Explorations in Bible Lands During the 19th Century 9781463209681
This book is a historical sketch of archaeological explorations of the biblical lands of Assyria, Babylonia, Palestine,
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Explorations in Bible Land
EXPLORATIONS IN
BIBLE L A N D S During the 19th Century
BY
H. V. HILPRECHT Clark Research Professor of Assyriology and Scientific Director of the Babylonian Expedition, University of Pennsylvania
WITH
THE
CO-OPKRATION
OF
Lie. DR. BENZINGER, Formerly University of Berlin PROF. DR. NOMMEL, University of Munich PROF. DR. JENSEN, University of Marburg PROF DR. STEINDORFF, University of Leipzig
With Nearly Two Hundred Illustrations and Four Maps
GORGIAS PRESS 2004
First Gorgias Press Edition, 2002. Second Gorgias Press Edition, 2004. The special contents of this edition are copyright €> 2004 by Gorgias Press LLC. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States of America by Gorgias Press LLC, New Jersey. This edition is a facsimile reprint of the original edition published by A. J. Molman and Company, Philadelphia, in 1903.
ISBN 1-59333-116-9
& Ì G
GORGIAS PRESS
46 Orris Ave., Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA www.gorgiaspress.com
Printed and bound in the United States of America.
TO
H. C L A Y THE
TRUMBULL
REDISCOVERER
OF
KADESH-BARNEA
AS A SMALL TOKEN OF HIGH ESTEEM AND L O V I N G AFFECTION
THE EDITOR
PUBLISHER'S N O T E
The owner of the original copy from which this facsimile edition was made had inserted in the book a newspaper clip announcing die marriage of Hilprecht which we reproduce below. The name of die newspaper and the year of publication are unknown.
L E A R N E D MAN IS M A R R I E D . P r o f e s s o r H i l p r e c h t , the A s s y r i o l o g i s t , T a k e s a Bride. P H I L A D E L P H I A , A p r i l 24.—If i t had been a n n o u n c e d t h a t he had discovered a n o t h e r N i p p u r , t h e f r i e n d s of P r o f . H e r m a n u s V . H i l p r e c h t , p r o f e s s o r of a s s y r i o l o g y a n d S e m i t i c philology and archaeology at the U n i v e r s i t y of P e n n s y l v a n i a , would not h a v e been more startled than when they learned t h a t he was married last night to M r s . W . H . R o b i n s o n , of 1932 L o c u s t s t r e e t . D r . H i l p r e c h t is k n o w n t h e w o r l d o v e r as the m a n who has turned back the c l o c k of history three thousand years. H e discovered the oldest library in the world, w h i c h w a s collected a t least ten thousand y e a r s ago. '
PREFACE NEARLY
ten y e a r s a g o M e s s r s . A . J . H o l m a n & C o . a p -
p r o a c h e d me with a request to p r e p a r e , for the close o f the c e n t u r y , a brief historical s k e t c h on the e x p l o r a t i o n s in B i b l e lands, w h i c h w o u l d c o n v e v to the intelligent E n g l i s h - r e a d i n g p u b l i c a clear c o n c e p t i o n o f the gradual resurrection o f the principal ancient nations o f W e s t e r n A s i a and E g y p t .
After
m u c h hesitation, I c o n s e n t e d to b e c o m e responsible for the e x e c u t i o n o f their c o m p r e h e n s i v e
p l a n , p r o v i d e d that I be
a l l o w e d to solicit the c o o p e r a t i o n o f
other
specialists for
the t r e a t m e n t o f those subjects w h i c h did not lie directlv within the sphere o f m v o w n i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , as m o s t o f the b o o k s d e a l i n g with this fascinating t h e m e suffer f r o m the o n e serious defect that their a u t h o r s are not c o m p e t e n t authorities in e v e r y part o f that vast field w h i c h t h e y a t t e m p t to
plough
of others.
and
cultivate
for the
Several w e l l - k n o w n
benefit and
instruction
G e r m a n specialists, w h o s e
names appear o n the title-page, were therefore
accordingly
i n v i t e d to j o i n the editor in the p r e p a r a t i o n o f the v o l u m e , and to p r e s e n t to the reader s k e t c h e s o f their branches
of
science, with
the
respective
historical d e v e l o p m e n t
of
w h i c h t h e y h a v e been p r o m i n e n t l v c o n n e c t e d d u r i n g
pre-
v i o u s years.
was
At
the close o f
1 9 0 0 the
entire
MS.
ready to be p r i n t e d , w h e n the results o f a series o f excavations
carried on b v the B a b v l o n i a n
University
of
Pennsylvania
Expedition
b e g a n to attract
of
more
o r d i n a r y attention o n b o t h sides o f the A t l a n t i c .
the than
In view
o f t h e g r o w i n g d e m a n d for a p o p u l a r and a u t h e n t i c r e p o r t o f these i m p o r t a n t archaeological researches, the p u b l i s h e r s
PREFACE
VI
d e e m e d it n e c e s s a r y t o m o d i f y t h e i r f o r m e r p l a n s b y a s k i n g the editor to m a k e the exploration o f A s s y r i a and B a b y l o n i a t h e characteristic
feature
of
the u n c o m p l e t e d
a b o v e all, t o i n c o r p o r a t e w i t h it the first full American
labors
at Nuffar.
Thus
book,
account
and, of
the
it c a m e a b o u t t h a t
the
o p e n i n g article o f t h i s c o l l e c t i v e v o l u m e , i n t e n d e d t o g i v e b u t a b r i e f s u r v e y o f a s u b j e c t w h i c h at p r e s e n t s t a n d s in t h e c e n t r e o f g e n e r a l i n t e r e s t , has g r o w n far b e y o n d its o r i g i n a l limits. A s the results o f K o l d e w e y ' s methodical
excavations and
t o p o g r a p h i c a l r e s e a r c h e s at t h e v a s t r u i n fields o f t h e a n c i e n t m e t r o p o l i s on the E u p h r a t e s , b e l o n g chiefly to the twentieth c e n t u r y a n d , m o r e o v e r , are n o t y e t f u l l y a c c e s s i b l e t o o t h e r s c h o l a r s , their o m i s s i o n
in t h e s e p a g e s will s c a r c e l y b e re-
g a r d e d as a s e r i o u s d e f i c i e n c y , since t h e o b j e c t o f t h e p r e s e n t b o o k w a s t o set f o r t h t h e w o r k o f t h e e x p l o r e r s o f t h e p r e vious century.
I f , h o w e v e r , t h e p u b l i c i n t e r e s t in t h e m a t e -
rial here s u b m i t t e d
s h o u l d w a r r a n t it, t h e y w i l l
find
their
p r o p e r t r e a t m e n t in a f u t u r e e d i t i o n . I n p r e p a r i n g t h e first 288 p a g e s o f m y o w n
contribution
I h a v e h a d t h e e x t r a o r d i n a r y assistance o f m v l a m e n t e d w i f e and colaborer, w h o , with her remarkable
knowledge
o f the
history o f A s s y r i o l o g v and her characteristic unselfish d e v o t i o n t o t h e c a u s e o f science a n d art, p r o m o t e d the
Babylonian
Expedition
o f the U n i v e r s i t y o f
v a n i a (in c h a r g e o f h e r h u s b a n d ) u n k n o w n to the public.
in m a n y
Pennsyl-
essential
ways
T h e b e s t p a s s a g e s in t h e f o l l o w i n g
chapter on the " R e s u r r e c t i o n o f A s s y r i a and are l i k e w i s e d u e t o h e r .
the w o r k o f
Babylonia "
S h e laid d o w n h e r p e n o n l y w h e n
t h e a p p r o a c h i n g a n g e l o f d e a t h w r e s t e d it f r o m h e r tired h a n d on M a r c h 1, 1902.
The
Board
of Trustees
v e r s i t y o f P e n n s y l v a n i a has s i n c e h o n o r e d
o f the
Uni-
the m e m o r y o f
PREFACE
VI1
this g r e a t a n d g i f t e d w o m a n by r e s o l v i n g u n a n i m o u s l y
that
t h e f a m o u s c o l l e c t i o n s o f t a b l e t s f r o m t h e t e m p l e l i b r a r y at N i p p u r shall b e k n o w n
h e n c e f o r t h b y her n a m e .
o f her v e r y e x t e n s i v e c o n t r i b u t i o n s
In view
t o t h e p r e s e n t b o o k , it
w a s m y desire t o h a v e her n a m e a s s o c i a t e d w i t h m i n e o n its title-page.
B u t w h e n I a s k e d f o r h e r c o n s e n t the d a y p r e -
v i o u s to her
final
departure, —
i m m e d i a t e l y after she
had
c o m p l e t e d h e r last t a s k , a n d h a d a r r a n g e d w i t h m e f o r the n e x t t w e n t y y e a r s t h e details o f t h e scientific p u b l i c a t i o n s o f the A m e r i c a n E x p e d i t i o n to N u f f a r , — I received the m e m o r a b l e r e p l y : " W h y s h o u l d t h e w o r l d learn t o d i s c r i m i n a t e between person ?
your Was
work
and m y
not your
God
w o r k , y o u r person and
my
my G o d , your country
my
c o u n t r y , y o u r labor m v labor, v o u r sorrow m y sorrow, y o u r name m y name ? tomb."
In
L e t it r e m a i n
s o e v e n at m y c o f f i n a n d
t h e l i g h t o f this sacred l e g a c y , m y
reviewers
w i l l p a r d o n m e f o r a p p e a r i n g t o a p p r o p r i a t e m o r e t h a n is due to me. M o r e r a p i d l y than I c o u l d h a v e a n t i c i p a t e d I was p l a c e d in a p o s i t i o n t o c a r r y o u t m y w i f e ' s l o f t y ideas w i t h
regard
t o t h e s t r i c t l y scientific p u b l i c a t i o n s o f t h e P h i l a d e l p h i a e x pedition.
I t s e e m s t h e r e f o r e e m i n e n t l y p r o p e r f o r m e in this
connection to express publicly m y d e e p gratitude to M e s s r s . E d w a r d W . and Clarence H . C l a r k o f Philadelphia, the two w i d e l y k n o w n p a t r o n s o f A m e r i c a n e x p l o r a t i o n s in B a b y l o nia, w h o b y their r e c e n t m u n i f i c e n t g i f t o f $ 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 h a v e enabled the Board o f T r u s t e e s o f the U n i v e r s i t y o f
Penn-
sylvania to establish the " C l a r k Research Professorship o f A s s y r i o l o g v , " t h e o n l y chair o f its k i n d its first i n c u m b e n t
I am authorized
in e x i s t e n c e .
t o d e v o t e t h e rest
m y life t o t h e s t u d y a n d d e c i p h e r i n g o f t h o s e results which t h r o u g h
As of
remarkable
the generosity and energy of a few
vii i
PREFACE
Philadelphia citizens were obtained at the ruins of N u f f a r , and which t h r o u g h the liberality and personal interest of M r . E c k l e y B. Coxe, J r . , will be p r i n t e d and s u b m i t t e d to the public m o r e rapidly than was h i t h e r t o possible. E r o m the very b e g i n n i n g I have been connected with t h e various Babylonian expeditions of the U n i v e r s i t y of P e n n sylvania.
T h e farther we p r o c e e d e d with o u r researches, t h e
m o r e it became necessary for m e to spend m y time a l m o s t regularly r every year in three different p a r t s of t h e world and to s u r r e n d e r completely the c o m f o r t of a fixed h o m e . I n consequence of this nomadic life I was often o u t of contact with m y well-equipped l i b r a r y , — a disadvantage especially felt when certain passages were to be examined or verified f r o m the earlier literature dealing with m y subject. W i t h warm appreciation of all the friendly assistance received, I a c k n o w l e d g e m y great indebtedness to
Messrs.
H a l i l Bey, D i r e c t o r of the I m p e r i a l O t t o m a n M u s e u m ; L e o n H e u z e y , D i r e c t o r of the L o u v r e ; L . K i n g of the British M u s e u m ; D r . A . Gies, Eirst D r a g o m a n of the G e r m a n E m b a s s y in C o n s t a n t i n o p l e ; E. F u r t w a e n g l e r , H . G e b z e r , E. H o m m e l , R . Kittel, V. Scheil, E b e r h a r d Schrader, F . T h u r e a u - D a n g i n , Karl Vollers, and not the least to m y friend and assistant, A . T . Clay, who not onlv read a c o m plete set of p r o o f s , and i m p r o v e d the E n g l i s h g a r m e n t of all the articles here p u b l i s h e d , b u t in m a n y o t h e r ways facilitated the preparation and p r i n t i n g of the entire v o l u m e . A s it was n o t always advisable to ship valuable p h o t o graphic material to his t e m p o r a r y abode, the editor f o u n d it s o m e t i m e s difficult to illustrate the articles of his colaborers in an a d e q u a t e m a n n e r .
I n several instances it would have
been almost impossible for him to obtain suitable illustra-
ix
PREFACE
tions had he n o t profited by the material kindly placed at his disposal by M r s . Sara Y . S t e v e n s o n , Sc. D . , C u r a t o r of the E g y p t i a n Section of the Archaeological M u s e u m of t h e U n i v e r s i t y of P e n n s y l v a n i a ; M i s s M a r y R o b i n s o n , d a u g h t e r of the late Professor E d w a r d R o b i n s o n of N e w Y o r k ; M r s . T . Bent and M r s . W . W r i g h t of L o n d o n ; M r . C. S. F i s h e r , of the Babylonian E x p e d i t i o n of the U n i v e r s i t y of P e n n s y l vania ; M r . T . G r o t e f e n d of H a n o v e r ; Professor J . H a l é v y of Paris ; and C o u n t L a n d b e r g of M u n i c h ; to all of w h o m are d u e his cordial t h a n k s . I t is the h o p e of b o t h a u t h o r s and publishers that the present v o l u m e may help to fill a serious g a p in our m o d e r n literature by p r e s e n t i n g in a systematic b u t p o p u l a r form a fascinating subject, equal in importance to the Bible s t u d e n t , historian, archaeologist, and philologist.
T h e rich material
often scattered t h r o u g h old editions of rare b o o k s and c o m paratively inaccessible j o u r n a l s has been examined anew, sifted, and treated by a n u m b e r of experts in the light of their latest researches.
I t was o u r one aim to bring t h e
history of the gradual exploration of those distant oriental countries, which f o r m e d the significant scene and
back-
g r o u n d of G o d ' s dealings with Israel as a nation, m o r e vividly before the educated classes of C h r i s t e n d o m .
May
the time and labor d e v o t e d to the preparation of this w o r k contribute their
small
share
towards
arousing
a
deeper
interest on the part of the public in excavating m o r e of those priceless treasures of the past which have
played
such a conspicuous role in the interpretation of the O l d T e s t a m e n t writings. THE JENA, D e c e m b e r 2 7 ,
1902.
EDITOR.
CONTENTS. Page T H E RESURRECTION OF ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA By Professor H. V . Hilprecht, Ph.D., D.D., L L - D .
I. The Rediscovery of Nineveh and Babylon, pp. 7-22. Nineveh, pp. 7-12. Babylon, pp. 12-22.
II. Exploring and Surveying in the Nineteenth Century, pp. 22-69. Claudius James Rich, pp. 26-36. J. S. B u c k i n g h a m , pp. 36-44. Sir Robert K e r Porter, pp. 44-51. Captain Robert Mignan, pp. 51-54. G. Baille Fraser, pp. 54-57. T h e E u p h r a t e s E x p e d i t i o n under Colonel Chesney, pp. 57-63. James F e l i x Jones, pp. 63-66. L y n c h , Selby, Collingwood, Bewsher, pp. 66-69.
III. Excavations at the Principal Sites of Assyria and Babvlonia, pp. 70-577. 1. T h e Discovery of Assyrian Palaces, pp. 73-187. F r e n c h E x c a v a t i o n s at Khorsabâd, b y Botta and Place, pp. 73-S7. E n g l i s h E x c a v a t i o n s at Nimrûd, Qovunjuk and Qal'at Shirgât, by Layard, Rassam, and Loftus, pp. 88-138. 2. First Successful A t t e m p t s in Babylonia, pp. 138-187. William K e n n e t t L o f t u s , pp. 139-157. Sir Austen Henry Layard, pp. 157-163. T h e French E x p e d i t i o n under Fresnel, Oppert and T h o m a s , pp.
163-171.
J . E . T a y l o r , p p . 171-182.
Sir H e n r y Rawlinson, pp. 182-187. 3. T e m p o r a r y Revival of Public Interest in Assyrian E x c a v a t i o n s . pp.
187-190.
George Smith, pp. 190-201. Hormuzd Rassam, pp. 201-213. 4. Methodical E x c a v a t i o n s in Babylonia, pp. 213-215. F r e n c h E x c a v a t i o n s at Tello, under De Sarzec, pp. 216-260. E n g l i s h Excavations, under Rassam, at Babylon, El-Birs and A b û Habba, pp. 260-279. si
I
Page G e r m a n E x c a v a t i o n s at S u r g h u l and El-Hibba, u n d e r Moritz a n d K o l d e w e y , p p . 2S0-288. A m e r i c a n E x c a v a t i o n s at N u f f a r , u n d e r P e t e r s , H i l p r e c h t a n d H a y n e s , p p . 289-568. T u r k i s h G l e a n i n g s at A b û Habba, under Scheil and Bedry Bey, PP- 568-577-
RESEARCHES
IN
PALESTINE
579-622
B y L i e . Dr. J. B e u z i t i g e r .
I. T o p o g r a p h y , pp. 585-591. II. T h e G e o g r a p h i c a l S u r v e y of the Land, pp. 591-596. I I I . Jerusalem, pp. 596-606. I V . Archaeological Results, pp. 607-622. EXCAVATIONS
IN
EGYPT
623-690
By Professor Georg Steindorff, Ph.D.
History of the E x c a v a t i o n s , pp. 628-643. T h e Results of the E x c a v a t i o n s , pp. 643-690. I. T h e D e l t a , p p . 643-652. I I . T h e P y r a m i d s of M e m p h i s , p p . 652-665. I I I . T h e F a y û n i , pp. 665-673. I V . E l ' A m a r n a , p p . 674-676. V . T h e T o m b s of t h e K i n g s of A b y d o s a n d N a q â d a a n d
the
O l d e s t E g y p t i a n C e m e t e r i e s , p p . 676-682. V I . T h e b e s , pp. 6S2-690.
EXPLORATIONS
IN
ARABIA
691-752
By Professor Fritz Honimel, Ph.D.
I. (History of the Exploration), pp. 693-726. II. ( T h e S o u t h Arabian Inscriptions), pp. 727-741. III. (Arabia and the Old Testament), pp. 741-752. THE
SO-CALLED
HITTITES
AND
THEIR
INSCRIPTIONS
.
.
753-793
B y P r o f e s s o r P. J e n s e n , P h . D .
INDEXES. General I n d e x Scriptural Index
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
795 810
Page G e r m a n E x c a v a t i o n s at S u r g h u l and El-Hibba, u n d e r Moritz a n d K o l d e w e y , p p . 2S0-288. A m e r i c a n E x c a v a t i o n s at N u f f a r , u n d e r P e t e r s , H i l p r e c h t a n d H a y n e s , p p . 289-568. T u r k i s h G l e a n i n g s at A b û Habba, under Scheil and Bedry Bey, PP- 568-577-
RESEARCHES
IN
PALESTINE
579-622
B y L i e . Dr. J. B e u z i t i g e r .
I. T o p o g r a p h y , pp. 585-591. II. T h e G e o g r a p h i c a l S u r v e y of the Land, pp. 591-596. I I I . Jerusalem, pp. 596-606. I V . Archaeological Results, pp. 607-622. EXCAVATIONS
IN
EGYPT
623-690
By Professor Georg Steindorff, Ph.D.
History of the E x c a v a t i o n s , pp. 628-643. T h e Results of the E x c a v a t i o n s , pp. 643-690. I. T h e D e l t a , p p . 643-652. I I . T h e P y r a m i d s of M e m p h i s , p p . 652-665. I I I . T h e F a y û n i , pp. 665-673. I V . E l ' A m a r n a , p p . 674-676. V . T h e T o m b s of t h e K i n g s of A b y d o s a n d N a q â d a a n d
the
O l d e s t E g y p t i a n C e m e t e r i e s , p p . 676-682. V I . T h e b e s , pp. 6S2-690.
EXPLORATIONS
IN
ARABIA
691-752
By Professor Fritz Honimel, Ph.D.
I. (History of the Exploration), pp. 693-726. II. ( T h e S o u t h Arabian Inscriptions), pp. 727-741. III. (Arabia and the Old Testament), pp. 741-752. THE
SO-CALLED
HITTITES
AND
THEIR
INSCRIPTIONS
.
.
753-793
B y P r o f e s s o r P. J e n s e n , P h . D .
INDEXES. General I n d e x Scriptural Index
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
795 810
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. T h e asterisk (*) indicates that the illustration has been added by the Editor to the material furnished by the contributors.
T h e E x c a v a t i o n s at the T e m p l e Court in N i p p u r . . . Frontispiece F r o m a photograph taken by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania. ASSYRIA
AND
BABYLONIA.
Georg Friedrich Grotefend F r o m the photograph of an oil painting presented to the Editor by Grotefend's grandson, Herr Ober-Postkassen-Kassirer Grotefend, Hanover.
Page 2
I n t h e T r e n c h e s of N u f f a r . . . . . . . . . F r o m a photograph t a k e n by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
3
The 'Afej Marshes near Nuffar . . . . . . . . F r o m a photograph t a k e n by the Babylonian E x p e d i t i o n of the University of Pennsylvania.
5
' A q a r q u f , t h e " T o w e r o f B a b e l " of E a r l y T r a v e l l e r s . Opp. p. From Chesney, " T h e E x p e d i t i o n for the S u r v e y of the Rivers E u p h r a t e s and T i g r i s , " Vol. I.
15
El-Qasr, East Face . . . . . . . From Rich's Collected Memoirs, edited by his widow.
29
K e l e k , or Native Raft, Composed of Goat Skins F r o m Victor Place, Ninive et V Assy vie. The Euphrates
above Der,
with the Ruins
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
o f Z e l e b i v e 011 t h e
.
35
Left Opp. p.
36
F r o m Chesney, 1. c., Vol. I. B a b i l , W e s t F a c e , a s it A p p e a r e d in 1811 . . F r o m Rich's Collected Memoirs, edited by his w i d o w .
.
.
.
.
39
The Steamers " E u p h r a t e s " and " T i g r i s " Descending the Euphrates F r o m Chesney, " Narrative of the E u p h r a t e s E x p e d i t i o n . "
59
L o s s of t h e " T i g r i s " d u r i n g a H u r r i c a n e . . . F r o m Chesney, " N a r r a t i v e of the E u p h r a t e s E x p e d i t i o n . "
60
o p p . p.
T h e R o c k of B e h i s t u n , w i t h t h e G r e a t T r i l i n g u a l Inscription . . From George Rawlinson, A Memoir of Major-General Sir Henry C r e s w i c k e R a w l i n s o n . " (By permission of the editor and of the publishers, Messrs. L o n g m a n s , Green & Co., London.)
71
M o u n d a n d V i l l a g e of K h o r s a b a d , f r o m t h e W e s t . F r o m Botta and Flan din, Monuments de Ninive.
.
75
.
80
B a s - R e l i e f f r o m t h e P a l a c e of S a r g o n , K h o r s a b a d F r o m Botta and Flandin, I. c. xiii
.
.
.
.
.
.
xiv
LIS T OF ILL US TRA
TIONS. Page
W a l l Decoration in E n a m e l l e d Tiles, K h o r s a b a d F r o m Victor Place, Ninive
S2
et 1' Assyrie.
T h e Palace of Sargon, Conqueror of Samaria, according to the Restoration of V i c t o r Place . . . . . . . . Opp. p.
85
F r o m Victor Place, I. c.
T h e R u i n s of N i m r u d ( L a y a r d r e m o v i n g a human-headed winged bull to a raft on the Tigris)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Opp. p.
93
From L a y a r d , " N i n e v e h and its R e m a i n s . "
T h e Black Obelisk of S h a l m a n e s e r II.
.
.
.
.
.
.
107
F r o m a cast in the M u s e u m of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania.
P l a n of L a y a r d ' s E x c a v a t i o n s at N i m r u d ( C a l a h ) .
.
.
.
. 1 1 3
.
. 1 1 7
F r o m L a y a r d , /. c. (with additional e x p l a n a t i o n s b y H. V. Hilprecht).
T h e R u i n s of N i n e v e h , f r o m t h e North .
.
.
.
.
From Layard, " T h e M o n u m e n t s of N i n e v e h , " Series II.
Bronze Plate f r o m N i m r u d ( C a l a h )
125
F r o m Layard, " T h e Monuments of N i n e v e h , " Series II.
K i n g Ashurb&napal H u n t i n g
135
F r o m a cast in the M u s e u m of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania.
R u i n s of T e l l H a m m a m
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.141
F r o m Loftus, " T r a v e l s and Researches in Chaldiea and Susiana."
T u w a i b a A r a b s C a r r y i n g the First Coffin from the R u i n s of
Warka Opp. p.
143
From Loftus, I. c.
T e l l B u w e r i y e at W a r k a
145
From Loftus, I. c.
Terra-Cotta C o n e W a l l at W a r k a
14S
From Loftus, /. c.
C l a y T a b l e t w i t h E n v e l o p e , Nuffar
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
155
F r o m the original in the Museum of Archaeology, University of P e n n s y l v a n i a .
' A f e j Reed-Huts, near Nuffar
160
From a photograph t a k e n b y the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
Babil, S o u t h - E a s t F a c e , as it A p p e a r e d in 1853
.
.
.
.
.
167
From Oppert, Expedition Scientifique en MPsopotamie, Atlas.
P l a n of the R u i n s of M u q a y y a r , t h e Biblical Ur of the C h a l d e e s . F r o m " T h e Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of l a n d . " Vol. X V . , Part II.
172
G r e a t Britain and Ire-
R u i n s of the T e m p l e of S i n at M u q a y y a r
175
F r o m Loftus, /. c.
C l a y Coffin from M u q a y y a r
176
From " T h e Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Irel a n d , " Vol. X V . , Part II.
T e m p l e Ruin at A b u Shahrain, from the S o u t h From " T h e Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain a n d Irel a n d , " Vol. X V . , Part II.
180
LIST
OF
ILL
USTRA
xv
TIONS.
Page
182
El-Birs, Northwest Face From Rich's Collected Memoirs, edited by his widow.
The Tower of Babel (According to the model prepared by Sir Henry Rawlinson)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Opp. p.
186
From Helmholt's Weltgeschickte. Vol. III., Part X.
The Ruins of Nineveh
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
195
.
From George Smith, "Assyrian Discoveries.''
Part of a Bronze Panel from the Great Palace Gate of Balawât
.
.
208
From Birch and Pinches, " The Bronze Ornaments of the Gates of Balawât."
Votive Statuette in Copper
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
222
.
From Heuzey, Découvertes en Chaldee par lit nr.- i de Sat zee.
Opp. p.
237
Silver Vase of Entemena, Priest-King of Lagash, decorated with the Emblem of his God Opp. p.
241
Gudea, Priest-King of Lagash, as Architect
.
.
.
.
From Heuzey, /. e.
From Heuzey, /. e.
French Excavations at Tellô under I)e Sarzec
.
.
.
.
245
.
From Heuzey, I. r.
Marble Tablet of K i n g Nabù-apal-iddina.
About 850 B. C. .
.
270
Opp. p.
303
.
Frotua cast in the Museum of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania.
The Shammar Bedouins, appearing at the Mounds of Nuffar,
From a photograph taken by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
305
Plan of the Ruins of Nuffar From a cast in the Museum of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania.
About 100 A. D.
Slipper-Shaped Coffins in their original position.
Opp. p. From a photograph taken by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
Rooms and Towers excavated in the Upper Strata of the Southeastern Temple Enclosure opp. p.
308
312
From a photograph taken by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
Arab Workmen at Nuffar—dancing, chanting and brandishing their G u n s — ( e x e c u t i n g a so-called Hausa)
.
.
.
.
.
Opp. p.
315
From a photograph taken by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
The Camp of the Second Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania at Nuffar ' Opp. p.
322
From a photograph taken by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
Babylonian Pottery of the Parthian Period. 200
About 250 B. C. to A. D.
Opp. p. From a photograph taken by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
Lamp in Brown Enamelled Terra-Cotta From the original in the Museum of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania.
326
331
LIST
xvi
OF ILLUSTRA
TIONS. Page
B a t h - T u b - S h a p e d Coffin a n d L a r g e B u r i a l U r n in t h e i r Position . . . . . . . . . . .
Original opp. p.
337
From a p h o t o g r a p h t a k e n b y the Babylonian E x p e d i t i o n of the University of Pennsylvania.
C o u r t of C o l u m n s of a P a r t h i a n P a l a c e o n t h e W e s t e r n B a n k of t h e C h e b a r . A b o u t 250-150 B. C. opp. p.
340
From a photograph t a k e n b y the B a b y l o n i a n E x p e d i t i o n of the University of Pennsylvania.
T e r r a - C o t t a I m a g e s of Bèi a n d h i s C o n s o r t Bêltis.
A b o u t 2500 B. C.
Opp. p. F r o m the originals in the Museum of Archeeology, University of Pennsylvania.
M u d Castle ( M e f t û l ) of ' A b u d e l - H a m i d , S u p r e m e .Shaikh of t h e S i x H a m z a Tribes . . . . . . . . . . Opp. p.
342
349
From a photograph t a k e n b y the B a b y l o n i a n E x p e d i t i o n of the University of Pennsylvania.
W e l l , built of B r i c k s a n d t w o T e r r a - C o t t a D r a i n s .
.
.
Opp. p.
362
From a photograph t a k e n by the Babylonian E x p e d i t i o n of the University of Pennsylvania.
D r a i n c o m p o s e d of J a r s .
A b o u t 200 B. C.
.
.
.
Opp. p.
365
From a photograph t a k e n by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
N o r t h w e s t e r n F a ç a d e of t h e Z i g g u r r a t , as r e s t o r e d b y A s h u r b â n a p a l a b o u t 650 B. C. opp. p.
368
From a photograph t a k e n b y the Babylonian E x p e d i t i o n of the University of Pennsylvania.
W a t e r C o n d u i t , b u i l t b y K i n g U r - G u r , 2700 B. C.
.
.
opp. p.
372
F r o m a photograph t a k e n by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
P a r t h i a n W e l l i n t h e C e n t e r of t h e N o r t h e a s t F a ç a d e of A s h u r b â n a p a l ' s Stage-Tower . . . . . . . . . . opp. p.
374
From a photograph t a k e n b y the B a b y l o n i a n E x p e d i t i o n of the University of Pennsylvania.
E x c a v a t e d S e c t i o n of t h e C o u r t of t h e Z i g g u r r a t in N i p p u r
opp. p.
377
From a photograph t a k e n by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
T o r s o of an I n s c r i b e d S t a t u e in D o l e r i t e .
A b o u t 2700 B. C.
.
.
385
F r o m a photograph t a k e n by the Babylonian E x p e d i t i o n of the University of Pennsylvania.
T r e a s u r y V a u l t a n d T e m p l e A r c h i v e of t h e T i m e of S a r g o n I .
About
3800 B . C . o p p . p. From a photograph t a k e n by the Babylonian E x p e d i t i o n of the University of Pennsylvania.
S o u t h e a s t e r n S e c t i o n of t h e Z i g g u r r a t
.
.
.
.
.
.
390
-394
F r o m the d r a w i n g designed by Hilprecht and made by Fisher.
396
T-pipe Joint From the d r a w i n g made by Fisher.
T h e Earliest Babylonian Arch known.
A b o u t 4000 B. C.
opp. p
F r o m a photograph t a k e n by the Babylonian E x p e d i t i o n of the University of Pennsylvania.
399
LIS
T OF
ILL
US TRA
TIONS.
xvii Page
Pre-Sargonic Drain in Terra-Cotta . . . . . . . . From a photograph taken by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
401
Pre-Sargonic Clay Tablet From a photograph taken by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
403
E x e r c i s e T a b l e t of a Child From a photograph taken by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
405
A b o u t 4 5 0 0 B. C. Opp. p. From a photograph taken by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
Pre-Sargonic
Chamber w i t h T w o L a r g e Vases.
406
Earliest Vase f r o m Nippur. Pre-Sargonic Cup . . . . . From a photograph taken by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
407
C l a y T a b l e t w i t h S e a l I m p r e s s i o n s f r o m t h e A r c h i v e s of M u r a s h u S o n s From the original in the Museum of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania.
409
O b l o n g W e i g h t in Hematite From the original in the Museum of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania.
413
Triangular Label ( " O n e Lamb, the Shepherd Uzi-ilu.") . . . From the original in the Museum of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania.
414
L a b e l w i t h Seal Impressions . . . . . . . . . 4 1 4 From the original in the Museum of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania. Ellipsoidal Label. D a t e d in the R e i g n of K i n g A m m i s a d u g g a . . From the original in the Museum of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania.
415
Cassite A c c o u n t T a b l e t . A b o u t 1 4 0 0 B. C From the original in the Museum of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania.
416
V o t i v e T a b l e t of U r - E n l i l . A b o u t 4 0 0 0 B. C. From a cast in the Museum of Archseology, University of Pennsylvania.
417
Corbelled A r c h of Crude Bricks . . . . . . . . From a photograph taken by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
420
E a r l y Babylonian Terra-Cotta Fountain f r o m the Bed of the Chebar . From the original in the Museum of Archseology, University of Pennsylvania.
421
T h r e e Jars f o u n d at t h e h e a d o f a P a r t h i a n C o f f i n . A b o u t 2 0 0 B. C. . From a photograph taken by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
422
Blue E n a m e l l e d Slipper-Shaped Coffin w i t h C o n v e n t i o n a l F e m a l e F i g ures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . From a photograph taken by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
423
R u i n s of a P a r t h i a n T e m p l e . A l t a r i n f r o n t . A b o u t 1 0 0 A . D . opp. p. From a photograph taken by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
424
T h e D a g h a r a C a n a l a n d a F r e i g h t - B o a t (Mcs/iMf) of t h e E x p e d i t i o n From a photograph taken by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania. B
431
xviii
LIST
OF
ILLUSTRATIONS. Page
Headquarters of the University of P e n n s y l v a n i a ' s F o u r t h E x p e d i t i o n at N u f f a r . . . . . . . . . . . . .
433
F r o m a photograph t a k e n by the B a b y l o n i a n E x p e d i t i o n of the University of Pennsylvania.
H a j j i T a r f a ' s G a r d e n and Reception R o o m ( M u d h i f )
.
.
.
.
436
F r o m a photograph t a k e n by the B a b y l o n i a n Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
C a m e l H e r d s of the S h a m m a r browsing a m o n g the Thorn-Bushes around Nuffar Opp. p.
43S
F r o m a photograph t a k e n by the Babylonian E x p e d i t i o n of the University of Pennsylvania.
T h e R e m o v a l of a T o w e r of the Seleucido-Parthian Fortress and the C l e a r i n g of the A n c i e n t T e m p l e Gate beneath it . . . Opp. p.
444
F r o m a p h o t o g r a p h t a k e n by the Babylonian E x p e d i t i o n of the University of Pennsylvania.
Incantation Bowls inscribed in H e b r e w Characters. A- I)
A b o u t 750 to 850 447
Opp. p. F r o m a photograph t a k e n by the B a b y l o n i a n lvxpedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
H e b r e w Incantation B o w l s in their Original Position
.
.
.
.
44S
F r o m a photograph t a k e n by the Babylonian E x p e d i t i o n of the University of Pennsylvania.
Southeast V i e w of the Z i g g u r r a t of Nippur. Level
E x c a v a t e d to the W a t e r opp. p.
453
F r o m a photograph t a k e n by the B a b y l o n i a n Expedition of the Universitj' of Pennsylvania.
T r u n c a t e d Cone containing Asliurbanapal's A c c o u n t of his Restoration of the S t a g e - T o w e r of N i p p u r . . . . . . . .
461
F r o m a photograph t a k e n by the Babylonian F^xpedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
G r o u n d Plan of E k u r , T e m p l e of Bel, at Nippur F r o m the d r a w i n g made by Fisher.
.
.
.
.
.
470
Restored and designed by Hilprecht.
Pre-Sargonic V o t i v e T a b l e t in Limestone, Sacrificial S c e n e .
.
.
475
From a photograph t a k e n b y the B a b y l o n i a n F^xpedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
Pre-Sargonic B a s - R e l i e f in L i m e s t o n e
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
4S7
F r o m a photograph t a k e n by the B a b y l o n i a n E x p e d i t i o n of the University of Pennsylvania.
Old Babylonian B a k i n g F u r n a c e .
A b o u t 2300 B. C.
.
.
.
.
4S9
F r o m a photograph t a k e n by the Babylonian E x p e d i t i o n of the University of Pennsylvania.
S e c t i o n of a Babylonian B a k i n g F u r n a c e in Use ( T i m e of A b r a h a m )
.
490
F r o m the d r a w i n g made by Fisher.
Babylonian Stilt.
A b o u t 2300 B. C.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.491
F r o m the original in the Museum of Archatology, University of Pennsylvania.
Stilt used in Modern C h i n a Manufactories
.
.
.
.
.
.
492
F r o m a Pottery Manufacturer, Trenton, N. J.
R u i n s of t h e Pre-Sargonic Gate in the Northeast W a l l of
Nippur,
Opp. p. F r o m a photograph t a k e n b y the Babylonian E x p e d i t i o n of the University of Pennsylvania.
494
LIS T OF ILL US TRA TIONS.
xix Page
Northwestern Section of the Northeastern City W a l l
.
.
.
.
498
F r o m the d r a w i n g made by Fisher.
H a n of T o m b of T w o H i g h Officers from the Parthian Palace. Century A. D
First 506
From the d r a w i n g made by Fisher.
Northeast W i n g of the T e m p l e L i b r a r y and Priest-School of Nippur, Opp. p. F r o m a photograph t a k e n b y the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
V a u l t e d F a m i l y T o m b s of the Parthian Period, Southeastern Slope of the Library M o u n d . . . . . . . . . opp. p.
509
511
From a photograph taken by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
Squeeze of an Inscription of Sargon I.
3800 B. C.
.
.
.
.
517
From the original in the Museum of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania.
L a r g e F r a g m e n t of a Clay T a b l e t containing the Plan of Nippur and its E n v i r o n m e n t s . . . . . . . . . . .
518
From a photograph taken b y the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
Northeastern Portion of the T e m p l e L i b r a r y at N i p p u r
.
.
.
523
F r o m the d r a w i n g made by Geere.
Beltis L e a d i n g a W o r s h i p p e r
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
528
From a photograph t a k e n by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
Lutanist Surrounded by A n i m a l s
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
529
F r o m a photograph taken by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
Astronomical T a b l e t from the T e m p l e L i b r a r y
530
From t h e original in the Museum of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania.
Multiplication T a b l e
531
From the original in the Museum of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania.
F a c i n g W a l l of a Pre-Sargonic Cemetery
533
F r o m the d r a w i n g made by Geere.
Our First Expedition to the Ruins of A b u H a t a b and F a r a .
Opp. p.
538
From a photograph taken b y the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
M a r k h u r G o a t in Copper
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
540
F r o m the original in the Museum of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania.
Pre-Sargonic Bricks in their Historical D e v e l o p m e n t
.
.
.
.
542
F r o m the originals in the Museum of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania.
Section of a Pre-Sargonic W e l l .
B r i c k s laid in Herring-bone Fashion
543
F r o m a photograph t a k e n by the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
Section of the S t a g e - T o w e r and the A d j o i n i n g Southeast Court From the d r a w i n g made by Fisher.
.
.
549
Restored and designed by Hilprecht.
E k u r the T e m p l e of Bel at Nippur From the restoration by Hilprecht and Fisher.
552
LIST
XX
OF ILLUSTRA
TIONS. Page
Section t h r o u g h the Parthian Fortress c o v e r i n g the T e m p l e of Bel, l o o k i n g Southwest
555
From the d r a w i n g made b y Fisher.
Parthian Palace built over the Ruins of the T e m p l e of Bel
.
559
Section t h r o u g h t h e S m a l l Parthian Palace on W e s t Side of the Chebar, l o o k i n g Northeast . . . . . . . . . . .
563
From the d r a w i n g m a d e by Fisher and Geere.
.
.
Restored by Hilprecht.
F r o m the d r a w i n g made by Fisher.
Plan of a S m a l l Parthian Palace at Nippur, about 250 B. C.
.
.
567
From the d r a w i n g made by Fisher.
T h e Imperial Ottoman M u s e u m at Constantinople
.
.
.
.
571
PALESTINE. - E d w a r d Robinson
5S0
F r o m a photograph presented to the Editor by Miss Mary A . Robinson (his daughter).
T h e So-Called T o m b of Absalom
581
From Miiller-Benzinger, IUustnerte
Colonnade of Sebastîye
.
.
Atisgabe des Neuen
.
.
.
Testaments.
.
.
.
.
.
5S7
.
593
F r o m a photograph of the collection Bonfils, Beirût.
T h e So-Called T o m b of Hiram, near T y r e
.
.
.
.
.
From a photograph of the collection Ron tils, Beirut.
H e r o d ' s T e m p l e , 30 B. C., according to the M o d e l by Dr. S c h i c k .
.
597
From a photograph in the possession of Dr. Benzinger.
T h e So-Called T o w e r of D a v i d
603
From a photograph of the collection of the A m e r i c a n Colony, Jerusalem,
Russian E x p l o r a t i o n near the H o l y Sepulchre
.
.
.
.
.
605
From a p h o t o g r a p h of the collection Hentschel, Leipzig.
* P l a n of the E x c a v a t e d U p p e r T o w n of T e l l S a n d a h a n n a
.
.
.
610
From the Quarterly S t a t e m e u t o f the Palestine E x p l o r a t i o n Fund. October, 1900.
^Victory Stele of K i n g M e s h a of M o a b F r o m M. Philippe Berger, Histoire de F Écriture
612 dans V Antiquité.
T h e Pool of Siloam ( S h o w i n g the outlet of the Conduit c o n n e c t i n g with the S p r i n g of G i h o n ) Opp. p.
613
From Miiller-Benzinger, /. c.
* T h e S i l o a m Inscription
614
F'rom a cast in the Museum of A r c h e o l o g y , University of Pennsylvania.
*The
So-Called
Sarcophagus
of
Alexander
in
Pentelikon
Marble
Opp. p. F r o m O. H a m d y Bey and Theodore Reinach, Une Necropole Royale a Sidon.
618
LIST
OF
ILLUSTRA
TIONS.
xxi Page
Mosaic M a p Discovered by F a t h e r K l e o p h a s a t M a d a b a
opp. p.
F r o m Abhandlungen der Koni gl. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften Neue Folge, V o l . IV., Part II.
zu
L e t t e r of A b d i - K h e b a of J e r u s a l e m ( a b o u t 1400 B. C.).
620
Gottingen,
F r o n t view .
621
From a photograph of the Royal Museums of Berlin. (For the text comp. Der Thontafelfund von El A mama, Part II., No. 102, Vorderseite.)
EGYPT. 624
Jean François Champollion From J. Dümichen, Geschichte schichte in Einzeldarstellungen,
des Alten ¿Egyptens Vol. I.).
Great P y r a m i d of Cheops at Gîze
.
.
(Ouckeu's Allgemeine
.
.
.
.
.
Ge-
625
.
F r o m a photograph in the possession of Professor Steindorff.
.
627
Opp. p.
629
^ P a p y r u s C o n t a i n i n g Col. 11 of Aristotle's Constitution of A t h e n s F r o m " Facsimiles of Papyrus C X X X I . in the British M u s e u m / ' Pl. VIII.
*The Rosetta Stone .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
F r o m a cast in the Museum of Archaeology, University of P e n n s y l v a n i a .
S p h i n x T e m p l e n e a r t h e Great P y r a m i d of Cheops
.
.
.
.
635
F r o m a photograph in the possession of Professor Steindorff.
637
S t a t u e of t h e So-Called Village Chief From a photograph in the possession of Professor Steindorff.
^ I n t e r i o r of t h e Great A m m o n T e m p l e a t M e d î n e t H a b u
Opp. p.
.
638
F r o m a photograph in the possession of Mrs. S. V. Stevenson.
T e m p l e of K ô m O m b o
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
640
F r o m a photograph in the possession of Professor Steindorff.
T h e Isis T e m p l e on t h e Isle of Philse
.
.
.
.
.
opp. p.
642
From a photograph in the possession of Professor Steindorff.
R u i n s of Tanis, t h e Biblical Zoan
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
645
.
.
.
647
From a photograph iu the possession of Professor Steindorff.
^ S p h i n x f r o m Pitliom
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
F r o m N avilie, " T h e Store-City of P i t h o m . "
648
* M a p of Tell E l - M a s k h û t a (Pithom) From Naville, I. c.
^ S t o r e - C h a m b e r of P i t h o m
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
649
F r o m Neville, I. c.
653
T h e Step P y r a m i d of S a q q â r a From a photograph in the possession of Professor Steindorff.
^Breastplate of K i n g A m e n e m h a t I I I . F r o m J. de Morgan, Fouilles à
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
659
Dahchour.
T h e S t e p P y r a m i d of M ê d û m
662
F r o m a photograph iu the possession of Professor Steindorff.
* P o r t r a i t P a i n t e d in W a x ( F r o m t h e F a y û m ) F r o m the original in the Museum of Archaeology, University of Pennsylvania.
666
xxii
LIST
OF ILLUSTRA
TIONS. Page
^Pyramid o f E l - L a h û n , F a y û m
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
672
F r o m a p h o t o g r a p h in the possession of Mrs. S. Y . Stevenson.
T h e T e m p l e of Seti I. at A b y d o s
679
From a photograph in the possession of Professor Steindorff.
* R o y a l C e m e t e r y at A b y d o s
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.681
F r o m W. M. Flinders Petrie " T h e Royal T o m b s of the First D y n a s t y . "
^Southern P y l o n of t h e G r e a t A m n i o n T e m p l e at L u x o r
.
Opp. p.
682
From a photograph in the possession of Mrs. S. Y . Stevenson.
G e n e r a l V i e w o f t h e T e m p l e of L u x o r
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
683
F r o m a p h o t o g r a p h of the collection Boufils, Beyrût.
* S t e l e in B l a c k S y e n i t e of M e n e p h t a h ( M e n t i o n i n g Israel) .
opp. p.
684
F r o m \V. M. F l i n d e r s Petrie, " Six T e m p l e s at T h e b e s . "
H e a d f r o m t h e S a r c o p h a g u s of K i n g Ratneses I I .
.
.
.
.
686
F r o m a photograph in the possession of Professor Steindorff.
* M u m m y of R a m e s e s I I .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
687
F r o m a photograph in the possession of Mrs. S. Y . Stevenson.
V a l l e y of the K i n g s , near T h e b e s
opp. p.
689
From a photograph in the possession of Professor Steindorff.
ARABIA. *J. H a l é v y
692
F r o m a photograph in the possession of the Editor.
^Native of S o u t h w e s t A r a b i a
693
F r o m W . B. Harris, " A Journey through the Yemen."' (By permission of the publishers, Messrs. William B l a c k w o o d & Sons, London )
Desert L a n d s c a p e near B ê t ' A m i r , S o u t h A r a b i a
.
.
.
.
.
695
F r o m a p h o t o g r a p h by Count Landberg.
T h e Oasis of J ô f in N o r t h e r n A r a b i a
696
F r o m L a d y A n n e Blunt. " A P i l g r i m a g e to N e j d , " Vol. I. the publisher, Mr. John Murray, London.)
(By permission of
*Head from Minean Tombstone . . . . . . . . From Mitteilungen au s den Orientalischen Sammlungen der Kònigl. Museen zu Berlin, Vol. VII.
698
*Aden
701
F r o m a photograph in the possession of the Editor.
^Sandstorm in the W â d î K r - R a j e l
.
F r o m L a d y A n n e Blunt, 1. c., Vol. I.
K h o r a i b a , S o u t h of A z a b From W. B. Harris, /. c,
.
705
(By permission.)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
707
(By permission.)
* S o u t h A r a b i a n P r i n c e s (Sons of the Sultan o f L a h i j , w i t h t w o s l a v e s ) .
711
F r o m a photograph in the possession of the Editor.
S a n 'â, Capital of Y e m e n F r o m a p h o t o g r a p h by Langer, published b y H o m m e l in Aus!and)
713 May, 1883.
LIST
OF
ILL
USTRA
TIONS.
xxiii Page
* L a d v A n n e B l u n t in A r a b C o s t u m e F r o m L a d y A n n e Blunt, I. c., Vol. I.
.
.
.
.
Opp. p.
.
Azab (Halfway between Aden and San 'ä) F r o m W. B. Harris, I. c.
714
(By permission.)
7'5
(By permission.)
*Oasis of ' A q d a , n e a r H ä y i l
.
.
F r o m L a d y A n n e Blunt, I. c., Vol. II.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
7JS
.
(By permission.)
^ M o h a m m e d a n Pilgrims starting for Mecca
.
.
Opp. p.
720
From a photograph in the possession of the Editor.
721
V i l l a g e of A r e d o a h , S o u t h of K h o r a i b a F r o m W. B. Harris, I. c.
(By permission.)
« E d u a r d G l a s e r ( W i t h h i m S h a i k h N ä j i i b n - M u l i s i n , of t h e T r i b e Ä1 T u ' a i m ä n , and his Nephew) opp. p.
722
F r o m a photograph in the possession of the Editor.
723
Castle a t S h i b ä m in H a d h r a m o t From T. and Mrs. T. Bent, " S o u t h e r n A r a b i a . " Mabel V. A . Bent, w h o took the photograph.)
(By permission of
Mrs.
.
.
725
.
.
731
G r a n i t e R a n g e of J e b e l S h a m m a r ( E f f e c t of M i r a g e ) . I n t h e B a c k g r o u n d t h e M o u n t a i n s A j a a n d S e l m ä , " t h e G a t e of A n c e s t o r s " of t h e I n s c r i p t i o n s of G u d e a . . . . . . . . . .
739
S o u t h A r a b i a n W ä d i a n d Castle (a f e w m i l e s f r o m M a k a l l a ) . . From a photograph by Count Landberg-.
Bronze Tablet with Sabean Inscription ( F r o m 'Amrän) From Corpus Inscriptionum
Semiticarum,
F r o m L a d y A n n e Blunt, I. c., Vol. II.
.
Vol. I., Part IV. ; fasciculus 2.
(By permission.)
*Camel M a r k e t at Aden, with Mountains in Background
Opp. p.
.
742
F r o m a photograph in the possession of the Editor.
* I n s i d e of H a r b o r of M a s k a t w i t h Castle a t E n t r a n c e
.
.
.
.
744
From a photograph by Mr. Clarence S. Fisher, architect of the Babylonian Expedition of the University of Pennsylvania.
Minean Inscription from El-'Olä (Midian), m e n t i o n i n g two w o m e n L e v i t e s ( = E u t . 55) From J. H. Mordttnann, Beiträge zur Minäischen
THE
749
Epigraphik.
HITTITES. 754
*W. W r i g h t From a photograph in the possession of his widow.
755
Hittite Inscription from H a m a t h From W . W r i g h t , " T h e E m p i r e of the Hittites, 1 ' second edition. mission of the publishers, Messrs James Nisbet & Co., London )
(By per-
757
H i t t i t e Bowl f r o m B a b y l o n F r o m W. Wright, I- c.
(By permission.)
T h e H i t t i t e G o d of t h e S k y (Stele in dolerite, e x c a v a t e d b y D r . K o l d e w e y in t h e p a l a c e of N e b u c h a d r e z z a r at B a b y l o n , in 1899). Opp. p. F r o m Wissenschaftliche Heft 1.
Veröffentlichungen
der Deutschen
Orient-Gesellschaft,
758
xxiv
LIST
OF ILLUSTRA
TIONS. Page
Sculptures and Inscriptions near Ivriz
.
.
F r o m Recueil de Travaux relatifs à la Philologie et Assyriennes, Vol. X I V .
.
.
.
.
et à VArchéologie
.
762
Egyptiennes
T h e Pseudo-Sesostris (Carved on the rock in the pass of
Karabel) Opp. p.
F r o m W. Wright, /. c.
762
(By permission.)
Hittite Inscription on a B o w l from B a b y l o n (Conip. p. 6)
.
.
767
.
.
769
T h e Inscribed L i o n of M a r 'ash ( N o w in the Imperial Ottoman Museum, Constantinople) Opp. p.
777
F r o m W . W r i g h t , I. c.
(By permission.)
B i l i n g u a l Inscription on the S i l v e r Boss of T a r k o n d e m o s
.
F r o m the " T r a n s a c t i o n s of the Society of Biblical Archaeology," Vol. VII.
F r o m W . W r i g h t , I. c.
(By permission.)
* H i t t i t e Relief, found near M a l a t y a in 1894 ( N o w in the Imperial Ottoman Museum, Constantinople)
.
.
.
.
.
.
Opp. p.
From a photograph in the possession of the Editor.
MAPS. (IN T H E POCKET AT T H E END OF T H E
BOOK.)
No. i . W e s t e r n A s i a (with Plan of A n c i e n t Jerusalem, according to J. Benzinger) D r a w n by L- Hirsch, architect, Jena, from material furnished by the Kditor.
No. 2. Plan of Babylon, according to R . K o l d e w e y . Drawn b y L. Hirsch, architect, Jena, according to the d r a w i n g published in Friedrich Delitzsch, Babylon, second edition, Leipzig, 1901.
No. 3. E g y p t . D r a w n by Hubert K ö h l e r , G r a p h . A r t Institute, Munich, from furnished by the Editor.
material
No. 4. Arabia. D r a w n by H u b e r t K ö h l e r , Graph. A r t furnished b y Professor H o m m e l .
Institute, Munich, f r o m material
779
T H E
R E S U R R E C T I O N
O F
A S S Y R I A
A N D
B A B Y L O N I A BY
PROFESSOR
H.
V.
HILPRECHT,
PH.D.,
D.D.,
LL.D.
THE history of the exploration of Assyria and Babylonia and of the excavation of its ruined cities is a peculiar one. I t is a history so full of dramatic effects and genuine surprises, and at the same time so unique and farreaching in its results and bearings upon so many different branches of science, that it will always read more like a thrilling romance penned by the skilful hand of a gifted writer endowed with an extraordinary power of imagination than like a plain and sober presentaIn the Trenches of Nutfar
Nineveh and prominent types lofty aspiration ; deeds, of lack of
tion
of
actual
faCtS
and events. Babylon ! W h a t illustrious names and of human strength, intellectual power, and but also what terrible examples of atrocious restraint, of moral corruption, and ultimate
4
EXPLORATIONS
IN BIBLE
LANDS
downfall! " E m p t y , and void, and waste " (Nah. i : 1 0 ) ; when " flocks lie down in the midst of her " (Zeph. i : 1 4 ) ; when " the gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace shall be dissolved " (Nah. 1 : 6) — was the fate of the queen in the North ; and " H o w art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning ! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations " (Is. 1 4 : 12) — rings like a mourning wail through Babylon's crumbling walls, and like the mocking echo of the prophetic curse from the shattered temples in the South. Ignorant peasants draw their primitive ploughs over the ruined palaces of O o y u n j u k and Khorsabad ; roaming Bedouins pasture their herds on the grass-covered slopes of Nimrud and Qal'at Shirgat; Turkish garrisons and modern villages crown the summits of Erbil and Nebl Y u n u s . Nothing reminds the traveller of the old Assyrian civilization but formless heaps and conical mounds. T h e solitude and utter devastation which characterize Babylonia in her present aspect are even more impressive and appalling. T h e whole country from 'Aqarquf to Oorna looks " as when God overthrew Sodom and G o m o r r a h " (Is. 1 3 : 1 9 ; Jer. 50 : 40). T h e innumerable canals which in bygone days, like so many nourishing veins, crossed the rich alluvial plain, bringing life and j o y and wealth to every village and field, are choked up with rubbish and earth. Unattended by industrious hands and no longer fed by the Euphrates and Tigris, they are completely " dried up " — " a drought is upon the waters of Babylon " (Jer. 50 : 38). But their lofty embankments, like a perfect network, " stretching on every side in long lines until they are lost in the hazy distance, or magnified by the mirage into mountains, still defy the hand of time," bearing witness to the great skill and diligent labor which once turned these barren plains into one luxuriant garden. T h e proverbial fertility and prosperity of Babylonia, which excited the admiration of classical
DURING
10Tit
CENTURY:
ASSYRIA
AND
BABYLONIA
5
writers, have long disappeared. " H e r cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness" (Jer. 5 1 : 4 3 ) . T h e soil is parched and the ground is covered with fine sand, someand tar f a , times sparingly clad with larid and serim, qubbar, and other low shrubs and plants of the desert. A n d yet this is but one side — and not the most gloomy — of Chaldea's present cheerless condition. " T h e sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitudes of the waves t h e r e o f " (Jer. 51 ¡ 4 2 ) , says the Old Testament
T h e • An-j Marshes near Nuttar
seer, in his terse and graphic description of the future state of the unfortunate country. In the autumn and winter Babylonia is a " desert of sand," but during spring and summer she is almost a continuous marsh, a veritable " d e s e r t of the s e a " (Is. 2 1 : 1 ) . While the inundations prevail a dense vegetation springs from the stagnant waters. Large flocks of birds with brilliant plumage, "pelicans and cormorants sail about in the undisputed possession of their safe and tranquil retreats." Turtles and snakes glide swiftly through the lagoons, while millions of green little frogs are seated on the bending rushes. U g l y buffaloes are struggling and splashing amongst the tall reeds and
6
EXPLORATIONS
IN BIBLE
LANDS
coarse grasses, " their unwieldy bodies often entirely concealed under water and their hideous heads just visible upon the surface." W i l d animals, boars and hyenas, jackals and wolves, and an occasional lion, infest the jungles. Here and there a small plot of ground, a shallow island, a hightowering ruin, bare of every sign of vegetation, and towards the north large elevated tracts of barren soil covered with fragments of brick and glass and stone appear above the horizon of these pestiferous marshes. H a l f - n a k e d men, women, and children, almost black from constant exposure to the sun, inhabit these desolate regions. Filthy huts of reeds and mats are their abodes during the n i g h t ; in long pointed boats of the same material they skim by day over the waters, pasturing their flocks, or catching fish with the spear. T o sustain their life, they cultivate a little rice, barley, and maize, on the edges of the inundations. Generally good-natured and humorous like children, these M a ' d a n tribes get easily excited, and at the slightest provocation are ready to fight with each other. Practicing the vices more than the virtues of the Arab race, extremely ignorant and superstitious, they live in the most primitive state of barbarism and destitution, despised by the Bedouins of the desert, who frequently drive their cattle and sheep away and plunder their little property during the winter. Restlessly shifting nomads in the north and ignorant swamp dwellers in the south have become the legitimate heirs of Asshur and Babel. W h a t contrast between ancient civilization and modern degeneration ! T h e mighty kings of yore have passed away, their empires were shattered, their countries destroyed. Nineveh and Babylon seemed completely to have vanished from the earth. H u n d r e d s of years were necessary to revive the interest in their history and to determine merely their sites, while the exploration of their principal ruins, the deciphering of their inscriptions,
DURING WH
CENTURY:
ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA
7
and the restoration of their literature and art were achieved only in the course of the nineteenth century. T h e road was long, the process slow, and many persons and circumstances combined to bring about the final result. I T H E REDISCOVERY
OF NINEVEH AND
BABYLON
NINEVEH N I N E V E H , the capital of the Assyrian empire, owed its greatness and domineering influence exclusively to the conquering spirit of its rulers and the military glory and prowess of its armies. As soon as the latter had been routed, her influence ceased, the city fell, never to rise again, and its very site was quickly forgotten among the nations. W h e n two hundred years later Xenophon and his ten thousand Greeks fought their way through the wilderness and mountains to the Black Sea, they passed the ruins of Nineveh without even mentioning her by name. But a vague local tradition, always an important factor in the East, continued to linger around the desolate region between Mosul and the mouth of the U p p e r Zab, where the final drama had been enacted. Benjamin of Tudela, a learned Spanish Jew, who travelled to Palestine and the districts of the Euphrates and Tigris in the twelfth century, about the time when Rabbi Pethahiah of Ratisbon visited Mesopotamia, had no difficulty in locating the actual position of Nineveh. In speaking of Mosul he savs : " T h i s city, situated on the Tigris, is connected with ancient Nineveh by a bridge. It is true, Nineveh lies now in utter ruins, but numerous villages and small towns occupy its former space." 1 1
Comp. Itinerarium Beniamini Tudelensis (ex Hebraico Latinum tum Bened. Aria Montana interprete), Antwerp, 1575, p. 58.
fac-
DURING WH
CENTURY:
ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA
7
and the restoration of their literature and art were achieved only in the course of the nineteenth century. T h e road was long, the process slow, and many persons and circumstances combined to bring about the final result. I T H E REDISCOVERY
OF NINEVEH AND
BABYLON
NINEVEH N I N E V E H , the capital of the Assyrian empire, owed its greatness and domineering influence exclusively to the conquering spirit of its rulers and the military glory and prowess of its armies. As soon as the latter had been routed, her influence ceased, the city fell, never to rise again, and its very site was quickly forgotten among the nations. W h e n two hundred years later Xenophon and his ten thousand Greeks fought their way through the wilderness and mountains to the Black Sea, they passed the ruins of Nineveh without even mentioning her by name. But a vague local tradition, always an important factor in the East, continued to linger around the desolate region between Mosul and the mouth of the U p p e r Zab, where the final drama had been enacted. Benjamin of Tudela, a learned Spanish Jew, who travelled to Palestine and the districts of the Euphrates and Tigris in the twelfth century, about the time when Rabbi Pethahiah of Ratisbon visited Mesopotamia, had no difficulty in locating the actual position of Nineveh. In speaking of Mosul he savs : " T h i s city, situated on the Tigris, is connected with ancient Nineveh by a bridge. It is true, Nineveh lies now in utter ruins, but numerous villages and small towns occupy its former space." 1 1
Comp. Itinerarium Beniamini Tudelensis (ex Hebraico Latinum tum Bened. Aria Montana interprete), Antwerp, 1575, p. 58.
fac-
8
EXPLORATIONS
IN BIBLE
LANDS
T h e German physician, Leonhart R a u w o l f f , w h o spent several days in M o s u l at the beginning o f 1 5 7 5 , writes 1 in his attractive quaint style with reference to a high round hill directly outside the city (apparently Q o y u n j u k ) : 2 " I t was entirely h o n e y c o m b e d , being inhabited by poor people, w h o m I often saw crawling out and in in large numbers, like ants in their heap. A t that place and in the region hereabout years ago the mighty city of N i n e v e h was situated. Originally built by A s s h u r , it was for a time the capital of A s s y r i a under the rulers o f the first monarchy down to Sennacherib and his s o n s . " 3 Sir A n t h o n y Shirley, w h o sailed to the East at the close o f the sixteenth century, is equally positive : " N i n e v e , that which G o d H i m s e l f calleth T h a t great Citie, hath not one stone standing which m a y give m e m o r y o f the being o f a towne. O n e F>nglish mile from it is a place called M o s u l , a small thing, rather to be a witnesse of the other's might1
In
his
Itinerarium
or Rayssbüchlein,
w h i c h appeared in Laugingen,
1 5 8 3 , the author writes his name either R a u w o l f , R a u w o l f f , or R a u c h w o l f f , the middle being the most frequent of all. der bar lie he geschickt und höheren
und Historien,
sachen
nach zudenken
Interwoven with allerhandt
die
den gutherzigen
auffmundtern
leser
wun-
erlustigen
sollen, this book contains
much valuable information as to what R a u w o l f f has seen in the Orient during the three years of his perilous journey, w h i c h lasted from M a y 1 5 , to February 1 2 , 1 5 7 6 . flora of
the
1573,
O f especial importance are his observations on the
regions traversed, a subject on w h i c h he speaks with greater
authority. 2
C o m p , the statement of Tavernier, quoted on p.
3
P-
hohen
:
Sonst
runden
Bihel,
2
4-4
bewohnet
wirt,
Ohnmaysen
ersähe
ich auch
der schier gantz
wie
ichs
dann
durchgraben
offtermals
hab
10.
gleich
ist vor Jaren
(von Assur erstlich
erbawet)
Zeitlang
biss auf
gewesen,
etc.
den Sennacherib
Comp.,
gelegen
anzahl
(als
Statt Ninive,
die
welche
der ersten Monarchie
so vor
ein leuten
An der stet und in
und seine Sine die Hauptstatt
also, p. 2 1 4 : Mossel
Stadt
von armen
in grosser
die mechtige
unter den Potentaten
vor der
und
in irem hauffen~) sehen auss und einkriechen.
der gegne hierumb,
sen.
ausserhalb
Jaren
eine
in
Assyrien
Ninive
gehais-
DURING
Ii)TU
CENTURY:
ASSYRIA
AND
BABYLONIA
9
inesse and God's judgement, than of any fashion of magnificence in it selfe." 1 F r o m the beginning of the seventeenth century we quote two other witnesses, J o h n Cartwright, an English traveller, and Pietro della Yalle, an Italian nobleman, the latter being satisfied with the general s t a t e m e n t : " M o u s u l , where previously N i n e v e h s t o o d , " 2 the former entering into certain details of the topography of the ruins, which, notwithstanding his assurance to the contrary, he cannot have examined very thoroughly. As a first attempt at drawing some kind of a picture of the city on the basis of personal observation, legendary information from the natives, and a study of the ancient sources, his words may deserve a certain attention : " W e set forward toward Mosul, a very antient towne in this countrey, . . . and so pitched on the bankes of the river Tigris. H e r e in these plaines of Assiria and on the bankes of the Tigris, and in the region of E d e n , was Ninevie built by N i m r o d , but finished by Ninus. I t is agreed by all prophane writers, and confirmed by the Scriptures that this citty exceeded all other citties in circuit, and answerable magnificence. F o r it seems by the ruinous foundation (which I thoroughly viewed) that it was built with four sides, but not equall or square ; for the two longer sides had each of them (as we gesse) an hundredth and fifty furlongs, the two shorter sides, ninety furlongs, which amounteth to foure hundred and eighty furlongs of ground, which makes three score miles, accounting eight furlongs to an Italian mile. T h e walls whereof were an hundredth foote upright, and had such a breadth, as three Chariots might 1
Comp. " H i s Relation of His Travels into Persia," London, 1 6 1 3 , p.
2 1 , partly quoted by Felix Jones in " J o u r n a l of the Royal Asiatic S o c i e t y , " vol. x v . , p. 3 3 3 , footnote 3 ; and the Dutch edition, Leyden, 1 7 0 6 , p. 1 0 . 2
I quote from the German translation in my library ( R e i s e - B e s c h r e i b u n g ,
Geneva, 1 6 7 4 ) , part Ninive
gestanden.
I , p.
1 9 3 , b : Mousul,
an tvelchem
Ort
vorzeiten
10
EXPLORATIONS
IN
BIBLE
LANDS
passe on the rampire in f r o n t : these walls were garnished with a thousand and five hundreth towers, which gave exceeding beauty to the rest, and a strength no lesse admirable for the nature o f those times." 1 T a v e r n i e r , w h o j u s t l y prides himself in having travelled by land more than sixty thousand miles within forty years, made no less than six different excursions into Asia. In A p r i l , 1644, he spent over a week at M o s u l , and most naturally also visited the ruins o f N i n e v e h , which were pointed out to him on the left bank o f the T i g r i s . " They appear as a formless mass o f ruined houses extending almost a mile alongside the river. O n e recognizes there a large number of vaults or holes which are all uninhabited," — evidently the same place which, seventy-five years before him, R a u w o l f f had found frequented by poor people, and not unfittingly had compared to a large ant-hill. " Half a mile from the T i g r i s is a small hill occupied by many houses and a mosque, which is still in a fine state o f preservation. A c c o r d i n g to the accounts o f the natives the prophet Jonah lies buried here." 2 D u r i n g the eighteenth century men o f business, scholars, and priests o f different religious orders k e p t the old tradition alive in the accounts o f their travels. B u t in 1748 Jean Otter, a m e m b e r o f the F r e n c h A c a d e m y , and afterwards professor o f A r a b i c , w h o had spent ten years in the provinces o f T u r k e y and Persia for the distinct purpose of studying geographical and historical questions, suddenly introduced a strong element o f doubt as to the value and continuity of the local tradition around M o s u l . 3 H e dis1
" T h e Preacher's T r a v e l s , "
London,
161 I , pp. 89, seq.
Comp.,
also, Rogers, " History of Babylonia and A s s y r i a , " vol. i . , pp. 94, seq. 2
Comp.
Beschreibung, 8
seq.
Herm
Johann
Baftisten
Taverniers
Vierzig-J'áhrige
Reise-
translated by Menudier, Nuremberg, 1 6 8 1 , part I , p. 7 4 .
In his Voyage en Turquie C o m p . , also,
1 8 2 7 , vol. ii., p. 1 7 .
et en Perse,
Buckingham,
Paris, 1 7 4 8 , vol. i . , pp. 1 3 3 ,
" Travels in
Mesopotamia,"
London,
DURING
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AND
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11
criminates between the statement of the Arabian geographer Abulfeda, claiming the eastern bank of the Tigris for the true site of Nineveh, and a tradition current among the natives,1 who identify Eski-Mosul, a ruin on the western side and considerably higher up the river, with the ancient city, himself favoring, however, the former view. For, " opposite Mosul there is a place called Tell Et-tuba, i. e., ' Mound of Repentance,' where, they say, the Ninevites put on sackcloth and ashes to turn away the wrath of God." The old tradition which placed the ruin of Nineveh opposite Mosul was vindicated anew by the Danish scholar Carsten Niebuhr, who visited the place in 1766. Though not attempting to give a detailed description of the ruins in which we are chiefly interested, he states his own personal conviction very decidedly, and adds some new and important facts illustrated by the first sketch of the large southern mound of Nebi Yunus. 2 Jewish and Christian inhabitants alike declare that Nineveh stood on the left bank of the river, and they differ only as to the original extent of the city. Two principal hills are to be distinguished, the former crowned with the village of Nunia (i. e., Nineveh) and a mosque said to contain the tomb of the prophet Jonah (Nebi Yunus), the other known by the name of Qal'at Nunia (" the castle of Nineveh "), and occupied by the village of Qoyunjuk. While living in Mosul near the Tigris, he was also shown the ancient walls of the city on the other 1
Also reported (and favored) by the Italian Academician and botanist
Sestini, who in 1 7 8 1
travelled from Constantinople through Asia Minor to
Mosul and Basra, and in the following year from there via Mosul and Aleppo to Alexandria. stantinople p.
Comp. the French translation of his account, Voyage de Con-
a Bassora,
etc., Paris,
vi.
(year
of the Republic =
1798),
152. 2
Comp. C. Niebuhrs
liegenden L'andern, xlvii., N o . 2.
Reisebeschreibung
nach Arabien
und andern um-
Copenhagen, 1 7 7 8 , vol. ii., p. 3 5 3 , and Plates xlvi. and
12
EXPLORATIONS
IN
BIBLE
LANDS
side, which formerly he had mistaken for a chain of low hills. Niebuhr's account was brief, but it contained all the essential elements of a correct description of the ruins, and by its very brevity and terse presentation of facts stands out prominently from the early literature as a silent protest against the rubbish so often contained in the works of previous travellers. T o a certain degree, therefore, D'Anville was justified in summing up the whole question concerning the site of Nineveh, at the close of the eighteenth century, by making the bold statement in his geographical work, " T h e Euphrates and Tigris " : 1 " W e know that the opposite or left bank of the river has preserved vestiges of Nineveh, and that the tradition as to the preaching of Jonah by no means has been forgotten there." BABYLON
T h e case of Babvlon was somewhat different. T h e powerful influence which for nearly two thousand years this great Oriental metropolis had exercised upon the nations of Western Asia, no less by its learning and civilization than by its victorious battles ; the fame of its former splendor and magnitude handed down by so many different writers ; the enormous mass of ruins still testifying to its gigantic temples and palaces ; and the local tradition continuing to live among the inhabitants of that desolate region with greater force and tenacity than in the district of Mosul, prevented its name and site from ever being forgotten entirely. A t the end of the first Christian century the city was in ruins and practically deserted. But even when Baghdad had risen to the front, taking the place of Babylon and Seleucia as an eastern centre of commerce and civilization, Arabian and Persian writers occasionally speak of the 1
V Eupbrate
et le Tigre,
Paris, 1 7 7 9 , p . 8 8 .
DÜRING
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IB
two, and as late as the close of the tenth century, I b n H a u q a l refers to Babel as " a small village." 1 T h e more we advance in the first half of the second millennium, the scantier grows our information. Benjamin of T u d e l a has but little to say. H i s interest centred in the relics of the numerous Jewish colonies of the countries traversed and in their history and tradition. Briefly he mentions the ruins of the palace of Nebuchadrezzar, " to men inaccessible on account of the various and malignant kinds of serpents and scorpions living t h e r e . " 2 W i t h more detail he describes the Tower of Babel ( " built by the dispersed generation, of bricks called al-ajur " 3 ), which apparently he identified with the lofty ruins of Birs (Nimrûd). O t h e r travellers, like Marco Polo, visited the same regions without even referring to the large artificial mounds which they must frequently have noticed on their journeys. Travelling to the valleys of the E u p h r a t e s and Tigris, in those early days, was more for adventure or commercial and religious purposes than for the scientific exploration of the remains of a bygone race, about which even the most 1
A brief summary of the different ancient writers who refer to the gradual disappearance of Babylon, and of the more prominent European travellers who visited or are reported to have visited the ruins of Babylon (with extracts from their accounts in an appendix), is found in the introduction to the " Collection of Rich's Memoirs," written by Mrs. Rich. It rests upon the well-known dissertation on Babylon by D e Ste. Croix, published in the Mémoires de /' Académie des Inscriptions et des Belles-Lettres, 178g. Of more recent writers who have treated the same subject, I mention only Kaulen ( Assyrien und Babylonien, jth ed., 1 8 9 9 ) and Rogers ( " History of Babylonia and A s s y r i a , " vol. i., 1 9 0 0 ). Much information on the early writers is also scattered through Ritter's Die Erdkunde von Asien, especially vol. xi. of the whole series. 2
Itinerarium Beniamini Tudelensis, p. 7 0 , seq. T h e Latin translation has Lagzar ( I W S b ) . Al-ajûr (comp. lâjûr in the Maghreb dialects) is used also by the present inhabitants of Babylonia as another designation for " b a k e d b r i c k " (t'abûq). T h e word is identical with the Babylonian agurru, as was recognized by Rawlinson, " J o u r n a l of the Royal Asiatic Society," vol. xvii., p. 9. 3
14
EXPLORATIONS
IN
BIBLE
LANDS
learned k n e w but little. I n the following sketch I quote, in historical order, only those travellers w h o have actually furnished some k i n d o f useful information concerning B a b y lon or other Babylonian sites. F r o m the latter part o f the sixteenth century we have three testimonials, that o f RauwolfF, the adventurous physician o f A u g s b u r g (travelling 1 5 7 3 - 7 6 ) , that o f the Venetian jeweller, Balbi ( 1 5 7 9 - 8 0 ) , 1 and that of the E n g l i s h merchant E l d r e d ( 1 5 8 3 ) , a contemporary of Q u e e n Elizabeth, who descended the Euphrates in a boat, landed at Falluja (or F e l ù j a , according to the popular Arabic pronunciation), and proceeded across 'Iraq to Baghdad. In vague terms they all speak of the ruins of " the mighty city of B a b y l o n , " the " T o w e r of B a b e l , " and the " T o w e r o f D a n i e l , " which they beheld in the neighborhood of Falluja or on their wav to Baghdad or " N e w B a b y l o n . " T h e i r words have been generally accepted without criticism. 2 It is, however, entirely out o f question that a traveller who disembarked at Falluja, directing his course due east, and arriving at Baghdad after one and a half days' j o u r n e y , could possibly have passed or even have seen the ruins o f Babvlon. From a comparison o f the accounts given by RauwolfF, E l d r e d , and others with what I personally observed in 1889, when for the first time I travelled precisely the same road, there can be no doubt that they mistook the various ruin heaps and the many large and small portions o f high embankments o f ancient canals everywhere visible 3 for scattered re1
N o t having been able to examine his statement in the author's o w n book,
I profited by the brief résumé of his travel given by Mrs. Rich in her edition of her husband's " Collected M e m o i r s , " p. 55, footnote * . 2
Rogers, in his " History of Babylonia and A s s y r i a , " vol. i . , p p . 89, seqq
asserts that Eldred confused Baghdad and Babylon.
But this is incorrect,
for Eldred says plainly enough : " T h e citie of N e w Babylon [Baghdad] joyneth upon the aforesaid desert where the Olde citie w a s , " i. e., the desert between Falluja and Baghdad which our author crossed. 3
Possibly they included even the large ruins of Anbàr, plainly to be recog-
DURING
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AND BABYLONIA
mains o f the very extended city o f B a b y l o n , and the imposing brick structure o f ' A q a r q u f for the " T o w e r o f Babel " or " o f D a n i e l . " F o r 'Aqarquf, generally pronounced 'Agarguf, and situated about nine to ten miles to the west o f Baghdad, is the one gigantic ruin which every traveller crossing the narrow tract o f land from Falluja to Baghdad must pass and wonder at. M o r e o v e r , the description o f that ruin, as given by Eldred and others after him, contains several characteristic features from which it can be identified without difficulty. W e quote Eldred's own language : " H e r e also are yet standing the ruines o f the olde T o w e r o f Babell, which being upon a plaine ground seemeth a farre off very great, but the nearer you come to it, the lesser and lesser it appeareth: sundry times I have gone thither to see it, and found the remnants yet standing about a quarter o f a mile in compasse, and almost as high as the stone work o f Paules steeple in L o n d o n , but it showeth much bigger. T h e brickes remaining in this most ancient m o n u m e n t be half a yard [in the sense o f our " f o o t " ] thicke and three quarters o f a yard long, being dried in the Sunne only, and betweene every course o f brickes there lieth a course o f mattes made o f canes, which remaine sounde and not perished, as though they had been layed within one v e e r e . " 1 M a s t e r Allen, 2 who travelled in
the same region
nized from Falluja, and only a f e w miles to the north of it. travellers had a vague
For all these
idea that ancient Babylon was situated on the E u -
phrates, and that its ruins covered a vast territory. especially
not
explicit : " I n
E l d r e d ' s description is
this place which w e crossed over stood the olde
mightie citie of B a b y l o n , many olde ruines w h e r e o f are easilie to be seene by daylight, which I , J o h n E l d r e d ,
have often behelde at m y goode leisure,
having made three voyages between the N e w citie of Babylon [/'. e.,
Bagh-
d a d ] and A l e p p o . " 1
H a k l u y t , " T h e Principal Navigations, Voiages, and Discoveries of the
English N a t i o n , " L o n d o n , 1 5 8 9 , p . 2
Comp.
232.
" Purchas his P i l g r i m a g e , "
London, 1 6 2 6 ,
R i c h ' s " C o l l e c t e d M e m o i r s , " pp. 3 2 1 , seq., 3
p. 5 0
footnote * ) .
(quoted
in
16
EXPLORATIONS
IN
BIBLE
LANDS
many years afterwards, gives as his measurement of those bricks twelve by eight by six inches. Eldred's statement, however, is more correct. While visiting ' A q a r q ü f , I found the average size of complete bricks from that ruin to be eleven inches square by four inches and a quarter thick. 1 T h e layers of reed matting, a characteristic feature of the massive ruin, are not so frequent as stated by Eldred. T h e y occur only after every fifth to seventh layer of bricks, at an average interval of nearly three feet. W h a t is now left of this high, towering, and inaccessible structure, above the accumulation of rubbish at its base, rises to a little over a hundred feet. I f there is still any doubt as to the correctness of the theory set forth, a mere reference to the positive statement of Tavernier, 2 who visited Baghdad in 1 6 5 2 , will suffice to dispel it. Shirley's and Cartwright's references to Babylon, or rather to the locality just discussed, may be well passed over, the former delighting more in preaching than in teaching, the latter largely reproducing the account of Eldred, with which he was doubtless familiar. O f but little intrinsic value is also what Boeventing, Taxeira, and a number of other travellers of the same general period have to relate. 1 Chesnev, " T h e Expedition for the Survey of the Rivers Euphrates and T i g r i s , " vol. ii., p. 6 0 5 , practically gives the same measures ( i l j inches square by 4 deep). 2
I quote from the German edition before me ( Vierzig-Jährige Reise-Beschreibung, translated by Menudier,Nuremberg, 168 1 , part I , p. 9 1 ) : Ich muss noch allhier beifügen, was ich wegen denjenigen, das in ¡gemein von dem Rest des Thums zu Babylon geglaubet wird, in acht nehmen können, welcher Name (Babylon) auch ordentlich der Stadt Bagdad gegeben wird, ungeachtet selbige Man stehet also . . . einen grossen davon über J Meilen entfernet liget. von Erden aufgehäuften Hügel, den man noch heut zu Tage Nemrod nennet. Selbiger ist in mitten einer grossen Landschafft, und lässet sich ferne schon zu Gesichte fassen. Das gemeine Volk, wie ich bereits gedacht, glaubet, es seye solcher der Überrest des Babylonischen Thums: Allein es hat einen besseren Schein, was die Araber ausgeben, welche es Agarcouf nennen. C o m p . , also, C. Niebuhrs Reisebeschreibung, Copenhagen, 1 7 7 8 , vol. ii., p. 3 0 5 .
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T h e first to examine the real site of ancient B a b y l o n with a certain care was Pietro della V a l l e , w h o sent the first copy of a few cuneiform characters from Persepolis to E u r o p e , at the same time stating his reasons w h y they should be read f r o m the left to the right. T h i s famous traveller also carried with him a few inscribed bricks — probably the first that ever reached E u r o p e — from Babil, which he visited towards the end of 1 6 1 6 , and f r o m M u q a y y a r ( U r of the Chaldees), which he examined in 1 6 2 5 on his homeward j o u r n e y . His description of Babil, the most northern m o u n d of the ruins of B a b y l o n , while not satisfactory in itself, stands far above the information of previous travellers. H e tells us that this large m o u n d , less ruined at those days than at the beginning of the twentieth century, was a huge rectangular tower or p y r a m i d with its corners pointing to the four cardinal points. T h e material of this structure he describes as " the most remarkable thing I ever s a w . " I t consists of sundried-bricks, something so strange to him that in order to m a k e quite sure, he dug at several places into the mass with pickaxes. " H e r e and there, especially at places which served as supports, the bricks of the same size were b a k e d . " V i n c e n z o M a r i a di S. Caterina di Sienna, procurator general of the Carmelite m o n k s , w h o sailed u p the E u p h r a t e s forty years later, like Pietro della V a l l e even made an attempt at vindicating the local tradition by arguing that the place is situated on the banks of the E u p h r a t e s , that the surrounding districts are fertile, that for many miles the land is covered with the ruins of magnificent buildings, and above all, that there still exist the remains of the T o w e r of B a b e l , " w h i c h to this day is called N i m r o d ' s t o w e r , " — r e f e r r i n g to Birs ( N i m r û d ) on the western side of the E u p h r a t e s . M o r e sceptical is the view taken bv the D o m i n i c a n father E m m a n u e l de St. A l b e r t , 1 who paid a visit to this r e m a r k 1
In D ' Anville's Mémoire sur la Position de Babylone, 1 7 6 1 , published as a paper of the Mémoires de l'Académie des Inscriptions et des Belles-Lettres, vol. x x v i i i . , p. 2 5 6 .
18
EXPLORATIONS
IN BIBLE
A NOS
able spot about 1700. In sharp contrast to the earlier travellers, w h o with but few exceptions were always ready to chronicle as facts the fanciful stories related to them by Oriental companions and interpreters in obliging response to their numerous questions, we here find a sober and distrustful inquirer carefully discriminating between " the foolish stories " current a m o n g the inhabitants of the country and his own personal observations and inferences. Near Hilla, on the two opposite banks o f the river and at a considerable distance from each other, he noticed two artificial elevations, the one " situated in M e s o p o t a m i a , " containing the ruins of a large building, " the other in Arabia about an hour's distance from the E u p h r a t e s , " characterized by two masses o f cemented brick (the one standing, the other lying overturned beside it), which " seemed as if they had been vitrified." " People think that this latter hill is the remains o f the real B a b v l o n , but I do not k n o w what they will make o f the other, which is opposite and exactly like this o n e . " Convinced, however, that the ruins must be ancient, and much impressed by the curious " w r i t i n g in u n k n o w n characters " which he found on the large square bricks, Father E m m a n uel selected a few o f the latter from both hills and carried them away with him. Travellers, whose education was limited, and missionaries, w h o viewed those ruins chiefly from a religious standpoint, have had their say. L e t us now briefly discuss the views o f such visitors w h o t o o k a strictly scientific interest in the ruins of B a b y l o n . In connection with his e p o c h - m a k i n g j o u r n e y to Arabia and Persia, Carsten N i e b u h r examined the m o u n d s around H i l l a in 1 7 6 5 . T h o u g h furnishing little new information as to their real size and condition, in this respect not unlike the French geographer and historian Jean O t t e r , who had been at the same mounds in 1 7 4 3 , N i e b u h r presented certain reasons for his own positive conviction that the ruins o f B a b y l o n must be located in the neighborhood
DURING
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of Hilla. 1 H e regarded the designation of " A r d Babel " given to that region by the natives, and the apparent remains of an ancient city found on both sides of the river, especially the numerous inscribed bricks lying on the ground, which are evidence of a very high state of civilization, as solid proof for the correctness of the local tradition. H e even pointed out the large ruin heaps, " three quarters of a German mile to the north-northwest of Hilla and close by the eastern bank of the river [ E l - Q a s r ] , " as the probable site of Babylon's castle and the hanging gardens mentioned by Strabo, while Birs (Nimrûd), " an entire hill of fine bricks with a tower on the top " he regarded as Herodotus' " T e m ple of Belus," therefore as lying still within the precinct of ancient Babylon. O u r last and best informed witness from the close of the eighteenth century, who deserves, therefore, our special attention, is A b b é D e Beauchamp. Well equipped with astronomical and other useful knowledge, he resided at Baghdad as the Pope's vicar-general of Babylonia for some time between 1 7 8 0 and 1 7 9 0 . T h e ruins of Babylon, in which he was deeply interested, being only sixteen to eighteen hours distant from Baghdad, he paid two visits to the famous site, publishing the results of his various observations in several memoirs, 2 from which we extract the following noteworthy facts : " There is no difficulty about the position of Babyl o n . " Its ruins are situated in the district of Hilla, about one league to the north of it (latitude 3 1 ° 34'), on the opposite (left) side of the Euphrates, " exactly under the mound the Arabs call Babel." T h e r e are no ruins of Babylon proper on the western side of the river, as D ' A n v i l l e in his 1
Comp. Reisebeschreibung, Copenhagen, 1 7 7 8 , vol. ii., pp. 2 8 7 , seq. : Dass Babylon in der Gegend von Helle gelegen habe, daran ist gar keiti Zweifel. 2
In Journal des Savants, M a i , 1 7 8 5 , and D e c . , 1 7 9 0 . Rich's " Collected M e m o i r s , " pp. 3 0 1 , seq.
For extracts see
20
EXPLORATIONS
IN
BIBLE
LANDS
geographical work assumes, making the E u p h r a t e s divide the city. T h e m o u n d s which are to be seen " o n the other side of the river, at about a league's distance from its banks, are called by the Arabs Bros [meaning Birs]." Among the ruins of Babylon, which chiefly consist of bricks scattered about, " there is in particular an elevation which is flat on the top, of an irregular form, and intersected by ravines. I t would never have been taken for the work of human hands, were it not proved by the layers of bricks found in it. . . . T h e y are baked with fire and cemented with zepht [zift] or bitumen ; between each layer are found osiers." N o t very far from this m o u n d , " on the banks of the river, are immense heaps of ruins which have served and still serve for the building of Hillah. . . . H e r e are found those large and thick bricks imprinted with u n k n o w n characters, specimens of which I have presented to the A b b é Bartholomy. T h i s place [evidently E l - Q a s r ] and the m o u n d of Babel are commonly called by the Arabs Mak~ loube [or rather Muqailiba/ popularly pronounced Mujêlîba\, that is, overturned." F u r t h e r to the north Beauchamp was shown a thick brick wall, " which ran perpendicular to the bed of the river and was probably the wall of the city." T h e Arabs employed to dig for bricks obtained their material from this and similar walls, and sometimes even from whole chambers, " frequently finding earthen vessels and engraved marbles, . . . sometimes idols of clay representing human figures, or solid cylinders covered with very small writing . . . and about eight years ago a statue as large as life, which was thrown amongst the rubbish." O n the wall of a chamber thev had discovered " figures of a cow and of the sun and moon formed of varnished bricks." Beauchamp himself secured a brick on which was a lion, and 1
In the Arabic dialect of modern Babylonia the diminutive ( fu'ail) is frequently used instead of the regular noun formation. Comp. Oppert, Expedition en Mésopotamie, vol. i., p. 1 1 4 .
DURING
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others with a crescent in relief. H e even e m p l o y e d two laborers for three hours in clearing a large stone which the A r a b s supposed to be an idol, apparently the large lion of the Qasr 1 recently set u p again by the German expedition. Imperfect as the report of Beauchamp must appear in the light of our present knowledge, at the time when it was written it conveyed to the public for the first time a tolerablv clear idea of the exact position and enormous size of the ruins of Babylon and of the great possibilities connected with their future excavation. It was particularly in E n g l a n d that people began to realize the importance of these cylinders and bricks covered with cuneiform writing " resembling the inscriptions of Persepolis mentioned by C h a r d i n . " T h e East India C o m p a n y of L o n d o n became the first public exponent of this rapidly growing interest in Great Britain, by ordering their Resident at Basra to obtain several specimens of these remarkable bricks and to send them carefully packed to L o n d o n . A t the beginning of the nineteenth century a small case of Babylonian antiquities arrived, the first of a long series to follow years later. Insignificant as it was, it soon p l a y e d an important role in helping to determine the character of the third system of writing used in the Persian inscriptions. T h e r e were other travellers at the close of the eighteenth century, who, like E d w . I v e s 2 and the French physician G. A . Olivier, 3 also visited the ruins of Nineveh and B a b y lon, occasionally even contributing a few details to our previous knowledge. But they did not alter the general conception derived from the work of their predecessors, especially N i e b u h r and Beauchamp. T h e first period of 1
A l s o the opinion o f R i c h , "
- Comp.
321, 3
seq.
C o l l e c t e d M e m o i r s , " p p . 3 6 , 6 4 , seq.
" J o u r n a l f r o m Persia to E n g l a n d , " L o n d o n ,
1 7 7 3 , vol. i i . , p p .
( N i n e v e h ) , etc.
C o m p . Voyage
dans
F Empire
Paris, 1 8 0 1 - 0 7 , especially v o l . ii.
Othoman,
F Egypte
et
la Perse,
6 vols.,
22
EXPLORATIONS
IN
BIBLE
LANDS
Assyrian and Babylonian exploration had come to an end. Merchants and adventurers, missionaries and scholars had equally contributed their share to awakening W e s t e r n Europe from its long lethargy by again vividly directing the attention of the learned and religious classes to the two great centres of civilization in the ancient East. T h e ruins of Nineveh, on the upper course of the Tigris, had been less frequently visited and less accurately described than those of Babylon on the lower Euphrates. T h e reason is very evident. T h e glory of the great Assyrian metropolis vanished more quickly and completely from human sight, and its ruins lay further from the great caravan road on which the early travellers proceeded to Baghdad, the famous city of Harun-ar-Rashid, then a principal centre for the exchange of the products of Asia and Europe. But the ascertained results of the observations and efforts of many, and in particular the better equipped missionaries and scholars of the eighteenth century, were the rediscovery and almost definite fixing of the actual sites of Nineveh and Babylon, which, forgotten by Europe, had seemed to lie under a doom of eternal silence, — the Divine response to the curses of the oppressed nations and of the Old Testament prophets. II EXPLORING
AND
SURVEYING IN CENTURY
THE
NINETEENTH
THE close of the eighteenth and the dawn of the nineteenth centuries witnessed a feverish activity in the workshops of a small but steadily growing number of European scholars. T h e continuous reports by different travellers of the imposing ruins of Persepolis, the occasional reproduction of sculptures and inscriptions from the walls and pillars of its palaces, the careful sifting and critical editing
22
EXPLORATIONS
IN
BIBLE
LANDS
Assyrian and Babylonian exploration had come to an end. Merchants and adventurers, missionaries and scholars had equally contributed their share to awakening W e s t e r n Europe from its long lethargy by again vividly directing the attention of the learned and religious classes to the two great centres of civilization in the ancient East. T h e ruins of Nineveh, on the upper course of the Tigris, had been less frequently visited and less accurately described than those of Babylon on the lower Euphrates. T h e reason is very evident. T h e glory of the great Assyrian metropolis vanished more quickly and completely from human sight, and its ruins lay further from the great caravan road on which the early travellers proceeded to Baghdad, the famous city of Harun-ar-Rashid, then a principal centre for the exchange of the products of Asia and Europe. But the ascertained results of the observations and efforts of many, and in particular the better equipped missionaries and scholars of the eighteenth century, were the rediscovery and almost definite fixing of the actual sites of Nineveh and Babylon, which, forgotten by Europe, had seemed to lie under a doom of eternal silence, — the Divine response to the curses of the oppressed nations and of the Old Testament prophets. II EXPLORING
AND
SURVEYING IN CENTURY
THE
NINETEENTH
THE close of the eighteenth and the dawn of the nineteenth centuries witnessed a feverish activity in the workshops of a small but steadily growing number of European scholars. T h e continuous reports by different travellers of the imposing ruins of Persepolis, the occasional reproduction of sculptures and inscriptions from the walls and pillars of its palaces, the careful sifting and critical editing
DURING
19TH CENTURY:
ASSYRIA
AND
BABYLONIA
23
of the whole material by the indefatigable explorer Niebuhr, had convinced even the most sceptical men of science that there were really still in existence considerable artistic and literary remains of a bygone nation, whose powerful influence, at times, had been felt even in E g y p t and Greece. Strong efforts were made in Denmark, France, and Germany to obtain a satisfactory knowledge of the ancient sacred language of the Zend-Avesta, to discover the meaning of the younger Pehlevi inscriptions on Sassanian seals and other small objects so frequently found in Persia, and to attempt even the deciphering of these strange wedge-shaped characters on the walls of Persepolis. Names like Anquetil-Duperron, Eugène Burnouf, Sylvestre de Sacy, Niebuhr, T y c h s e n , Miinter, and others will always occupy a prominent position in the esteem of the following generations as the pioneers and leaders in a great movement which ultimately led to the establishment of the great science of cuneiform research, destined as it was to revolutionize our whole conception of the countries and nations of Western Asia. T h i s new science, though the final result of many combined forces, sprang so suddenly into existence that when it was actually there, nobody seemed ready to receive it. In the year 1 8 0 2 the genius of a young German scholar, Georg Friederich Grotefend, then only twenty-seven years old, well versed in classical philology but absolutely ignorant of Oriental learning, solved the riddle, practically in a few days, that had puzzled much older men and scholars apparently much better qualified than himself. U n d e r the magical touch of his hand the mystic and complicated characters of ancient Persia suddenly gained new life. But when he was far enough advanced to announce to the Academy of Sciences in Gôttingen the epoch-making discovery which established his fame and reputation forever, that learned body, though comprising men of eminent mental training and
24
EX FLORA TIOXS IX BIBLE
LAXDS
intelligence, strange to say, declined to publish the L a t i n memoirs of this little k n o w n college teacher, who did not belong to the U n i v e r s i t y circle p r o p e r , nor was even an Orientalist by profession. It was not until ninety years later ( 1 8 9 3 ) that his original papers were rediscovered and published by P r o f . W i l h e l m M e y e r , of G o t t i n g e n , in the A c a d e m y ' s T r a n s a c t i o n s — a truly unique case of post mortem examination in science. F o r t u n a t e l y G r o t e f e n d did not need to wait for a critical test and proper a c k n o w l e d g m e n t of his remarkable w o r k until he would have reached a patriarchal age at the close of the nineteenth century. H e e r e n , D e Sacv, and others lent their helping hands to disseminate the extraordinary news of the great historical event in the learned world of Europe. A f t e r w a r d s it became gradually k n o w n that far away f r o m W e s t e r n civilization, in the mountain ranges of Persia, an energetic and talented officer of the British a r m y , L i e u t e n a n t (later Sir) H e n r y R a w l i n s o n (born on A p r i l 1 1 , 1 8 1 0 ) , had almost independently, though more than thirty years later, arrived at the same results as G r o t e f e n d by a similar process of combination. N i e b u h r had already pointed out that the inscriptions of Persepolis appeared always in three different systems of writing f o u n d side bv side, the first having an alphabet of over forty signs, the second being more complicated, and the third even more so. G r o t e f e n d had gone a step farther by insisting that the three systems of writing represented three different languages, of which the first was the old Persian s p o k e n by the k i n g s who erected those palaces and inscribed their walls. T h e second he called M e d i a n , the third B a b y l o n i a n . T h e name g i v e n to the second lang u a g e , which is agglutinative, has later been repeatedly changed into Scythian, Susian, A m a r d i a n , L l a m i t i c , A n zanian, and N e o - S u s i a n . T h e designation of the third language as B a b y l o n i a n had been made possible by a com-
DURING
linn
CENTURY:
A SS YR1A
AND
BABYLONIA
25
parison of its complicated characters with the Babylonian inscriptions of the E a s t I n d i a H o u s e in L o n d o n , p u b l i s h e d , soon after their arrival in 1801, by J o s e p h H a g e r . This designation was at once generally accepted, and has rem a i n e d in use ever since. F o r the time being, however, little interest was manifested in the last-named and m o s t difficult system of writing, which evidently contained only a Babylonian translation of the c o r r e s p o n d i n g Persian inscriptions. M o r e material, written exclusively in the third style of cuneiform writing, was needed f r o m the Babylonian and Assyrian m o u n d s themselves, not only to attract the curiositv b u t to c o m m a n d the u n d i v i d e d attention of scholars. T h i s h a v i n g been once p r o v i d e d , it would be only a question of time when the same key, which, in the h a n d s of Grotefen.d, had w r o u g h t such wonders as to u n l o c k the doors to the history of ancient Persia, would o p e n the far m o r e glorious and r e m o t e past of the great civilization between the E u p h r a t e s and Tigris. But in order to obtain the inscriptions needed, other more p r e p a r a t o r y w o r k had to be u n d e r t a k e n first. T h e treasure-house itself had to be examined and studied m o r e carefully, before a successful a t t e m p t could be m a d e to lift the treasure concealed in its midst. A survey of Babvlon and N i n e v e h and o t h e r p r o m i n e n t ruins in easv access, and m o r e authentic and reliable information concerning the g e o g r a p h y and t o p o g r a p h y of the whole c o u n t r y in which they were situated, was an indispensable r e q u i r e m e n t before the w o r k of excavation could p r o p e r l y begin. So far E n g l a n d had been conspicuously absent f r o m the serious technical w o r k carried on by representatives of other nations in the study and in the field. A n d yet no other E u r o p e a n power was so e m i n e n t l y qualified to p r o v i d e what still was lacking as the " Q u e e n of the Sea," t h r o u g h her regular and well-established commercial and political rela-
26
EXPLORATIONS
IN BIBLE
LANDS
tions with India and the Persian gulf. T h e sound of popular interest and enthusiasm, which had been heard in Great Britain at the close of the eighteenth century, never died away entirely. Englishmen now came forward well qualified to carry out the first part of this scientific mission of the European nations in the country between the Euphrates and Tigris, where for many years they worked with great energy, skill, and success. CLAUDIUS
JAMES
RICH
T h e first methodical explorer and surveyor of Babylonian and Assyrian ruins and rivers was Claudius J a m e s Rich. Born in 1 7 8 7 near Dijon, in France, educated in Bristol, E n g l a n d , he developed, when a mere child, such a decided gift for the study of Oriental languages that at the age of sixteen years he was appointed to a cadetship in the East India Company's military service. Seriously affected by circumstances in the carrying out of his plans, he spent more than three years in the different parts of the Levant, perfecting himself in Italian, T u r k i s h , and Arabic. His knowledge of the T u r k i s h language and manners was so thorough that while in Damascus not only did he enter the grand mosque " in the disguise of a M a m e l u k e , " but his host, " an honest T u r k , who was captivated with his address, eagerly entreated him to settle at that place, offering him his interest and his daughter in marriage." From A l e p p o he proceeded by land to Basra, whence he sailed for B o m b a y , which he reached early in September, 1 8 0 7 . A few months later he was married there to the eldest daughter of Sir J a m e s Mackintosh, to whom we owe the publication of most of her husband's travels and researches outside of the two memoirs on Babylon published by himself. A b o u t the same time he was appointed Resident of the E a s t India Company at Baghdad, a position which he
DURING
19™
CENTURY:
ASSYRIA
AND
BABYLONIA
27
held until his sudden and most lamented death from cholera m o r b u s in Shiraz, October 5, 1 8 2 1 . 1 T h e leisure which R i c h enjoyed f r o m his public duties he spent in pursuing his favorite historical, geographical, and archaeological studies, the most valuable fruits of which are his accurate s u r v e y s and descriptions o f the ruins of B a b y l o n and N i n e v e h . I n D e c e m b e r , 1 8 1 1 , he made his first brief visit to the site of B a b y l o n . It lasted but ten days, but it sufficed to convince him that no correct account of the ruins had yet been written. Completely deceived " by the incoherent accounts of former travellers," instead of a few " isolated m o u n d s , " he f o u n d " the whole country covered with the vestiges of building, in some places consisting of brick walls surprisingly fresh, in others merely a vast succession of mounds of rubbish of such indeterminate figures, variety, and extent as to i n v o l v e the person who should have formed any theory in inextricable confusion and contradiction." H e set to w o r k at once to change this condition. H i s two memoirs on the ruins of B a b y l o n (especially the first) are a perfect mine of trustworthy information radically different f r o m anything published on the subject in previous years. H e sketches the present character of the whole country around B a b y l o n , describes the vestiges of ancient 1
Rich's first " Memoir on the Ruins of Babylon " was written in 1 8 1 2 in Baghdad, and published (with many typographical errors and unsatisfactory plates) in the Fundgruben des Orients, Vienna, 1 8 1 3 . T o make it accessible to English readers, Rich republished this memoir in London ( 1 8 1 6 ) , where also his second memoir appeared in 1 8 1 8 . Both memoirs were later republished with Major Rennel's treatise " On the Topography of Ancient Babvlon," suggested by Rich's first publication, and with Rich's diaries of his first excursion to Babylon and his journey to Persepolis, accompanied by a useful introduction and appendix, all being united by Mrs. Rich into a collective volume, London, 1 8 3 9 . His widow also edited his " Narrative of a Residence in Koordistan and on the site of Ancient N i n e v e h , " London, 1836.
28
EXPLORATIONS
IN
BIBLE
LANDS
canals and outlying mounds, and " the prodigious extent " of the centre of all his attention,— the ruins of Babylon itself. A n d to all this he adds his personal observations on the modern fashion of building houses, and the present occupations and customs of the inhabitants of 'Iraq, interwoven with frequent references to the legends of the Arabs and the methods of their administration under T u r k i s h rule, correctly assuming that " the peculiar climate of this district must have caused a similarity of habits and accommodations in all ages." But valuable as all these details are, they form, so to speak, only the framework for his faithful and minute picture of the ruins of Babylon, 1 which we now reproduce, as far as possible with his own words: — " T h e whole of the area enclosed by the boundary on the east and south, and the river on the west, is two miles and six hundred yards in breadth from E . to W . , and as much from Pietro della Valle's ruin [f.