ox or large antelope, I could not learn exactly which,
called Wothaiyah, said to have long spiral horns, and to be exceedingly
fierce and dangerous.
I was assured that in the Gebel Shammar there are ruins of large cities,
attributed by the Arabs to the Jews. Inscriptions in an unknown character
are also said to exist on slabs of stone and on rocks. They may be that
class called Himyari, found in other parts of the Arabian peninsula.
About two hours and a half, or eight miles to the north-east of Hillah, a
mound, scarcely inferior in size to those of Babylon, rises in the plain.
It is called El Hymer, meaning, according to the Arabs, the red, from its
color. The ruin has assumed a pyramidal form, but it is evidently the
remains of a solid square structure, consisting, like the Birs Nimroud, of
a series of terraces or platforms. It may be conjectured, therefore, that
it was a sacred edifice built upon the same general plan as all the
temples of Babylonia and Assyria. The basement or substructure appears to
have been of sun-dried brick; the upper part, and probably the casing of
the lower, of bricks burnt in the kiln. Many of the latter are inscribed
with the name and titles of Nebuchadnezzar. Although the masonry is solid
and firmly bound together, it is not united by a white cement like that of
the Mujelibe. The same tenacious mud that was used for making the bricks
has been daubed, as far as I could ascertain, between each layer. The ruin
is traversed like the Birs by square holes to admit air.
Around the centre structure are scattered smaller mounds and heaps of
rubbish, covered with the usual fragments of pottery, glass and bricks.
Opposite to the Mujelibe (or Kasr), on the western bank of the Euphrates,
is a village called Anana, and near it a quadrangle of earthen ramparts,
like the remains of a fortified inclosure. A large mass of brick masonry
is still seen in the river bed when the stream is low. The inhabitants of
the village brought me a fragment of black stone with a rosette ornament
upon it, very Assyrian in character. With the exception of these remains,
and the Birs Nimroud, there are scarcely any ruins of ancient buildings on
the Arabian side of the Euphrates.
On the eastern bank low mounds covered with broken pottery and glass are
found in almost every direction. One resembles another, and there is
nothing either in their appearance or in their contents, as far as they
have hitherto been ascertained, deserving of particular description. They
only prove how vast and thriving the population of this part of
Mesopotamia must at one time have been, and how complete is the
destruction that has fallen upon this devoted land.