man is pre-eminent, and typical of all the rest, Sir Austen Henry
Layard. Before him one Frenchman, M. Paul Émile Botta, had made a fine
dash on a palace city a dozen miles north of Nineveh, and had opened
wonders such as the world had never seen before. But the man whose
energy was fullest of impulse, whose enthusiasm compelled British
Ambassadors and Ministers and Parliaments to do his bidding, who aroused
the world to the importance of the exploration and disinterment of the
monuments of Babylonia and Assyria, was the Englishman Layard.
He had a youthful passion for adventure, and slender means to gratify
it. I wish you could see him as he is pictured in the volume which gives
the story of his early adventures, before he had settled on his life-work
of exploration. There he stands clad in his Bakhtiyari costume, the
dress of a mountain tribe in Persia which asserted its independence of
Teheran. It is a well-knit frame, fit to endure hardships. He stands
holding the tall matchlock, the curved scimetar by his side, and the
long pistol and the dagger in his belt. Above the yellow shoes and
parti-woven stockings a red silk robe falls to his ankles, and over that
a green silk garment reaches to his knees, and yet over that a shorter
and richly embroidered coat, with open sleeves, is held close about the
body by a wide silken sash woven in the brightest of red and gold, and
holding the weapons attached to his waist. On his head is a low flat
cap, visorless in front, but with a broad bow in place of a feather, all
striped with the richest embroidery, and with a wide tassel of the same
material falling far down his back. But the face, with its short beard
dyed dark with henna, and its blue eyes, is not that of a warrior, but
of a serious scholar or diplomatist. And he needed all the force of
courage and all the arts of diplomacy for the work he had to do.
Layard's early training was in the line of preparation for his life's
work. Much of his boyhood was spent in Italy, where he acquired a taste
for the fine arts, and as much knowledge of them as a child could obtain
who was constantly in the society of artists and connoisseurs. At about
the age of sixteen he was sent to England to study the law, for which he
was destined by his parents. After six years in the office of a
solicitor, and in the chambers of an eminent conveyancer,--for that is
the way that lawyers were educated then,--he determined to leave
England and seek a career elsewhere. He had a relative in Ceylon, who
gave him hopes of securing a position there, and for Ceylon he started.
A friend of his, ten years older, was bound for the same destination,
both fond of adventure, and they agreed to go together, and to go as far
as they could by land instead of taking the long sea journey around the
Cape of Good Hope. Across Europe they passed to Constantinople, through
Austria, Dalmatia, Montenegro, Albania, and Bulgaria; thence across Asia
Minor to Syria and Palestine; thence to Aleppo and down the Tigris to
Baghdad. It was an extraordinary and adventurous journey, often
dangerous; but greater danger was to follow. Layard had learned some
Turkish, and now he spent the long weeks in Baghdad in the study of
Persian; his companion was quite familiar with Arabic. Before they left
England they had received good advice from Sir John MacNeill, the
British representative at the court of the Shah: "You must either travel
as important personages, with a retinue of servants and an adequate
escort, or alone, as poor men, with nothing to excite the cupidity of
the people amongst whom you will have to mix. If you cannot afford to
adopt the first course, you must take the latter." The latter they were
forced to take.
Many a young man has the gift to acquire languages--almost any Oriental
can talk three or four--and the ability to rough it and live on the fare
of the people, though barbarous; and many a man has the spirit of
adventure; but this young man had one peculiar and unusual qualification
that directed him to his future career. As a child, he had read the
"Arabian Nights" with intense delight, with their stories centred about
Baghdad. Then every book of Eastern adventure, every bit of travel in
Syria, Arabia, or Persia that he could find he had eagerly devoured. It
was his day and night's longing that he might visit strange lands of
history and make explorations and discoveries. So wherever he was, he
visited every ruin and tried to copy every inscription. If his companion
would not turn aside to visit some region of renown and danger, he would
go alone and join him later. As they came down the river Tigris in their
boat, they passed the immense mound of Nimroud, and so impressed was
Layard by it that he then, scarce twenty-three years old, resolved that
some day he would search and learn what was hidden under it; but little
did he imagine what wonderful monuments he was to find there only a few
years later.
Without a servant, as poor men, in a caravan of fanatical and hostile
Persian pilgrims returning from the shrines, just travellers trying to
go by land through Persia and Afghanistan to India and Ceylon, they
left Baghdad. It was a time of unusual danger, for the British Minister
had been recalled from the Persian Court, and war with England was
threatened. They were taken for spies, and sent to the presence of the
Shah, and forbidden to follow the route they had chosen and which had
been marked out for them by the Council of the Royal Geographical
Society, to report on rivers and mountains and ruins not yet explored.
They were insulted and robbed, and their lives were often in danger; but
at last they received from the Shah their firmans. Now they separated.
His companion felt that he must go by the quickest route to his
destination; but Layard had no definite date before him, and he was
anxious to perform the commissions of the Geographical Society, and so
he plunged alone into fresh dangers.
But there is no space to tell the rest of the story of his adventures
among the Bakhtiyari, of his copying of inscriptions, of his return to
Baghdad and his decision to give up the plans of life in Ceylon, and of
his return from Baghdad again to Shuster and Persepolis and other
ancient cities of Persia, and his exploration of the Karun River and his
geographical paper on the subject, his opening of British trade, and his
return to Constantinople. At Mosul he found that M. Botta was planning
to explore the mounds across the Tigris that covered ancient Nineveh,
and he warmly encouraged his plans. At Constantinople he visited Sir
Stratford Canning and delivered to him despatches that had been confided
to his care, in view of a threatened war between Persia and Turkey. Here
he was kept in the service of the British Embassy, and intrusted with
important and delicate negotiations and investigations which were so
highly appreciated by Sir Stratford that he kept him as his attaché.
Meanwhile M. Botta had begun his excavations of a palace of King Sargon
at Khorsabad and was sending his reports and drawings to Paris. They
were all sent by way of Constantinople, and, by M. Botta's generosity,
were all seen by Mr. Layard. So deeply was he interested in them, and so
intense was his desire to carry on excavations himself, that he secured
his release from the Embassy, and also a grant of three hundred dollars
from Sir Stratford's own purse, which, with what he could spare from his
own money, would, he hoped, suffice to begin the work, when, if anything
of value appeared, it was trusted that funds would be secured from
English friends of Oriental learning. Thus, six years after leaving
England, Mr. Layard, well equipped in knowledge of the people and in
diplomatic experience, was ready to launch on his great career, which
brought him fame and earned him the post in later years of British
Ambassador at the Porte, which Sir Stratford had held, and--what is far
greater--gave to the world the larger part of its knowledge of the lost
empires of Assyria and Babylonia.
With these few hundred dollars, and contributing every penny of his own
income, in October of 1845, he left Constantinople without companion or
servant, went by steamer to Samsoun, and then as fast as post-horses
could climb or gallop over mountains and plains, he reached Mosul in
twelve days.
Here at last he was fitted for his task, supplied for the accomplishment
of his passion. The Arabs say: "I had a horse, but no desert; I had a
desert, but no horse; now I have a desert and a horse, and shall I not
ride?" His boyhood, with the artists of Italy, and learning the
languages of the continent, had fitted him for his task; then his study
of all the books of Eastern travel, then half a year wandering with a
trained companion through Asia Minor and Syria, scarcely leaving untrod
one spot hallowed by tradition, or unvisited one ruin consecrated by
history, with no protection but his arms, living with the people and
learning their prejudices and customs. Then an irresistible desire had
brought him to the regions beyond the Euphrates, and the mystery of
Assyria, Babylonia, and Chaldea had fascinated him, so that he had
visited the land of Nimrod, seen the site of their old buried capitals,
had been the guest in the tents of Shammar and Aneyzah Arabs, and even
passed on to see the famous forty columns of Chilminar, old Persian
Persepolis, and to penetrate the mountain fastnesses where the
Bakhtiyari maintained a perilous freedom. Never was man better trained
by enthusiasm and experience for his task, and the late discoveries of
M. Botta had inflamed his desire to surpass what his French friend
had done.
His plan was not to begin excavations at Nineveh, opposite Mosul, but
twenty miles south, at the great mound of Nimroud, which bore the name
of the mighty hunter Nimrod. Xenophon and his Ten Thousand had seen and
wondered at its pyramid. There he would be free from the army of
mischievous spectators that would swarm from Mosul, had he selected the
site of Nineveh, and from the constant interference of the Turkish
governor. The Pasha at Mosul was a cruel scoundrel, who was robbing and
killing the people as his whim or greed prompted, and had reduced the
tribes of the neighborhood to a state of terror. Accordingly, Mr.
Layard, who was armed with protecting letters from the British
Ambassador and the Porte, thought it wise to conceal his purpose, let it
be reported that he was going on a hunting expedition; and with a few
tools and a supply of guns and spears, on the 8th of November, 1845,
accompanied only by his cawass, the soldier attendant detailed for the
protection of travellers, a servant, and one laborer, he floated down
the Tigris, and in four hours reached the bourne of his long hopes. He
had the mound, he had the money, and now he would dig.
The Arabs have strange stories of this ruin. The palace, they say, was
built by Athur, the vizier of Nimrod. There Abraham brake in pieces the
idols worshipped by the unbelievers. Nimrod was angry and waged war on
the holy patriarch. Abraham prayed to God: "Deliver me, O God, from this
man who worships stones, and boasts himself to be lord of all kings;"
and God said to him, "How shall I punish him?" and the prophet answered,
"To thee armies are as nothing, and the strength and power of men
likewise. Before the smallest of thy creatures will they perish." And
God was pleased at the faith of his servant, and he sent a gnat that
vexed Nimrod day and night, so that he built himself a room of glass in
that palace that he might dwell therein and shut out the insect. But the
gnat entered also, and passed by his ear into his brain, upon which it
fed, and increased day by day, so that the servants of Nimrod beat his
head continually with a mallet that he might have some ease from his
pain; but he died after suffering these torments four hundred years. And
after him the mound was named Nimroud.
It was dark when Layard and his little company reached the place. They
found near by a few huts occupied by poor Arabs, who had been harried by
the Turkish Pasha. There they slept, or tried to sleep. But the
explorer could not sleep. Hear him:--
"Hopes, long cherished, were now to be realized, or were to end in
disappointment. Visions of palaces under ground, of gigantic monsters,
of sculptured figures, and endless inscriptions, floated before me.
After forming plan after plan for removing the earth and extricating
these treasures, I fancied myself wandering in a maze of chambers from
which I could find no outlet. Then, again, all was reburied, and I was
standing on the grass-covered mound. Exhausted, I was at length sinking
into sleep, when, hearing the voice of Awad, I rose from my carpet and
joined him outside the tent. The day already dawned. The lofty cone and
broad mound of Nimroud broke like a distant mountain on the
morning sky."
Awad, his host, was a little chief among the Arabs, and was engaged to
take charge of the diggers. The first morning he had six Arabs at work,
and found alabaster slabs with cuneiform inscriptions. He was now sure
he would succeed.
It is not necessary to give the diary of his work. To be sure, the
villanous Pasha forbade him to continue, and recalled him to Mosul, but
a new governor was sent from Constantinople, under whom he had no
difficulty. A great palace had been found, and chamber after chamber was
excavated, the walls covered with bas-reliefs and inscriptions. Then
came strange, gigantic lions with human heads, that had been placed by
the old Assyrian king to guard the entrances to his court. What was the
amazement of the Arabs and Turks cannot be told. First, the head was
uncovered. It stood out from the earth, placid and vast. Hear Layard
tell the story. He had been away to visit a neighboring chief:--
"I was returning to the mound, when I saw two Arabs urging their mares
to the top of their speed. 'Hasten, O Bey,' exclaimed one of them,
'hasten to the diggers, for they have found Nimrod himself. By Allah! it
is wonderful, but it is true! We have seen him with our eyes! There is
no God but God!' And both joining in this pious exclamation, they
galloped back to the tent."
Layard hastened to the trench, and there saw what he knew to be the head
of a gigantic lion or bull, such as Botta had uncovered at Khorsabad. It
was in admirable preservation. The expression was calm, yet majestic,
and the outline of the features showed a freedom and knowledge of art
that was scarcely to be looked for at so early a period. Says the
explorer:--
"I was not surprised that the Arabs had been amazed and terrified at
this apparition. It required no stretch of imagination to conjure up the
most strange fancies. This gigantic head, blanched with age, thus rising
from the bowels of the earth, might well have belonged to one of those
fearful beings which are pictured in the traditions of the country as
appearing to mortals, slowly ascending from the regions below. 'This is
not the work of men's hands,' exclaimed Sheikh Abdurrahman, who had
galloped to the mound on the first news, 'but of those infidel giants of
whom the Prophet, peace be with him! has said that they were higher than
the tallest date-tree; this is one of the idols which Noah, peace be
with him! cursed before the flood!' In this opinion all the bystanders
concurred."
The Arabs have a ready explanation for every fresh discovery. When some
years later Mr. Layard's assistant and successor in the work of
excavation, Mr. Rassam, uncovered, at Abu-habba, a remarkable bas-relief
with the figure of the seated Sun-god and three approaching worshippers,
the Arab diggers rushed to him, declaring that they had found Noah and
his three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japhet, and demanded a sheep to make
a feast.
The report of the wonderful discovery of a royal palace, evidently older
than those of Nineveh, with magnificent decorations in alabaster and
cuneiform inscriptions, reached beyond Mosul to Constantinople. Sir
Stratford Canning was delighted with the result of his expedition. He
had a passion for discovery as well as diplomacy, and it is to him that
the British Museum is indebted for the priceless marbles of
Halicarnassus. He now obtained for Mr. Layard a firman, permitting him
to make what excavations he wished. Then the news reached London, and
the British Museum made a grant to support the work. All difficulties
were now removed. Conditions were even more favorable for him than they
are now. There was then no Imperial Museum in Constantinople to which
all objects found must be taken, but those that dug had the right to
carry off their prizes to London or Paris.
To tell the story of the further excavations is unnecessary. It is all
given in Layard's two splendid volumes, "Nineveh and its Remains," and
"Babylon and Nineveh;" and the bas-reliefs, statues, bronzes, ivories,
and inscriptions are magnificently reproduced in great folio volumes.
From Nimroud he went back to Mosul, and there opened the two mounds
opposite of Kuyunjik and Neby-Yunus, the site of old Nineveh. There more
palaces and friezes were found of other kings. Then he went back to
London, closing his successful campaign, more profitable if not more
glorious than those of war, and published the story of his work. Its
effect was marvellous. No such popular book of travels had ever
appeared; for it was a story of adventure, and also of strange
discovery. Mr. Layard had not suspected that he had the literary gift,
but he had it in rare measure. He had gained an inner view of the heart
of tribes, Moslem and Christian and semi-pagan, by his sympathy with
them and his knowledge of their tongues. He had lived in their tents and
huts. He had saved them from persecution by Turkish governors. Their
gratitude to him was beyond words, and he told their story with
affection and enthusiasm. Then his discoveries were in the lands made
historic not only by the campaigns of Xenophon and Alexander, but made
almost sacred by the Bible history. These were the lands whence came the
armies that fought with Israel. These were the kings whose wars are told
in the Jewish records; and the annals of these kings were found in their
palaces, and they gave full accounts of wars of which the Bible had
given the outline. Piety and learning joined to give extraordinary
interest to these discoveries and to this report of them. Mr. Layard
found himself famous, and the monuments he was bringing to the British
Museum were, and still are, the most extraordinary and fascinating in
all its corridors.
Of course, a new grant was made in behalf of the British Museum, and of
course he went back to continue and extend his researches. Now he wished
to go further south, beyond Nimroud to Kalah Shergat, the yet earlier
capital of Assyria; and yet further to Babylon, that he might see and
test the multitude of mounds of ancient Chaldea, the real land of
Nimrod, the seat of Eden, and the Tower of Babel, far more ancient than
any one of the three capitals of Assyria. While he did scarce more than
to visit and report on the Babylonian mounds, his diggings in Nineveh
itself were of vast importance, for there he found the library of
Asshurbanabal, on clay tablets, which has given us our chief knowledge
of the literature and learning of the ancient East. In 1852 he returned
to England to publish his "Monuments of Nineveh," and left the further
exploration to his able lieutenant, Mr. Rassam, and to a noble
succession of explorers who should follow, and to a no less noble line
of scholars who should interpret the inscriptions and recover the
history of the nations; so that we now know more exactly the history of
Babylonian and Assyrian kings, and from more authentic records, and more
completely the social condition and business life of the countries, than
we do the history of Greece, or the life of the Greeks even of the time
of Pericles, and that, too, for a period of three thousand years.
To illustrate this fact, let us take the black obelisk of Shalmaneser
II., found by Layard at Nimroud. It is a column of basalt seven feet
high and about two feet wide at the base, from which it narrows
slightly, until near the top it is reduced by three steps. On the four
sides is engraved in five rows of bas-reliefs, twenty in all, the
pictured history of the royal conquests, the submission of kings, and
the presentation of tribute. Above and below, and between, in two
hundred and ten lines, was cut an inscription which explained the
figures, and gave a full historical and, of course, contemporary and
official account of the glorious events of the royal reign. Not a line
was defaced; at the British Museum it can be seen to-day as perfect as
when engraved twenty-seven centuries ago. Other monuments of Shalmaneser
have been found. One is a great monolith with a portrait of the king in
all his fine array, and with one hundred and fifty-six lines of text.
Another is a series of splendid bronze plates that covered great wooden
gates, on which, in repoussé work, were pictures of the royal victories,
and inscriptions explaining them. The Bible tells us of the rivalries
and jealousies of Ahab and Jehu, kings of Israel, and Benhadad and
Hazael, kings of Damascus. How surprising it is to find here not only
the story of the successive campaigns of Shalmaneser against these same
kings, the number of their chariots and soldiers, but to see pictured
before us the tribute sent by Jehu. We learn that Shalmaneser reigned
from 859 to 825 B.C., and we have the record of all his successive
campaigns, the first twenty-six of which he led in person. There is not
another country of which, before the invention of printing, we have so
minute a history; and all had been lost, except the mention of a name or
two, whether historical or legendary we hardly knew, until Layard and
his fellow-explorers opened the mounds of Assyria.
But enough for Layard. He is only one, though the principal one, of all
the explorers of the buried records of the empires of the Tigris and
Euphrates. And Babylonia and Assyria are not the only countries that
history required us to explore. Greece and its neighboring states and
islands have not even yet been fairly investigated. Much of Asia Minor
is still a virgin field. Syria and Palestine have hardly been scratched
with the spade. More has been done in Egypt, but more yet is to be done.
And when we go into the further east of Persia and Old Elam, not to
speak of the yet farther east of Central Asia, now just beginning to
yield strange treasures to daring travellers, and ancient India and
China,--how ancient we know not at all,--there is field for centuries of
further research. For we must go back past empires and kingdoms and
tribal conditions to the very beginning of the human race on the earth,
even if so it be, to the first _Pithecanthropus_ which men of science
tell us was the link which connected _Homo sapiens_ with the race of
primitive simians. And all this, it may well be, is preserved in
undecaying records just a few feet under the ground, if one only knew
where to dig for it; nay, we now know where to dig for the most and best
of it, and we only await the Stratford Cannings, who will give the
money, and the Austen Layards, who have the enthusiasm for the work.