Phœnicia. All submitted to him as he advanced; nor did any people do
this with greater alacrity than the Sidonians: who, having suffered so
largely from the Persian king, held the Persians in very great
detestation. Strato, their king, however, having declared for Darius,
Alexander desired Hephæstion to place in his stead any one of the
Sidonians that he should judge worthy of so exalted a station. Being
quartered at the house of two brothers, of whom he had reason to
entertain the highest opinion, Hephæstion offered the crown to them; but
these brothers had the virtue to refuse it, telling him, that, by the
laws of the country, no one could ascend the throne but those who were
of the blood-royal. Hephæstion, greatly moved at seeing the greatness of
those who could refuse what so many others had striven to obtain by fire
and sword, expressed his admiration of their magnanimity; and desired
them to name any person of the royal family who would, on being placed
upon the throne, remember who it was that put him there. On this the
brothers answered, that they knew of no one more worthy of a diadem
than a person, named Abdolonymus. He was, they said, of the royal
family, though at a great distance from the succession; but so poor that
he was compelled to earn his bread by working in one of the gardens
outside the city. He was not only poor, they continued, but of so
contented a spirit, of so exalted a mind, and of such deep engagement of
purpose, that the wars, which were then shaking Asia, were altogether
unknown to him.
The two brothers immediately repaired to the place where they knew this
person was to be found. They took royal garments with them; and after no
great search found him employed in weeding his garden. They immediately
saluted him as King of Sidon. “You must change your tatters,” said one
of the brothers, “for the royal garments we have brought with us. Put
off that mean and contemptible habit, in which you have grown old.
Assume the style and sentiments of a prince. When, however, you are
seated on the throne, continue to preserve the virtues which have made
you worthy of it.” When Abdolonymus heard this, he was amazed. He looked
upon the whole as a dream. When, however, he perceived that the two
brothers were standing before him in actual presence, he inquired of
them if they did not feel some shame in ridiculing him in that manner?
They replied, that no ridicule was intended; but that all was in the
spirit of honour. They threw over his shoulders a purple raiment, richly
embroidered with gold; repeated to him oaths of earnestness, and led him
to the palace.
The news of this astonishing circumstance soon spread over the whole
city. Most of the richer sort were indignant. Alexander, however,
commanded that the newly elected prince should be brought into his
presence. When he was presented, Alexander measured him with his eye
from head to foot, and gazed upon his countenance for some time. At
length he addressed him after the following manner:—“Thine air and thy
mien by no means contradict what I have heard, in regard to thy
extraction; and I therefore desire to know in what spirit thou hast
borne the abject condition to which thou wert reduced.” “Would to the
gods,” answered Abdolonymus, “that I may bear this crown with equal
patience! These hands have procured to me all I have enjoyed; for whilst
I had nothing, I wanted nothing.”
When Alexander heard this, he was so struck with admiration, that he not
only presented him with all the furniture that had belonged to Strato,
and part of the riches he had himself acquired in Persia, but he annexed
to his dominions one of the neighbouring provinces.
At this period, Quietus Curtius says[235], Sidon was a city greatly
celebrated on account of its antiquity and its founder.
Upon an elevation, on the south side of the city, stood a fine old
castle, now in ruins. It was built by Lewis IX. of France, surnamed the
Saint; who also repaired the city during the Holy Wars[236]. In
subsequent times it fell into decay; but its final ruin is said to have
been effected by Feckerdine, Emir of the Druses, when he had established
an independent power, with the view of preventing the Grand Signior from
landing a maritime force here to act against him. He destroyed all the
little ports, from Bairout to Acra, by sinking boats and stones to
prevent the Turkish ships from entering them[237]. He then built a
castle, which still exists. He erected also a magnificent palace in the
Italian style; but that is in ruins.
In the time of Volney, Sayda contained about five thousand inhabitants;
in 1816 from six thousand to seven thousand. Of these there are one
thousand Christians, five hundred Jews, the rest are Mahommedans. The
climate is mild, agreeable, and healthy.
The huge stones of which the mole was built may still be seen, being
capable of filling its whole thickness. Some of these are twelve feet
long, eleven broad, and five deep. It is supposed to have been built by
Lewis IX.; but this, perhaps, was not the case, since it contains, on
the top of it, a work of a much more ancient date.
On the opposite side of the town is a modern fort, built by Degnizlu;
but consisting merely of a large tower, incapable of resisting any
serious attack.
“Sidon was the mother of Tyre,” says Mr. Robinson; “yet it was speedily
eclipsed by that city, in fame, in riches, and in importance. After
sharing in its fortunes, during the space of many centuries, it has
finally survived its rival, and is again a place of considerable trade.”
The buildings of Sayda, according to Mr. Buckingham, are not at all
superior to the common order of Mahommedan edifices in the modern towns
of Syria. The streets are extremely narrow, the mosques mean, the
caravanserais small and incommodious, and the bazaars few, and badly
furnished even with the commonest necessaries. According to another
traveller, Sayda is ill-built, dirty, and full of ruins. These ruins,
however, are of a comparatively modern date.
Few of ancient times remain. There is, nevertheless, a large tesselated
pavement of variegated marble, representing a horse, and tolerably
perfect in some parts for ten feet in length, remaining close to the
sea, on the northern extremity of the city, which shows that the sea
encroaches on the land. There are also several columns of granite
wrought into the walls; and some stand as posts on the bridge leading to
the fort; and near the gate of the town is a small square building,
which contains the tombs of such of the Emirs of the Druses as died when
Sayda was in their possession.
Sayda is the principal port of Damascus. The harbour, like all those on
this coast, was formed with much art, and at an immense expense, by
means of long piers. These works, which subsisted entire under the lower
empire, are now fallen into decay. “So great are the mutations,
occasioned by time,” says Mr. Buckingham, “that but for the identity of
name and position, there would be scarcely any marks left by which to
recognise even the site of the present emporium here alluded to. The
stranger, who visits it in its present state, will look around in vain
for any of those vestiges of its former grandeur which the description
of the ancient historians would lead him to expect; and which, indeed,
are still to be seen in most of the other celebrated cities of the
East,—whether in Greece, Egypt, Syria, or Asia Minor.[238]”
NO. XXXI.—SMYRNA.
The true origin of Smyrna is rather doubtful. One account is, that such
of the Achaians as were descended from Æolus, and had hitherto inhabited
Laconia, being driven thence by the Dorians, after some wandering,
settled in that part of Asia Minor which, from them, was called Æolis;
where they founded twelve cities, one of which was Smyrna. According to
Herodotus, however, it owed its foundation to the Curmæans, who were of
Thessalian extraction; who, having built the city of Cuma, and finding
it too small to contain their number, erected another city, which they
named Smyrna, from the wife of their general, Theseus. According to
some, it was built by Tantalus; and others insist, and perhaps with
great truth, that it was founded by persons who inhabited a quarter of
Ephesus called Smyrna. Some have ascribed it to an Amazon of that name:
in respect to whom Sir George Wheler informs us, that they stamped their
money with a figure of her head, and that he got several pieces of them
very rare, and saw many more. One small one had her head crowned with
towers, and a two-edged hatchet on her shoulder. On another her whole
habit; thus—her head crowned with a tower, as before; a two-edged axe
upon her shoulder, holding a temple in her right hand, with a short vest
let down to her knees, and buskins half way up her legs. On another she
was dressed in the habit of a Hercules. Whatever its origin might be,
certain it is, that it was one of the richest and most powerful cities
of Asia, and became one of the twelve cities of the Ionian confederacy.
Smyrna has been subject to many revolutions, and been severally in the
possession of the Æolians, Ionians, and Macedonians.
The Lydians took possession under Ardys, son of Gyges; and having
destroyed it, the inhabitants dispersed themselves into several
districts.
Alexander, in compliance with the directions of a vision, he saw near
the temple of the Furies, rebuilt it four hundred years after it had
been destroyed by the Lydians. Strabo, however, attributes its
re-establishment to Antigonus and Lysimachus. But as neither that
author nor Arrian mention Alexander as having done so, it is not
improbable that he only meditated the doing so; that Antigonus followed
up his design; and that Lysimachus carried its completion into effect.
At Smyrna there were none of the tyrants, who oppressed many other
cities of Asia. Even the Romans respected the happy state of this town,
and left it the shadow of liberty. This is a fine panegyric upon the
system of polity, that must have been adopted and invariably preserved.
There is another circumstance, highly to its honour: the inhabitants
believed that Homer was born in their city, and they showed a place
which bore the poet’s name. They also paid him divine honours. Of all
the cities, which contended for the honour of having given birth to this
transcendant poet, Smyrna has undoubtedly the most reason on her side.
Herodotus absolutely decides in favour of Smyrna, assuring us, that he
was born on the banks of the river Meles, whence he took the name of
Melesigenes.
The inhabitants are said to have been much given to luxury and
indolence; but they were universally esteemed for their valour and
intrepidity when called into action. Anacharsis is made to speak of
their city in the following manner:—“Our road, which was almost
everywhere overshadowed by beautiful andrachnes, led us to the mouth of
the Hermus; and thence our view extended over that superb bay, formed by
a peninsula, on which are the cities of Erythræ and Teos. At the bottom
of it are some small villages, the unfortunate remains of the ancient
city of Smyrna, formerly destroyed by the Lydians. They still bear the
same name; and, should circumstances one day permit the inhabitants to
unite and form one town, defended by walls, their situation will
doubtless attract an immense commerce.”
It was the first town of Asia Minor, according to Tacitus, which, even
during the existence of Carthage, erected any temple to “Rome the
Goddess.” Part of the city was destroyed by Dolabella, when he slew
Trebonius, one of the conspirators against Cæsar. But it flourished
greatly under the early emperors: Marcus Aurelius repaired it after it
had been destroyed by an earthquake; and under Caracalla it took the
name of the first city of Asia.
Smyrna was much celebrated for its stately buildings, magnificent
temples, and marble porticoes. It had several grand porticoes of a
square form, amongst which was one in which stood a temple of Homer,
adorned with a statue of the bard. There was also a gymnasium, and a
temple dedicated to the mother of the gods. Where the gymnasium was,
however, is now past conjecture; but part of its theatre was still in
existence in the time of Sir George Wheler. “The theatre,” says he, “is
on the brow of the hill north of the course, built of white marble, but
now is going to be destroyed, to build the new Kan and Bazar hard by the
fort below, which they are now about; and in doing whereof there hath
been lately found a pot of medals, all of the emperor Gallienus’ family,
and the other tyrants that reigned in his time.” There were also there
the remains of a circus, and a considerable number of ancient
foundations and noble structures; but what they were Sir George
considered uncertain. He found also many inscriptions and medals, on
which the names of Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero were to be read; on
others, sepulchral monuments. Among these, was one with an inscription
“_to the emperor Adrian, Olympian, Saviour and Founder_.”
In the Armenian church-yard he saw an inscription—“_Good Fortune to the
most splendid Metropolitan, and thrice Neocorus of the emperor,
according to the judgment of the most holy senate of Smyrniotes_[239].”
Many writers do not seem to be aware, that the ancient Smyrna did not
occupy the spot where modern Smyrna stands, but one about two miles and
a half distant. It was built partly on the brow of a hill, and partly on
a plain towards the port, and had a temple dedicated to Cybele. It was
then the most beautiful of all the Asiatic cities. “But that which was,
and ever will be, its true glory,” says Sir George Wheler, “was their
early reception of the gospel of Jesus Christ—glorious in the testimony
he has given of them, and happy in the faithful promises he made to
them. Let us, therefore, consider what he writeth to them by the
Evangelist St. John:—(Apoc. ii. 9.) ‘I know thy works and tribulation,
and poverty; but thou art rich. And I know the blasphemy of them, that
say they are Jews, and are not: but are the Synagogue of Satan. Fear
none of those things, which thou shalt suffer. Behold, the Devil shall
cast some of ye in prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have
tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death; and I will give thee
a crown of life.’”
Previous to the year 1675, it had been partially destroyed, and several
times, by earthquakes; and it was predicted that a seventh convulsion
would be fatal to the whole city. Such a calamity, attended by a
dreadful fire, and the swallowing up of multitudes by the incursion of
the sea, recurred in 1688, and did, indeed, very nearly fulfil the
prophecy.
“Repeated strokes,” says Sir John Hobhouse, “and almost annual
pestilences, have since that period laid waste this devoted city; and
yet the convenience of a most spacious and secure harbour, together with
the luxuriant fertility of the surrounding country, and the prescriptive
excellence allowed nearly two thousand years to this port, in preference
to the other maritime stations of Asia Minor, still operate to collect
and keep together a vast mass of inhabitants from every quarter of the
globe.”
According to Pococke, the city might have been about four miles in
compass; of a triangular form. It seems to have extended about a mile on
the sea, and three miles on the north, south, and east sides, taking in
the compass of the castle. This stands on the remains of the ancient
castle, the walls of which were of the same kind of architecture as the
city walls on the hill. It is all in ruins, except a small part of the
west end, which is always kept shut up.
One of the gateways of white marble has been brought from another place;
and in the architrave round the arch there is a Greek inscription of the
middle ages. At another gate there is a colossal head, said to be that
of the Amazon Smyrna. It is of fine workmanship, and the tresses
particularly flow in a very natural manner. “Smyrna,” says Pococke, “was
one of the finest cities in these parts, and the streets were
beautifully laid out, well-paved, and adorned with porticoes, both above
and below. There was also a temple of Mars, a circus, and a theatre; and
yet there is now very little to be seen of all these things.”
Upon a survey of the castle, Dr. Chandler collected, that, after being
re-edified by John Angelus Comnenus, its condition, though less ruinous
than before, was far more mean and ignoble. The old wall, of which many
remnants may be discovered, is of a solid massive construction, worthy
of Alexander and his captains. All the repairs are mere patchwork. On
the arch of a gateway, which is of marble, is inscribed a copy of
verses, giving an elegant and poetical description of the extreme misery
from which the above-mentioned emperor raised the city; concluding with
an address to the Omnipotent Ruler of heaven and earth, that he would
grant him and his queen, whose beauty it celebrates, a reign of many
years. On each side is an eagle, rudely cut.
Near the sea is the ground-work of a stadium, stripped of its marble
seats and decorations. Below the theatre is part of a slight wall. The
city walls have long since been demolished. Even its ruins are removed.
Beyond the deep valley, however, in which the Meles winds, behind the
castle, are several portions of the wall of the Pomœrium, which
encompassed the city at a distance, but broken. The facings are gone,
and masses left only of rubble and cement.
The ancient city has supplied materials for those public edifices, which
have been erected by the Turks. The Bezestan and the Vizir khan were
both raised with the white marble of the theatre. The very ruins of the
stones and temples are vanished. “We saw,” says Dr. Chandler, “remains
of one only; some shafts of columns of variegated marble, much injured,
in the way ascending through the town to the castle. Many pedestals,
statues, inscriptions, and medals have been, and are still, discovered
in digging. Perhaps,” continues our author, “no place has contributed
more to enrich the cabinets and collections of Europe.”
“Smyrna,” says a celebrated French writer, “the queen of the cities of
Anatolia, and extolled by the ancients under the title of ‘the lovely,
the crown of Ionia, the ornament of Asia,’ braves the reiterated efforts
of conflagrations and earthquakes. Ten times destroyed, she has ten
times risen from her ruins with new splendour. According to a very
common Grecian system, the principal buildings were erected on the face
of a hill fronting the sea. The hill supplied marble, while its slope
afforded a place for the seats rising gradually above each other in the
stadium, or the great theatre for the exhibition of games. Almost every
trace of the ancient city, however, has been obliterated during the
contests between the Greek empire and the Ottomans, and afterwards by
the ravages of Timour, in 1402. The foundation of the stadium remains;
but the area is sown with grain. There are only a few vestiges of the
theatre; and the castle, which crowns the hill, is chiefly patchwork,
executed by John Comnenus on the ruins of the old one, the walls of
which, of immense strength and thickness, may still be discovered.”
This city was visited a short time since by the celebrated French poet
and traveller Lamartine. He has thus spoken of its environs:—“The view
from the top of the hill over the gulf and city is beautiful. On
descending the hill to the margin of the river, which I like to believe
is the Meles, we were delighted with the situation of the bridge of the
caravans, very near one of the gates of the town. The river is limpid,
slumbering under a peaceful arch of sycamores and cypresses; we seated
ourselves on its bank. If this stream heard the first notes of Homer, I
love to hear its gentle murmurings amidst the roots of the palm-trees; I
raise its waters to my lips. Oh! might that man appear from the Western
world, who should weave its history, its dreams, and its heaven, into an
epic! Such a poem is the sepulchre of times gone by, to which posterity
comes to venerate traditions, and eternalise by its worship the great
actions and sublime thoughts of human nature. Its author engraves his
name on the pedestal of the statue which he erects to man, and he lives
in all the ideas with which he enriches the world of imagination.”
According to the same author, Smyrna in no respect resembles an Eastern
town; it is a large and elegant factory, where the European consuls and
merchants lead the life of Paris and London.
Though frequently and severely visited by the plague, it contains one
hundred and twenty thousand inhabitants; and may be considered as the
great emporium of the Levant[240].
NO. XXXII.—SPALATRO.
When Diocletian selected a spot for his retirement, he solicitously
observed, that his palace should command every beauty that the country
afforded. In this retirement he began to live, to see the beauty of the
sun, and to enjoy, as Vopiscus relates, true happiness in the society of
those he had known in his youth[241]. His palace was situated at
Spalatro, in Dalmatia.
While residing at this place, Diocletian made a very remarkable and
strictly true confession:—“Four or five persons,” said he, “who are
closely united, and resolutely determined to impose on a prince, may do
it very easily. They never show things to him but in such a light as
they are sure will please. They conceal whatever would contribute to
enlighten him; and as they only besiege him continually, he cannot be
informed of any thing but through their medium, and does nothing but
what they think fit to suggest to him. Hence it is, that he bestows
employments on those he ought to exclude from them; and, on the other
hand, removes from offices such persons as are most worthy of filling
them. In a word, the best prince is often sold by these men, though he
be ever so vigilant, and even suspicious of them.”
As the voyager enters the bay, the marine wall and long arcades of the
palace, one of the ancient temples, and other parts of that building,
present themselves. The inhabitants have destroyed some parts of the
palace, in order to procure materials for building. In other places
houses are built of the old foundations; and modern works are so
intermingled with the ancient, as scarcely to be distinguishable.
The palace of Diocletian possessed all those advantages of situation, to
which the ancients were most attentive. It was so great that the emperor
Constantinus Porphyrogenitus, who had seen the most splendid buildings
of the ancients, affirms[242], that no plan or description of it could
convey a perfect idea of it. The vast extent of ground which it occupied
is surprising at first sight; the dimensions of one side of the
quadrangle, including the towers, being no less than six hundred and
ninety-eight feet, and of the other four hundred and ninety-two
feet:—making the superficial contents four hundred and thirteen
thousand two hundred and sixteen feet; that is, about nine and a half
English acres. But when it is considered that it contained proper
apartments not only for the emperor himself, and for the numerous
retinue of officers who attended his court, but likewise edifices and
open spaces for exercises of different kinds, that it was capable of
lodging a prætorian cohort, and that two temples were erected within its
precincts, we shall not conclude the area to have been too large for
such a variety of buildings.
For a description of this celebrated place, we must refer to Mr. Adam’s
Antiquities; but there is one circumstance that may be highly
interesting at the present time, which is, that not the smallest vestige
of a fire-place is to be seen in any part of the building; and it may be
therefore conjectured, that the various apartments might have been
heated by flues or funnels, conveying and distributing heated air.
Of the temples, one of them was dedicated to Æsculapius; the ascent to
which was by a stair of fifteen steps, and it received no light but from
the door. Beneath it are vaults of great strength; its roof is an arch
adorned with sunk pannels of beautiful workmanship, and its walls are of
a remarkable thickness. This temple remains almost entire.
There is another temple, dedicated to Jupiter, who was worshipped by
Diocletian with peculiar veneration; and in honour of whom he assumed
the name of Jovius. This temple is surrounded with one row of columns,
having a space between them and the wall. It is lighted by an arched
window over the door, and is vaulted beneath like that of Æsculapius.
There are remains of two other buildings, not much inferior in extent,
nor probably in original magnificence; but by the injuries of time, and
the depredations of the Spalatrines, these are reduced to a very ruinous
condition.
Besides these the visitor sees large vaults along that side of the
palace which looks to the sea; partly destroyed, partly filled up, and
some occupied by merchants as storehouses.
In one of the towers belonging to the palace, Diocletian is supposed to
have been buried; and we are told that, about two hundred and
seventy-five years ago, the body of the emperor was discovered there in
a sarcophagus of porphyry.