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Moving one of the Lions from Nineveh, to the New room, British Museum.— Feh. 12th, 1852. 
 
NINEVEH AND ITS PALACES 
 
 THE 
 
 DISCOVERIES OF BOTTA AND LAYARD, APPLIED TO THE 
 ELUCIDATION OF HOLY WRIT. 
 
 BY JOSEPH BONOMI, F.R.S.L. 
 
 ‘‘ For the stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.” 
 
 llAB. ii. 11. 
 
 The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings.” — D an. vii. 4. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 OFFICE OF THE ILLUSTRATED LONDON LIBRARY, 
 227, STRAND. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 BRADBURY AND EVANS, PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In preparing the present volume, and treating of Nineveh and 
 its palaces, I have endeavoured to follow a sj^stein of arrange- 
 ment originated by the highly suggestive sculptures which have 
 been discovered. Thus, after carefully examining the remains 
 in om own Museum and in the Louvre, and studying the 
 ground-plans of the respective structures with the original 
 situations of the friezes ; I selected a starting-pomt and pur- 
 sued a regular and systematic course through the ruined 
 chambers, reading the sculptures upon the walls together with 
 the Scriptures as I progressed. Whether the line of reasoning 
 adopted is erroneous or just, must he left to the decision of the 
 reader, hut though my inferences and conclusions may be 
 questioned by many, it is hoped that the facts in the subject- 
 matter will he interesting to all. 
 
 In conclusion I would wish to avail myself of this oppor- 
 tunity of expressing my acknowledgments to the officers of the 
 British kluseum, for the uniform urbanity and liberal aid they 
 have always afforded me : and likewise for the co-operation 
 I have met with from many kind friends. To Mr. Samuel 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Sharpe I am indebted for his valuable chapter on Assyrian 
 History and Chronology ; to Dr. Lepsius, for his prompt 
 information respecting the Cyprus monument ; to Dr. Lee, 
 of Hartwell, for the papers of Dr. Grotefend ; to Mr. Barker ; 
 to Mr. Bomaine, for his recent sketches on the very spots 
 whence the antiquities were derived : to each and all of these, 
 as well as to other friends who have kindly promoted my 
 labours, my heartfelt thanks are cordially returned. 
 
 JOSEPH BOHOMI. 
 
 March mh, 1852. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 SECTION I.— DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Tiie buried city and its discoverers — Rich — Examination of presumed site of 
 Nineveh — Buildings on Nebbi Tunis, partly ancient chambers — Inscrip- 
 tions, and ancient passages in Mound — Inscribed slabs with bitumen on 
 under sides — Assyrian antiquities and inscriptions. .... 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Botta — Appointed Consul at Mosul — Qualifications — M. Mohl — Botta’s 
 Researches and Disappointments — - Opens the Mound of Kouyunjik — 
 Excavations at Khorsabad — Success of his first Operations — Grant by the 
 French Government for their Continuance — Difficulties with the Governor 
 of Mosul — The Excavations stopped — Turkish Official Delinquencies — 
 Additional Grant of Money — Permission to continue the Excavations — 
 Arrival of M. Flandin — The Village of Khorsabad purchased — Difficulties 
 attending this Arrangement — Workmen engaged, and the Researches 
 resumed — Return of M, Flandin to Paris — The discJ^Vered Relics packed 
 and transmitted to Paris. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Layard — Early Travels — Proceeds to Asia — Excursion in the neighbourhood 
 of the Tigris and Nineveh to Kalah Shergat and A1 Hadhr — Visits Plain 
 of Mel Amir and Susan — The River Karun — Tower of Living Men — Re- 
 
 l 2 
 
VIU 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 turns to Mosul — Proceeds to Constantinople — Sir Stratford Canning- 
 Returns to Mosul — Arrives at Naifa — Explorations and Success — Visits 
 Pasha of Mosul — Proceedings interdicted — Resunaes Excavations — A third 
 interdict^ and Works stopped — Visits Arab Sheikhs — Ismael Pasha super- 
 seded by Tabyar Pasha-Favours Layard — Despatch of the Grand Vizier 
 of the Sultan — Opening of the Great Mound of Kouyunjik — A rich collec- 
 tion of Sculptures — Their transport to Baghdad — Layard visits the Devil- 
 worshippers — Grant to British Museum — Fresh excavations at Nimroud 
 — Great success — Embarkation of Marble Obelisk — Examines Mound at 
 Kalah Shergat — Removal of Lion and Bull from Nimroud — Operations 
 necessary — Leaves Nimroud — Departs for Europe ..... 26 
 
 SECTION II.— HISTOEICAL. 
 
 CHAPTER I.— ASSYRIA AND MESOPOTAMIA. 
 
 The Nineveh of the Bible — Nimrod — His name expressed in his nomenclature 
 — His kingdom — Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh — Their present sites — 
 Asshur — His kingdom — Nineveh, Calah, Resen, Rehoboth — Their localities 
 traced — Extent and population of Nineveh, according to Jonah — The 
 Assyrian Kings — Their wars and conquests — Destruction of the Assyrian 
 army — Death of Sennacherib — Esarhaddon— Deportation of Samaria — 
 
 Mr. Dickinson’s remarks — Nebuchodonosor — The fall of Nineveh .. .38 
 
 CHAPTER IL— THE ASSYRIA AND MESOPOTAMIA OF 
 CLASSICAL WRITERS. 
 
 The Nineveh of the classical writers — Boundaries of Assyria and Mesopotamia 
 — Median Wall — Nimis — Descendant of Asshur — Asshur founder of the 
 Assyrian monarchy — -Ninus founder of the united empire of Assyria — 
 Semiramis — Ninyas — The Chedorlaomer of Scripture — Mesopotamia 
 named on Egyptian monuments — Obelisk of the Atmeidan and Tablet of 
 Karnak — Teutamus assists Priam at siege of Troy — Sardanapalus — The 
 revolt of the Medes — Ctesias and Herodotus — Final overthrow of Nineveh 
 — Rise and Fall of the Babylonian Empire . . ... 56 
 
CO^’TENTS. 
 
 ix 
 
 CHAPTER III— SKETCH OF ASSYRIAN HISTORY, 
 
 BY SAMUEL SHARPE, ESQ. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Tlie ancient Assyrian empire ends with. Sardanapalus and the conquest of 
 Nineveh by the Medes — Rise of the modern empire — Pul — Tiglath Pileser 
 — Shalmaneser — Sennacherib — The conquest of Israel — Esarhaddon — The 
 conquest of Babylon — The Chaldees — Nabopolasser, king of Babylon, 
 conquers Nineveh — Nebuchadnezzar — The conquest of Judah — Babylon 
 and Assyria conquered by the Medes — Cyrus is king of Persia, Media, 
 Babylon, and Assyria — Egyptian art and fashions copied at Nineveh, at 
 Babylon, and at Persepolis . . . . . . . . .09 
 
 SECTIO^sT III.— TOPOGEAPHY. 
 
 CHAPTER I.— KHORSABAD. 
 
 Banks of the Tigris — Relative position of Mounds — Situation of Khorsabad — > 
 Botta remarked no trace of Wall of Nineveh — Character of Mounds on 
 which Assyrian Palaces stood — Khorsabad — Dimensions of fortified En- 
 closure — Salt Swamps within Wall — Neighbouring Swamps accounted for 79 
 
 CHAPTER II.— NIMROUD, KOUYUNJIK, AND NEBBI YUNIS. 
 
 Yarumjeh — Zikru-l-awaz — Reseu — Larissa of Xenophon — Chesney — Ains- 
 worth’s observations — Nimroud — Kouyunjik and Nebbi Yuuis — 
 Discoveries mentioned by Rich — Karamles — Area of Ancient Nineveh 
 — Layard’s view not tenable — All Tels and Koums, probable sites of 
 Ruins — Gebel Makloub, the North-eastern Wall — Width of Wall nearly 
 identical with that of Khorsabad Palace — Course of Tigris changed — 
 Nimroud distant from Boundary of Nineveh — Sites of Cities of Holy Writ 91 
 
 CHAPTER III.— KALAH SHERGAT. 
 
 Ainsworth — The Jubailah — HammamAli — Bitumen Springs — Kalah Shergat 
 — Dr. Ross— A1 Hadr 
 
 93 
 
X 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. — BABYLON, PERSEPOLIS, BESITHtJN, 
 NAHR-AL-KELB, AND CYPRUS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Babylon — Birs Nimroud — Mujalibah and Kasr — The Western Palace A1 
 Heim^r — Bridge of Masonry and Road of Semiramis — Persepolis — Tel-el- 
 Minar — Diodorus’ description — Terraced Platform — Parapet and Palisades 
 — Grand Flights of Stairs — Portal — Winged Bulls — Cistern and Subter- 
 raneous Aqueducts — Palace of Forty Pillars — Second Terraced Building 
 — Third ditto — Fourth ditto — Fifth ditto — Large Edifice — Tombs — 
 Pasargadse of Pliny — Tomb of Cyrus — Hareem of Jemshid — Naksh-i- 
 Roustam — Tomb of Darius Hystaspes — Inscribed Stone on Mount Elwand 
 — Ecbatana — Behistun — Semiramis — Bas-relief and Inscriptions — Pass 
 and Inscription of Keli-Shin — Inscriptions at Lake Yan — Ditto at Nahr-al- 
 Kelb — First ancient Assyrian Monument brought to England — Inscription 
 at Cyprus — Dr. Lepsius — Inscription in the Desert between the Nile and 
 the Red Sea 105 
 
 SECTION lY,— DISCOVEEIES. 
 
 CHAPTER I.— KHORSABAD. 
 
 The Palaces of Assyria — Plan and construction of Mound — Entrance guarded 
 by Winged Bulls — First Court — The Cherubim — Gigantic Figure of 
 Nimrod — The Bommereng, anciently and universally used — Egyptian, 
 Assyrian, South African, and Australian Examples — Sculptures on South- 
 western Wall — Four-winged Divinity — Cronus or Hus — Presenting Fir 
 Cone to those who enter the Chamber — Similar idea on Egyptian 
 Monuments — Tomb of Rhamses lY. — Bas-reliefs of King, Attendants, 
 and Officers — Their Dresses and Peculiarities — North-western side of 
 Court — Repetitions of King and Court — Historical Prize — Assyrian and 
 Egyptian Ships — Maritime Subject — Dagon — Passage Chamber between 
 Courts, p. 148 — Inscriptions on Bulls and Pavement — Processions of 
 Tribute-bearei*s in Passage — Tartan, Chief of Tribute — Rabsaris — 
 Rabshakeh — Governors of Provinces — Sultan Medinet — Their Insignia — • 
 Second upper line of Tribute-bearers — The Deputy Chief of Tribute — ■ 
 Lower line of Procession, right-hand side — Ditto, left-hand side — Tribute 
 from extremities of the Empire — Conflagration of Wooden Door — Second 
 Court — The King’s Court, p. 153 — The Porch for the Throne — The Prophet 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XI 
 
 Daniel — King’s Gate at Babylon and Shusban — Fa 9 ade — Doorways — 
 South-eastern Side — Repetition of Ilus, King and Court — North-western 
 Side — Pavement — Inscribed Slabs in Doorways — Secret Cavities containing 
 Images — Teraphim — Superstition of the Evil Eye — South-eastern side of 
 Court — Isolated Building — Historical Chambers, p. 158 — Symbolic Tree — 
 Egyptian Symbol — Historical Illustration — Siege of Fortified City — 
 Nysians, a Colony of Lydians — Sack of City — Gable Roof — Sacred Edifice 
 — No Upper Story — Divining Chamber, p. 164 — Magic — Interior of the 
 Palace — Chamber VIIL, p. 165 — The Hall of Judgment — Fettered 
 Prisoners — Flaying a Man alive — The Chief of the Slayers — Second 
 scene, Introduction of Prisoners — Sagartii, a pastoral people — Third 
 scene. King thrusting out the eyes of a Supplicant — Prisoners led by 
 Rings in their lower Lips — ^Fourth scene, similar representation — Chamber 
 IV. — Chamber of Judgment — Repetition of King judging Prisoners 
 — Jews — Isaiah’s Prophetic Message embodied on Walls — Chamber VIL, 
 p. 171 — A Feast — Pleasure House — Sports of the Field and the Chase — 
 Chamber V., p. 175 — Hall of Historical Records — Battle Scenes — Chamber 
 VI., p. 181 — The Chamber of Audience — King giving audience to Deputy 
 Governors — Milyaj from Coast of Cilicia — Chamber XI., p. 183 — Inner 
 Presence Chamber — Chamber XII., p. 184 — Council Chamber — Chamber 
 XL, p. 185 — Banqueting Hall, p. 185 — Sieges ; Banquet Wine Vase — Drinking 
 Cups — Assyrian and Greek — Lyres — Assyrian, Greek, and Nubian — The 
 Guests — High Seats — Ahasuerus’ Feast — Second line of Friezes — Battles 
 and Conquests — Impalement of Prisoners — Numbering the Heads of the 
 Slain — Cities and Fort in Flames — Circular-headed Tablet represented 
 on Frieze — Moveable Shields — Chamber III, p. 196 — Retiring Chamber — 
 Castellated Hills — Jerusalem — Court L,, p. 197 — Wheeled Chair — High 
 Seat or Throne — Seat of Judgment for Master of House or Heads of Tribes — 
 Ancient Customs — Altar — Heavy Chariot — Mighty Men — Tables — Dilapi- 
 dated Doors and Chambers — Chamber 1, p. 204 — Divining Chamber — The 
 Temple — Court, p. 206 — Court of the King’s House — Chaldeans on 
 Walls, Ezekiel, xxiii., 14 — King’s Private Way — Construction of Assyrian 
 Palaces — Walls — Roofs — Means of Lighting Windows — Sleeping Apart- 
 ments — Columns in Court — Gable or Pitched Roofs — Fergusson’s Resto- 
 rations — Botta’s Opinion on the Destruction of the Khorsabad Palace . 129 
 
 CHAPTER IL— NIMROUD AND THE SCULPTURES IN THE 
 BRITISH MUSEUM. 
 
 The Assyrian Relics in the British Museum — Layard’s Contributions — North- 
 western ruins of Palace of Nimroud— Antechamber, p. 217 — Colossal 
 Winged Figures — King and Eunuchs — Winged Lions at entrance — Great 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Hall witli historical subjects, p. 218 — Msroch — Siege of City by King in 
 person — Assyrian and Egyptian Chariots — Return after Victory — Proces- 
 sion of Standard-bearers — Eunuch receiving Prisoners of rank — Mummers 
 — Cittern and Plectrum — Modern example, Tamboura — Curry-combing 
 Horse — Royal Kitchen — Second series of Battle Scenes — Trained Birds 
 of Prey — Lower line of Illustration — Siege of City — Damascus — Pro- 
 cession of King and Officers, and Reception of Prisoners — Passage of River 
 by King and Troops — Ancient and Modern Boats and Rafts — Colossal 
 Figures of winged beings — King and Eunuchs — Winged Bulls at 
 Entrance — Siege — Lion Hunt — Bull Hunt — Prisoners with Spoil — The 
 Treaty of Peace — Return from the Chace — Colossal Group at end of Hall 
 — Baal — Comparison and Original — Remains of Bones and Fragments 
 of Gold Leaf under stone slab — Sacrificial Stones and Conduit— Four- 
 winged Divinity — Winged Lions with Human Heads and Arms — Parthian 
 Bowmen — Divinity with Fallow-deer — Lions with Human Heads and Arms, 
 carrying Stag and Flower — Figure with Fir Cone — Irregular Arrangement of 
 Subjects — Inference — Outer Chamber, p. 257 — King and Officers receiving 
 Tribute — Winged Bulls — Hall of Msroch, p. 261 — Figures of Msroch before 
 Symbolic Tree — The Hall of Divination, p, 262 — The King drinking in the 
 presence of the Divinities of Assyria — Metaphor in the Psalms — Divining 
 Cup — Alternation of Subjects, King with Attendants and King with 
 Divinities — Divining by Cup and Arrows — Square Slabs with Hole in the 
 Centre — Recesses in the Walls — The Hall of the Oracle, p. 266 — Chamber 
 entirely covered with Inscriptions — Chamber of Divinities, p. 267 — Divi- 
 nities and Symbolic Tree — Beardless Figure with four Wings — The King — 
 Inscribed Chamber — The Oracle, p. 267 — Chamber wdth Inscribed Walls — 
 Ante-Chamber — Central Court — Second Hall of Divinities, p. 272 — Hall 
 with Slabs inscribed in centre — Small Chambers where the Ivories and Orna- 
 ments were found — Winged Man with Goat and Ear of Wheat — Deified 
 Jdan — Representations on Walls of Babylon and Mneveh — South-western 
 and Centre Ruins — Assault on City containing Date Tree — Impalement 
 of Prisoners — Evacuation of City, and taking account of the Spoil — 
 Shalmaneser — N ot a City of Samaria — Date Trees do not bear fruit in 
 Northern parts of Syria — Attack on a Citadel near a Torrent — Pursuit of 
 Enemy, Vulture above — Cavalry awaiting Word of Command — Division 
 of Army in Mountainous Country — Bowman, Shieldbearer, and Sliugers — 
 Arab on Dromedary, pursued by Spearmen — Female Captive followed by 
 Camels — Warrior hunting the Lion — Eunuch introducing Prisoners — King 
 holding two Arrows, and addressing Warrior — Man driving Flock of Sheep 
 and Goats — Fragments — King and Selikdar — Cupbearer — King and Cup- 
 bearer — Priest — Four other Fragments — Colossal Heads — Portraits of 
 Kings — Glass, Ivories, Bronzes — Terra Cotta Vases, &c, — Small Lions, 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 possibly Weights — Inscribed Slabs — Mode of Reading— Basaltic Statue 
 — The Obelisk and Description of its Four Sides — Mr. Hector’s Con- 
 tributions — Resemblances and Comparisons between the Palaces of 
 Khorsabad and ISTimroud — Sculptures integral Part of Plan at Khorsabad 
 — Sculptures adapted at Nimroud — Regal and Historical Character 
 of Palace at Khorsabad — Regal and Sacred Character of Palace at 
 Kimroud — Chambers at Mmroud devoted exclusively to Divinities, and 
 to King attended by Divinities — Divinities peculiar to Kimroud and to 
 Khorsabad — Baal — Beardless Four-winged Divinity and Deified Men, seen 
 only at Nimroud — Ilus and Kimrod, at Khorsabad only — King Divining 
 at Nimroud — Trained Bird of Prey at Nimroud — King Drinking — Ditto — 
 Wars with Sheep-skin clad People at Khorsabad — With People wearing 
 Fillet at Nimroud — Tribute Obligatory at Nimroud — Voluntary at 
 Khorsabad— Inscriptions across Sculptures at Nimroud — No analogous 
 Inscription at Khorsabad — Appendage to Chariot peculiar to Nimroud — 
 Inferences — Khorsabad Finished Palace — Nimroud Incomplete — Evi- 
 dences — Tribute — Inscriptions — Trained Birds of Prey — Chariots — 
 Divinities — Human-headed and winged Lion — Four- winged Beardless 
 Divinity — Deified Mortals — Nisroch — Baal found at Persepolis — Nimroud 
 intermediate between Khorsabad and Persepolis — Conclusion — List of 
 Sculptures from Nimroud and Khorsabad in the British Museum . .216 
 
 SECTIO^'T Y.— COSTUME. 
 
 Assyrian Art, Industry, Dress, Ornaments, and Equipages — Perfection of the 
 Art of Sculpture in Nineveh — Assyrian Art intermediary between the 
 Grecian and Egyptian — Splendour of Costumes — Warlike Weapons — 
 Extreme Care of Beards — Love of Ornament — Ear-rings — Bracelets — 
 
 The Style of Art which characterised their Ornaments — Comparison with 
 more familiar forms of Greek Art — Assyrian Industry — The High Degree 
 of Perfection it attained — Acquaintance with the Art of Working various 
 Metals — Bronze Lion — Its Use — Burnt Clay Idols — Seals of Clay — Funeral 
 Urns — Painted Bidcks — Altars — Nails — Chariot Wheels — Lapis Ollaris — 
 Commerce of Ancient Assyria — Its Chief Branches . . . . .312 
 
XIV 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 SECTION YI.— INSCEIPTIONS AND LATEST PEO- 
 CEEDINGS AND DISCOYEEIES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Assyrian Inscriptions and their Interpretation — The Arrow-headed Character 
 — How it came to be deciphered by Professor Grotsfend — Suggestions of 
 M. Bournouf and Professor Lassen — Col. Rawlinson and the Behistun 
 Inscription — Process of Analysing the Assyrian Texts — The Inscriptions 
 at Khorsabad — The Situations in which they were found — Botta’s Opinion 
 on these Inscriptions — Col. Rawlinson’s account of the Labours of his pre- 
 decessors and of himself — The Babylonian unquestionably the most 
 ancient Cuneiform Writing — Tablets at the Mouth of the Nahr-al-Kelb — 
 Cuneiform Writing confined exclusively to Sculptures and Impressions — 
 
 The Inscription on the Obelisk found at Nimroud — Col. Rawlinson’s 
 Translation and Remarks — Dr. Grotefend’s Reading of the Obelisk — 
 Shalmaneser — Dr. Hincks’ Reading of some Names — Jehu — Language and 
 Mode of Writing the Ancient Assyrian — Difference between the Two 
 Systems of Col. Rawlinson and Dr. Hincks in Interpreting Inscriptions — 
 
 M. Bosanquet — Dr. Hincks — Dr Hincks’ farther Discoveries . . . 337 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Latest Proceedings and Discoveries in Assyria — Intelligence of Layard, 1849, 
 1850, and 1851 — Grant of French Government for Farther Investigations 
 — Grant to Col. Rawlinson — Appointment of Layard as Under-Secretary of 
 State for Foreign Affairs — Communication from Col. Rawlinson read at 
 Asiatic Society, 6th March, 1852 380 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1. Frontispiece — Arrival of Sculptures at British Museum, Feb, 1852. 
 
 2. Map of Nineveh and surrounding country. 
 
 3. Assyrian winged-lion, N.W. palace Nimroud 1 
 
 4. Plains of ancient Nineveh ......... 6 
 
 5. Mound of Khorsabad, western side ....... 7 
 
 6. Village of ditto 17 
 
 7. Mound at Nimroud 26 
 
 8. Plain and Mounds of Nimroud 37 
 
 9. Map of Assyria and Mesopotamia . .38 
 
 10. Comparative size of cities 45 
 
 11. Nimrod, from Palace of Khorsabad ....... 55 
 
 Head of Herodotus 56 
 
 12. Kouyunjik Lion 69 
 
 Chronological Chart 76 
 
 13. Name on ivory box found at Nimroud ....... 77 
 
 14. Head of Cyrus in Egyptian head-dress . . . . . . . ib. 
 
 15. Name — Oben Ha ib. 
 
 16. Ammun 78 
 
 17 — 18. Babylonian Cylindrical Seals ib. 
 
 19. Plan of Mounds of Khorsabad , . . ^ 79 
 
 20. Ditto of Platform on which Palace of Khorsabad stood . . .85 
 
 21. Eastern side of mounds of Khorsabad . . . . . , . 90 
 
 22. Obelisk from Nimroud . . 91 
 
 23. Boundary of ancient Nineveh ......... 95 
 
 24. Walls of Nineveh 98 
 
 25. Statue at Kalah Sherghat 99 
 
 26. Ruins at A1 Hadhr 104 
 
XVI 
 
 LIST OE ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 27. Birs Nimroud 
 
 
 105 
 
 28. Persepolitan column 
 
 
 111 
 
 29. Plan of the ruins of Persepolis 
 
 
 115 
 
 30. Monument at Nahr-al-Kelb ...... 
 
 . 
 
 126 
 
 81. View on the Euphrates, near Baghdad . . . . 
 
 
 128 
 
 32. Forepart of bull on jamb of door ..... 
 
 . (Khorsabad) 
 
 130 
 
 33. Portal of the Palace of Khorsabad . . . . . 
 
 
 131 
 
 34. Plan of the Palace of Khorsabad 
 
 
 132 
 
 35. Portal of Palace, with figure of Mmrod .... 
 
 (Khorsabad) 
 
 133 
 
 36. Figure of Nimrod (Botta, pi. 41.) 
 
 
 134 
 
 37. Egyptian Bommereng 
 
 
 135 
 
 38. Bommereng in Nimrod’s hand ..... 
 
 
 ib. 
 
 39. Hunga Munga, from Southern Africa . . . . 
 
 
 136 
 
 40. Trombash, from Central Africa ..... 
 
 
 ih. 
 
 41. Es Selem, from the desert between the Nile and the Bed Sea . . . 
 
 lb. 
 
 42. Australian Bommereng 
 
 
 ih. 
 
 43. Divinity Ilus . . . . . . . . 
 
 (Khorsabad) 
 
 137 
 
 44. Egyptian Symbol of Life 
 
 
 139 
 
 45. Egyptian King Bhamses IV. ...... 
 
 
 ib. 
 
 46. The great King and his officers ..... 
 
 (Khorsabad) 
 
 140 
 
 47. The great King ........ 
 
 
 ib. 
 
 48 — 49. Fly Flaps (Botta, pi. 61.) 
 
 „ 
 
 142 
 
 50. Preparations for building road or pont (Botta, pi, 35.) 
 
 
 146 
 
 51. Assyrian ship ........ 
 
 
 ib. 
 
 52. Egyptian ship ......... 
 
 (Thebes) 
 
 147 
 
 53. Maritime subject (Botta, pi. 32, 33, 34.) . . . . 
 
 , (Khorsabad) 
 
 ib. 
 
 54. Dagon 
 
 
 148 
 
 55. Tartan, chief of Tribute (Botta, pi. 130.) 
 
 ’ )) 
 
 149 
 
 56. Sultan Medinet (Botta, pi. 36.) 
 
 >> 
 
 150 
 
 57. One of the Sagartii (Botta, pi. 129.) .... 
 
 
 151 
 
 58. Priest 
 
 ■ » 
 
 155 
 
 59. Eagle-headed Divinity 
 
 „ 
 
 ib. 
 
 60—61. Teraphim found in secret cavities (Botta, pi. 152.) . 
 
 • J5 
 
 156 
 
 62. Symbolic tree ........ 
 
 
 159 
 
 63. Siege with battering-rams ...... 
 
 „ 
 
 160 
 
 64 — 65. War-engines or battering-rams (Botta, pi. 160.) , 
 
 " >> 
 
 161 
 
 66. Sacred edifice with gable roof (Botta, p, 141.) 
 
 • 
 
 162 
 
 67. Hewing a figure to pieces (Botta, pi. 140.) 
 
 
 163 
 
 68. Flaying alive (Botta, pi. 120.) ..... 
 
 
 167 
 
 69. King putting out the eyes of a captive (Botta, pi. 118.) 
 
 
 169 
 
 70. Kiosk or ifieasur e-house (Botta, pi. 114.) 
 
 • >> 
 
 172 
 
 71. The great King following the chase (Botta, pi. 113.) . 
 
 
 173 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS. 
 
 XV 11 
 
 72. The King’s sons ditto (part of the preceding) (Botta, pi. 112.) (Khorsabad) 
 
 73. Shooting at a target (Botta, pi. 111.) „ 
 
 74. The King’s foresters (Botta, pi. 110) 
 
 75. Hunting and huntsmen (Botta, pi. 108.) .... „ 
 
 76. The charge (Botta, pi. 92.) 
 
 77- Attack of an advanced fort (Botta, pi. 93.) ... „ 
 
 78. Captives and Spoil (Botta, pi. 92.) 
 
 79. One of the Milyse, from Cilicia (Botta, pi. 106.) ... „ 
 
 80. Clasp of dress 
 
 81. Attack of a city; setting fire to the gates (Botta, pi. 70.) . „ 
 
 82. Attack of a city of the sheepskin-clad race (Botta, pi. 77.) . „ 
 
 83. Feast; drinking-cups and wine-vases (Botta, pi. 76.) . . „ 
 
 84. Assyrian wine-cup ......... 
 
 85. Greek ditto 
 
 86. Assyrian Lyre (Khorsabad) 
 
 87. Guests at table — the toast (Botta, pi. 64, 65.) ... „ 
 
 88. Assault of a city, and impalement of prisoners (Botta, pi. 55.) . „ 
 
 89. Burning of a besieged city (Botta, pi. 68) .... „ 
 
 90. Burning of a fort and pursuit of the conquered (Botta, pi. 76.) ,, 
 
 91. Part of besieged city on hill, showing circular-headed tablet 
 
 (Botta, pi. 64.) 
 
 92. Attack by bow and spearmen ; setting fire to gates of a city 
 
 (Botta, pi. 61.) .......... 
 
 93. Bowmen charging under cover of moveable shield (Botta, 
 
 pi. 99.) ......... 
 
 94. Sculpture representing Jerusalem (Botta, pi. 78.) . . . „ 
 
 95. Procession of tribute-bearers with cups and wheeled chair 
 
 (Botta, pi. 16.) ..... • . . . „ 
 
 96. Continuation of above, with chair of state,altar, and chariot 
 
 (Botta, pi. 18, 19, 20.) 
 
 97. Ditto, with horses, tables, and vases (Botta, pi. 21, 22, 23.) . ,, 
 
 98. Curvetto moulding of terrace on platform (Botta, pi. 150.) . „ 
 
 99. Priest with gazelle (Botta, pi. 43.) 
 
 100. Section, showing construction of wall and ceiling . . ,, 
 
 101. Procession, showing divisions of slab and doorway . . „ 
 
 102. View of pyramidal mound at Nimroud 
 
 103. Winged human-headed lion .... (N. W. Palace, Nimroud) 
 
 104. King in his chariot, besieging city ... „ „ 
 
 105. Egyptian chariot ........... 
 
 106. Assyrian ditto *..... (N. W. Palace, Nimroud) 
 
 107. Standard-bearers (Continuation of Fig. 106) . . ,, „ 
 
 108. King in procession after victory ... „ „ 
 
 PAGE 
 
 174 
 ib. 
 
 175 
 ib. 
 
 177 
 
 178 
 
 179 
 182 
 
 ib. 
 
 185 
 
 186 
 
 187 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 
 188 
 ib. 
 
 190 
 
 192 
 
 193 
 
 194 
 ib. 
 
 195 
 
 196 
 
 198 
 
 199 
 202 
 
 205 
 
 206 
 210 
 
 215 
 
 216 
 218 
 221 
 222 
 
 223 
 
 224 
 
 225 
 
XVlll 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS. 
 
 1 09. Standard-bearers in procession after victory (N. W. Palace, Nimroud.) 
 
 110. Chamberlain receiving prisoners ... 1 „ „ 
 
 111. Mummers dancing 2 „ „ 
 
 112 — 113. Tamboura 
 
 114. The Stable — curry-combing a horse . . 3 (N. W. Palace, Nimroud) 
 
 115. Egyptian hieroglyphic, determinative of country or district 
 
 116. Interior of the Royal kitchen (1, 2, 3, and 4, 
 
 one slab) . . . . . . . 4 (N. W. Palace, Nimroud) 
 
 117. King in battle — Divinity above — Bird of prey 
 
 tearing the dying „ „ 
 
 118. Eunuch warrior in battle — bird of prey above . „ „ 
 
 119. Rout and flight of the enemy .... „ „ 
 
 120. Standard-bearers in battle ...... „ 
 
 121. Chariot and officers of the great king . . . „ „ 
 
 122. Siege of Damascus — final assault . . . . „ „ 
 
 123. Completion of siege — people led into captivity . „ „ 
 
 124. Triumphal procession before the walls of a city . „ „ 
 
 125. Passage of a river by the great king and his allies . „ „ 
 
 126. Troops and equipments crossing the river . . . „ „ 
 
 127. Preparations for crossing the river, and embarka- 
 
 tion of the chariots „ „ 
 
 128. Kufah modern basket-boat used upon Euphrates and Tigris 
 
 129. Kellek, or large rafts used on Tigris and Euphrates . . . . 
 
 130. Tent cabin on kellek .......... 
 
 131. Fugitives crossing a torrent .... (N. W. Palace, Nimroud) 
 
 132. The great King on foot, attacking a fortified city . „ „ 
 
 133. The lion hunt „ „ 
 
 134. Claw in lion’s tail, from Nimroud sculpture . . „ „ 
 
 135. Ditto, full size ' . . 
 
 136. The bull hunt (N, W. Palace, Nimroud) 
 
 137. Procession of captives with tribute . . . „ „ 
 
 138. The league or treaty of peace . . . . „ „ 
 
 139. A royal sceptre-bearer „ 
 
 140. The royal cup-bearer ...... ,, 
 
 141. The King returning from the bull hunt . . . „ „ 
 
 142. The King and divinities before Baal and the symbolic tree „ 
 
 143. Baal „ 
 
 144. Symbol of Baal ,, „ 
 
 145. Egyptian symbol 
 
 146. The flight — Parthian bowmen . . . (N. W. Palace, Nimroud) 
 
 147. Deified man, with fallow-deer „ 
 
 148. Divinity, with egg-shaped head-dress, pine-cone, and basket „ 
 
 PAGE 
 
 225 
 
 226 
 
 227 
 ih. 
 
 228 
 ih. 
 
 229 
 
 230 
 ih. 
 
 231 
 
 232 
 
 233 
 
 234 
 
 235 
 
 237 
 
 238 
 ih. 
 
 239 
 
 240 
 ih. 
 
 241 
 
 242 
 
 243 
 
 245 
 
 246 
 ih. 
 ih. 
 
 247 
 
 248 
 
 249 
 
 250 
 
 251 
 
 252 
 
 253 
 ih. 
 ih. 
 
 254 
 
 255 
 ih. 
 
LIST OL ILLUSTEATIONS. 
 
 XIX 
 
 PAGE 
 
 149. Nisroch (N. W. Palace, Nimroud.) 
 
 256 
 
 150. Selikdar, or sword-bearer 
 
 • 
 
 257 
 
 151. Captive heading procession of tribute-bearers . 
 
 • yj 
 
 258 
 
 152. Attendant, with monkeys as tribute .... 
 
 
 259 
 
 153. Winged human-headed bull 
 
 • 5? 
 
 260 
 
 154. Msroch before symbolic tree ..... 
 
 
 262 
 
 155. King drinking or divining in the presence of the gods of Assyria „ 
 
 263 
 
 156. Divinities kneeling before symbolic tree 
 
 „ 
 
 267 
 
 157. Beardless divinity with four wings ..... 
 
 • >} 
 
 268 
 
 158. The great King 
 
 
 271 
 
 159. Divinity with egg-shaped and horned cap 
 
 
 273 
 
 160. Deified man carrying goat and ear of wheat . 
 
 161. Impetuous assault on a city — artificial mount — felling trees 
 
 (Centre 
 
 274 
 
 mins, Nimroud) 
 
 275 
 
 162. Siege — prisoners impaled before the walls of the city . 
 
 • y? 
 
 276 
 
 163. Evacuation of a city 
 
 • ,5 
 
 277 
 
 164. Bowmen discharging arrows from behind moveable shield 
 
 • yy 
 
 278 
 
 165. Assyrian mercenaries in pursuit — vulture with entrails 
 
 • yy 
 
 279 
 
 166. Cavalry of the great King awaiting the order to mount 
 
 (Kouyunjik) 
 
 280 
 
 167. Bowmen and slingers ....... 
 
 ^y 
 
 281 
 
 168. Cavalry pursuing man on dromedary .... 
 
 . (Nimroud) 
 
 282 
 
 169. Warrior in his chariot hunting the lion .... 
 
 „ 
 
 ib. 
 
 170. Cup-bearer to the King of Nineveh .... 
 
 „ 
 
 284 
 
 171. Lion weight ......... 
 
 
 286 
 
 172. Front view of obelisk ....... 
 
 • yy 
 
 288 
 
 173. Left side of ditto 
 
 • 
 
 291 
 
 174. Back of ditto . , 
 
 • yy 
 
 292 
 
 175. Fourth side of ditto . 
 
 • yy 
 
 293 
 
 176. Portrait of the cup-bearer of the King .... 
 
 (Khorsabad) 
 
 297 
 
 177. Tribute horses 
 
 
 299 
 
 178. Native of the coast of the Mediterranean 
 
 
 300 
 
 179. Tomb of Jonah on Nebbi Yunis ..... 
 
 
 311 
 
 180. Head-dress from Khorsabad 
 
 . 
 
 312 
 
 181 — 183. Vases (Botta, pi. 162.) ...... 
 
 
 318 
 
 184—185. Girbeh 
 
 
 319 
 
 186 — 190. A.ssyrian head-dresses (Botta, pi. 163.) 
 
 
 ib. 
 
 191 — 195. Assyrian shields (Botta, pi. 160.) 
 
 
 320 
 
 196 — 201. Assyrian bow, arrows, and quiver (Botta, pi. 159.) 
 
 
 321 
 
 202 — 205. Assyrian helmets, and head-dresses (Botta, pi. 163.) 
 
 
 322 
 
 206—208. Assyrian swords (Botta, pi. 149.) .... 
 
 
 ib. 
 
 209. Sceptre (Botta, pi. 159) ....... 
 
 
 ib. 
 
 210. Assyrian umbrella (Botta, pi. 159.) 
 
 
 323 
 
XX 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGK 
 
 211. Assyrian standard ........... 323 
 
 212 — 216. Assyrian earrings (Botta, pi. 161.) . . . . . . . ib. 
 
 217 — 224. Assyrian bracelets (Botta^ pi. 161.) 324 
 
 225. Bronze lion on altar (Botta, pi. 150.) 326 
 
 226, 227. Section and plan of tombs (Botta, pi. 165.) 329 
 
 228, 229. Miniature arrow-head and crescent 331 
 
 230. Passage-boat of the great King 336 
 
 231. View from Mosul over plains of Nineveh . . . . . . 337 
 
 232. Inscribed slab in British Museum 338 
 
 233. Arab tent 379 
 
 234. View in the excavations 380 
 
 235. Group of Arabs 384 
 
 236. Arab Sheikh 385 
 
 / 
 

 ■ i 
 
 
 
 
 
 f i 
 
 - , . 
 
 
 r. 
 
 I 
 
 ■' 
 
 ; 
 
 V-C 
 
 '’’V, 
 
Fig. 3.—“ THE FIRST WAS LIKE A LION AND HAD EAGLE’S WINGS."— Z)ameZ vii. 4. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 THE BUEIED CITY AND ITS DISCOYEEEKS. 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 RICH. 
 
 Par away — a thousand miles — from the highways of modern com- 
 merce, and the tracks of ordinary travel, lay a city buried in the 
 sandy earth of a half-desert Turkish province, with no certain trace of 
 its place of sepulchre. Vague tradition said that it was hidden some- 
 where near the river Tigris ; but for above two thousand years its 
 known existence in the world was as a mere name — a word. That name 
 suggested the idea of an ancient capital of fabulous splendour and mag- 
 nitude ; a congregation of palaces and other dwelhngs, encompassed 
 by walls and ramparts, vast but scarcely real. 
 
 More than two thousand years had it thus lain in its miknovm 
 grave, when a Prench savant and a wandering English scholar, urged 
 by a noble mspiration, sought the seat of the once powerful empire, 
 and, searching till they found the dead city, threw olf its shroud of 
 
a 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 sand and ruin, and revealed once more to an astonislied and curious 
 world the temples, the palaces, and the idols ; the representations of 
 war, and the triumphs of peaceful art of the ancient Assyrians. The 
 Nineveh of Scripture, the Nineveh of the oldest historians ; the 
 Nineveh — twin sister of Babylon — glorying in a civilisation of pomp 
 and power, all traces of which were believed to be gone ; the Nineveh, 
 in which the captive tribes of Israel had laboured and wept, was, after 
 a sleep of twenty centuries, again brought to light. The proofs of 
 ancient splendour were agaiu beheld by living eyes, and, by the skdl 
 of the draftsman and the pen of antiquarian travellers, made known 
 to the world. 
 
 And the strange and stirring story of how courage and learning, 
 talent and enterprise, patience and iudustry, rescued from the earth 
 these treasures of a long-gone people, it is the intention of the 
 following pages to tell. 
 
 The immense mounds of bricks and rubbish which marked the pre- 
 sumed sites of Babylon and Nineveh had been used as quarries by 
 the inhabitants of the surrounding country, during a long series of 
 ages, without any of the monuments being disclosed that they must 
 have served to support or cover. These two localities, when carefully 
 explored by such observers as Niebuhr and Claudius James Eich, had 
 not allowed them to distinguish any other traces of buddings than a 
 few portions of different walls, of which they could not understand 
 the plan ; but though the investigations of the latter produced few 
 immediate results, he yet has the merit of being the first to break the 
 ground, and by his intelligence, to have awakened the enterprise of 
 others. Eich, who was the East India Company’s resident at Bagh- 
 dad, most meritoriously employed his leisure in the investigation of 
 the antiquities of Assyria ; and all that he has left behind is in the 
 highest degree valuable and suggestive. He gave his first attention 
 to Babylon, on which he wrote a paper, originally published in 
 Germany — his countrymen apparently taking less interest in such 
 matters than did the scholars of Yienna. In a note to a second memoir 
 on Babylon, printed in London in 1818, we find Nineveh thus alluded 
 to by Eich, who speaks from then recent personal observation. He 
 says, “ Opposite the town of Mosul ^ is an inclosure of a rectangular 
 form, corresponding with the cardinal points of the compass ; the 
 eastern and western sides being the longest, the latter facing the 
 river. The area, which is now cultivated and offers no vestiges of 
 building, is too small to have contained a town larger than Mosul : 
 but it may be supposed to answer to the palace of Nineveh. The 
 
 1 Correctly “ El-M6sil.’ 
 
EICH. 
 
 3 
 
 boundary, which may be perfectly traced all round, now looks like 
 an embankment of earth or rubbish, of small eleration; and has 
 attached to it, and in its line, at several places, mounds of greater 
 size and solidity. The first of these forms the south-west angle ; 
 and on it is built the village of Xebbi Younis, the prophet Jonah 
 (described and delineated by Xiebuhr as Xurica), where they show 
 the tomb of the prophet Jonah, much revered by the ^Mohammedans. 
 The next, and largest of all, is the one which may be supposed to be 
 the monument of Xinus. It is situated near the centre of the 
 western face of the enclosure, and is joined like the others by the 
 boundary wall ; — the natives call it Kouyunjik Tepe. Its form is 
 that of a truncated pyramid, with regular steep sides and a flat top ; 
 it is composed, as I ascertained from some excavations, of stones and 
 earth, the latter predominating sufficiently to admit of the summit 
 being cultivated by the inhabitants of the village of Kouyunjik, 
 which is built on it at the north-east extremity. The only means I 
 had, at the time I visited it, of ascertaining its dimensions, was by a 
 cord which I procined from Mosul. This gave 178 feet for the 
 greatest height, 1850 feet the length of the summit east and west, 
 and 1147 for its breadth north and south. In the measinement of the 
 length I have less confidence than in the others, as I fear the straight 
 line was not very coirectly preserved ; and the east side is in a less 
 perfect condition than the others. The other mounds on the boundary 
 waU ofier nothing worthy of remark in this place. Out of one in the 
 north face of the boundary was dug, a short time ago, an immense block 
 of stone, on which were sculptured the figures of men and animals. So 
 remarkable was this fr’agment of antiquity, that even Tinkish apathy 
 was roused, and the Pasha and most of the principal people of Mosul 
 came out to see it. One of the spectators particularly recollected, among 
 the sculptures of this stone, the figure of a man on horseback with a 
 long lance in his hand, followed by a great many others on foot. The 
 stone was soon afterwards cut into small pieces for repairing the 
 buildings of Mosul, and this inestimable specimen of the arts and 
 manners of the earliest ages irrecoverably lost. Cylinders, like those 
 of Babylon, and some other antiques, are occasionally found here ; but 
 I have never seen or heard of inscriptions. Prom the assurances 
 given me by the Pasha of Mosul, I entertain great hopes that any 
 monument which may be hereafter discovered vdll be rescued from 
 destruction.^ A ruined city, as Major Eennel justly observes, is a 
 
 1 Similar assurances had been given to the English and French Consuls of Egypt by 
 l^Iohammed Ali ; nevertheless, since that time, all the ruins that marked the site of 
 Antinopoiis, and some nearly perfect temples, have entirely disappeared. 
 
4 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 quarry above ground. It is very likely that a considerable part of 
 Mosul, at least of tbe public works, was constructed witb tbe materials 
 found at JN’ineveb.^ Kouyunjik Tepe bas been dug into in some 
 places in search of them ; and to this day stones of very large dimen- 
 sions, which sufficiently attest their high antiquity, are found in or at 
 the foot of the mound which forms the boundary. These the Turks 
 break into small fragments, to employ in the construction of their 
 edifices. The permanent part of the bridge of Mosul was built by a 
 late Pasha wholly with stones found in the part of the boundary 
 which connects the mound of Kouyunjik with the mound Kebbi 
 Younis (the prophet Jonah), and which is the least considerable of all. 
 The small river Khausar traverses the area above described from 
 east to west, and divides it into two nearly equal parts ; it makes a 
 sweep round the east and south sides of Kouyunjik Tepe, and then 
 - discharges itself into the Tigris above the bridge of Mosul. It is 
 almost superfluous to add that the mount of Kouyunjik Tepe is 
 wholly artificial.” 
 
 Kich remarks that the ramparts and hollows among tlie ruins of 
 Kineveh, would seem to indicate that the city had a double wall ; and 
 farther, that the walls on the east side had become quite a concretion 
 of pebbles, hke the natural hills. The jealousy with which every motion 
 was watched rendered actual surveys difficult ; nevertheless, his exami- 
 nation of the buildings upon Nebbi Younis satisfied him that they 
 were partly formed of ancient chambers. In the kitchen of a wretched 
 house an inscribed piece of gypsum was found, which appeared to 
 form part of the wall of a small passage, said to reach far into the 
 mound. The passage itself had been dug into, but was subsequently 
 closed up with rubbish, from an apprehension of undermining the 
 houses above. In another small room, not far distant, an inscription 
 was seen, which was the more curious, because it seemed to occupy 
 its original position : for it was discovered on building the room, and 
 left just where it was found. The situation is parallel with, and very 
 near to the passage before mentioned. At Kouyunjik, Kich also saw 
 a piece of coarse grey stone, shaped like the capital of a column, such 
 as at this day surmounts the wooden pillars or posts of Tinkish or 
 Persian verandahs. On the south side, or face of the enclosure, and 
 not far from Kebbi Younis, some people who had been digging for 
 stones had turned up many large hewn stones, with bitumen adhering 
 to them. The excavation was about ten feet deep, and consisted of 
 huge stones laid in layers of bitumen and lime mortar ; there were, 
 also, some very thick layers of red clay, which had become as hard as 
 
 I This is partially contradicted by Botta. 
 
EICH. 
 
 5 
 
 burnt brick, but without any indication of reeds or straw having been 
 used ; sandstone cut into blocks ; and large slabs of inscription with 
 bitumen adhering to the under side. Eich’s opinion was that all the 
 vestiges of the building were of the same period ; that they did not 
 mark the entire extent of the great city itself ; but that these mounds 
 and ruins were either the citadel or royal precincts, as the practice of 
 fortifying the residence of the sovereign is of ancient origin. He 
 finally inferred that very few bricks were used in building Nineveh, 
 but that the walls, &c., were formed of the rubbish of the country, 
 well rammed down with a wash, of lime poured upon it, which in 
 a short time would convert the whole into a solid mass. At the 
 present day the natives mix pebbles, lime, and red earth, or clay, 
 together, and after exposure to water, they become like the solid 
 rock.^ 
 
 Eich made Nineveh the subject of a further paper, but all the 
 results he arrived at were that a granite lion at Babylon, the 
 fragment of a statue at Kalah Shergat on the banks of the Tigris, 
 and a bas-relief at the mouth of the Nahr-el-Kelb, near Beyrout, 
 were productions of Assyrian art. Eich, as we just found him 
 saying, had heard of an immense bas-relief wdiich had been dug out 
 of a mound situated near the village which still bears the name of 
 Nineveh ; but he had not seen it, and was only able to regret its 
 destruction caused by Mussulman ignorance and fanaticism. In the 
 various museums of Europe a small number of seals and cylinders 
 covered with mythological emblems were carefully collected, which 
 were believed to prove that the Assyrians were acquainted with the 
 process of working the hardest materials, but, generally, little 
 calculated to give us a just idea of the skill they had acquired in the 
 art of representing objects. In a word, it may be said that though 
 we had some belief in the existence of Assyrian art, Assyrian archi- 
 tecture and Assyrian sculpture were totally unknown to us. 
 
 As to inscriptions, we were no richer in them than in other 
 Assyrian works. The chief were an inscription engraven on a 
 stone sent to London by Sir Harford Jones, and preserved in 
 the Museum of the East India Company ; a circular-headed tablet, 
 an egg-shaped stone, and the cast from the Nahr al Kelb monu- 
 ment, in the British Museum ; and one in the Cabinet des An- 
 tiques of the National Library of Paris, known by the name of 
 Caillou de Michaud. The mottoes of a few cylinders and some 
 insignificant fragments completed all our riches in this department. 
 Copies of inscriptions were more numerous, but they all came from 
 
 Rich’s “ Residence in Koordistan.’ 
 
6 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 monuments situated beyond the limits of Assyria, properly so called. 
 M. Schulz had collected a considerable number on the banks of the 
 lake of Yan, and the Assyrian transcriptions of the inscriptions of 
 Persepolis had also been more or less faithfully copied ; but unfortu- 
 nately, the writing found in different places was sufficiently different 
 for us, with some reason, to doubt that they all belonged to the same 
 people ; they offered besides but limited means of comparison, and 
 hence were little fitted to serve as materials for study ; and, lastly, 
 historical science would have gained but little if we had succeeded 
 in deciphering them. 
 
 Thus although up to within a short time we possessed nothing 
 which could add to what the ancient writers had handed down to 
 us concerning the history and the arts of Assyria ; yet all interested 
 in the subjects anticipated far different results when favourable cir- 
 cumstances should allow the ground to be more attentively explored. 
 
 That these hopes were not disappointed is now a matter of history, 
 and the two following chapters will, therefore, be devoted to a 
 description of the labours of those whose exertions have revealed - 
 those monuments of ancient Assyrian civilisation, of which all trace 
 seemed to be lost. 
 
 Fig, 4. — THE PLAINS OF ANCIENT NINEVEH. 
 
BOTTA. 
 
 Botta, in the narrative of bis researches at Nineveh, which has 
 been published in five handsome folio volumes through the liberality of 
 the French government, after summing up the amoimt, or rather the 
 deficiency, of our knowledge of the great Ass}Tian cities before the 
 period of the recent excavations, prefaces his adventures at Khorsabad 
 by an account of the circmnstances that led him to the neighbourhood 
 of that place. 
 
 The French government, it seems, having come to the conclusion 
 that it was advisable to send a consular agent to Mdsid, chose Botta 
 to fulfil that office, — a selection that reflected the highest credit on its 
 judgment. Botta, the nephew of the celebrated historian of Italy, 
 ♦ was himself entirely devoted to science. His long residence in Egypt, 
 Sennaar, El Yemen, and Syria, undertaken regardless of difficulties, or 
 the dangers of climate, solely to further his scientific pursuits, had 
 eminently adapted him for an appouitment in the East. He could 
 assimilate himself to the habits of the people ; was conversant mth 
 their language ; possessed energy of character ; and was besides an 
 intelligent and practised observer; vdth such qualifications it was 
 obvious that his residence in the vicinity of a spot that history and 
 tradition agreed in pointing out as the site of Nineveh could not but 
 be productive of important results. Upon his departure for Mosul, 
 in the beginniug of the year 1842, his friend Monsieur J. Mohl, the 
 accomplished translator of “Firdousi,” called his attention to the 
 archaeological mterest of the place, and strongly pressed him to make 
 excavations in the neighbourhood. 
 
8 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 Botta promised that he would not forget this good advice, but he 
 felt that before being enabled to keep his promise, the definitive 
 establishment of the consulship at Mosul must place at his disposal 
 both more considerable pecuniary resources, and more powerful means 
 of action than he then possessed. In the meanwhile he employed 
 himself in collecting every small object of antiquity which appeared 
 to be at all interestiug, and made the necessary inquiries for pitching 
 upon a favourable spot for reaUy serious researches. 
 
 Botta was not so fortunate in his acquisition of antiquities as he 
 could have hoped from the report of Bich. That accurate and learned 
 observer had had the good fortune to purchase in the neighbourhood 
 of Mosul several objects of interest, and Botta had, in consequence, 
 pictured to himself the locality as a most fruitful mine. A residence 
 of several years had caused him to entertain a difierent opinion. 
 Mr. Bich, being the first to enter upon the still virgin ground, had at 
 once collected all that chance had amassed in the hands of the inha- 
 bitants during a long series of years, and no conclusion as to the 
 real abundance of objects of antiquity to be found in the neighbour- 
 hood of Mosul could properly be drawn from this fact. With the 
 exception of a few fragments of bricks and pottery, Botta had never 
 been able to collect anything in the way of antiquities which he 
 could be sure were indigenous (so to speak), and as he spared neither 
 time nor expense to procure them, he had good reason to believe that 
 they were not common ; the cylinders in particular, those relics of 
 Assyria so curious on account of the emblems with which they are 
 covered, were very rare at Mosul, and out of all those which fell into 
 his hands, there was not one that he knew of which had been found 
 upon the territory of Nineveh. All those which he could trace — and 
 this was the case with the greater number — had been brought from 
 Baghdad, and consequently from Babylon and its neighbourhood. 
 The source of the others was unknown. The same held good with 
 the Assyrian seals ; almost all of them came from Baghdad ; and in 
 the following pages the reader will find that this rare occurrence of 
 small objects of antiquity was confirmed by the researches made by 
 Botta at Kouyunjik and Khorsabad ; for during the whole period of 
 the excavations not a single cyliuder was discovered. Our antiquary 
 draws attention to this fact, because it is one that was scarcely 
 expected, and which will, perhaps, modify the received opinions 
 regarding the real source of these engraved mythological stones. 
 
 The success of Botta’ s inquiries with a view to find a fitting spot 
 for his researches was not more encouraging ; and the reports of the 
 inhabitants furnished him with nothing certain on this head. The 
 
BOTTA. 
 
 9 
 
 -spot wliicli appeared to offer the greatest chance of success, and to 
 which he naturally first directed his attention, was the mound on 
 which is built the village of Niniouah, then believed to he the last 
 remnant of the immense city of which it preserves the name ; for it 
 Was there that Mr. Rich had observed subterranean wwUs covered 
 with cuneiform inscriptions — too valuable a sign to be overlooked. 
 The number and importance, however, of the houses with which the 
 mound was covered did not allow of Botta making any researches. 
 Every attempt of the kind was repelled by the religious prejudices of 
 the inhabitants, for it is there that the mosque of Nebbi Tounis is built. 
 According to the tradition of the place, this mosque, as its name 
 implies, contains the tomb of the prophet Jonah, and the ground is 
 regarded as sacred. He was thus obliged to look for some other 
 spot, but in the vast space covered with the traces of ancient edifices 
 which surrounds the village of Hiniouah, there was nothing that 
 could guide him with any degree of certainty. A great many erro- 
 neous opinions (according to Botta,) have been disseminated with 
 regard to the actual condition of the ruins of Nineveh : they have 
 been represented as a mine in constant requisition for supplying 
 bricks and stones for the erection of the houses of Mosul, and thus 
 assimilated to the ruins of Babylon, which have for ages furnished 
 the necessary building materials for the surrounding towns. “ Such, 
 however,” says Botta, “ can scarcely have been the case at Nineveh 
 at any period, and very certainly it is not so in the present day. The 
 reason is plain: all that exists of the ruins of the ancient city, 
 boundary walls, and mounds, is formed of bricks which w'ere merely 
 baked in the sun : these bricks have been reduced by age into an 
 earthy state, and consequently cannot be used again.” Botta goes 
 on to say, “ There can be no doubt but that in the construction of 
 these ancient buildings more solid materials, such as stones and kiln- 
 burnt bricks, were sometimes employed, and this accounts for 
 their being accidentally discovered ; but they were merely employed 
 as accessories — the mass of the walls was composed of unburnt 
 bricks. Thus, in this particular, there is not the least similarity 
 between Nineveh and Babylon : the ruins of the latter city offer an 
 immense quantity of excellent bricks ; they have, consequently, been 
 capable of being used as quarries, but the masses of earth, which are 
 the only remains of Nineveh, could not be employed for a like pur- 
 pose. It would, besides, be difficult to understand why people should 
 trust to chance for obtaining a few raw materials, when quarries 
 of gypsum, which are far less expensive to work than a series of 
 uncertain excavations would be, are situated at the gates of Mosul.” 
 
10 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEPvEES. 
 
 This is the case now ; but formerly, when those mounds of crude 
 brick were incrusted with limestone and slabs of gypsum, it was 
 otherwise, as the fact of the almost entire disappearance of this crust, 
 or casing, abundantly testifies. 
 
 Botta further tells us that it was only in the immediate vicinity of 
 Mosul, and very often within the city itself, that the inhabitants had 
 sometimes looked for materials : they had found there, at the depth 
 of a few feet, the remains of ancient buildings ; but, in spite of all 
 his researches, he could not observe a single sign which would allow 
 of his assigning these remains to a period anterior to the foundation 
 of the present town. Never, to his knowledge, had these operations 
 brought to light ancient bricks or stones with cuneiform inscriptions, 
 with both of which the inhabitants are at present well acquainted, 
 and of which they would certainly have brought him the smallest 
 remnant, had they found any ; he was therefore convinced that the 
 walls existing under the ground in the interior of Mosul, or near 
 the city gates, were comparatively modern — either the foundations 
 or the subterranean apartments ^ of the houses which were ruined 
 at a time when the city, as was still the case but a few years 
 ago, occupied a much more considerable space than it does at the 
 present day. 
 
 As regarded the ruins situated on the eastern bank of the Tigris, 
 Botta says he never heard, in the course of a residence of several 
 years, that any excavations were made there for the purpose of 
 obtaining building materials ; nor had he ever seen in the houses at 
 Mosul the least trace of antique remains, although he took particular 
 pains to discover them. The walls were not, as had been reported, 
 built of brick and coated with gypsum, and he did not find a single 
 instance where such was the case. The walls of all the houses are 
 formed of gypseous or calcareous stone, rudely joined with plaster, 
 and the same plan prevails in the vaults of the largest edifices. A 
 few old mosques only are constructed of bricks, but their form, their 
 size, and the absence of any cuneiform inscription, prove that those 
 bricks do not come from the buildings of Nineveh. He mentions 
 another fact, in order to show how little the inhabitants of Mosul are 
 accustomed to look in the neighbouring ruins for the materials they 
 
 1 In the houses of Mosiil, as well as in those of Baghdad, there is always a subterranean 
 apartment, called in those parts, Serddb ; the inhabitants retreat thither, in summer, to pass 
 the hottest hours of the day. In order to be rendered inhabitable, these apartments have to 
 be coated with thin slabs of M6sul gypsum, and the walls are, besides, constructed with the 
 greatest solidity, since they have to support the Avhole weight of the superincumbent 
 buildings. This fact may explain their in-eservation underground. 
 
BOTTA. 
 
 li 
 
 may require. The Pasha of Mosul, being desirous of constructing 
 ovens for the use of the garrison of that town, hastened to Botta for 
 the bricks which the works undertaken at Khorsabad had brought to 
 light. It is very certain, argues the Prench antiquary, that if, as has 
 been reported, the Pasha had possessed an abundant supply at the 
 gates of the town, or if it had been easy to obtain them, he woidd not 
 have sent a distance of four leagues for them. 
 
 IS'ot having, therefore, any precedent to guide him in his researches, 
 and not daring, he says, to open the mound of ^^’ebbi Tounis, Botta 
 selected the mound of Kouyunjik as the spot for commencing opera- 
 tions. This mound is situated to the north of the village of ISiiniouah, 
 to which it is joined by the remains of an ancient wall of unburnt 
 bricks. It was evidently an artificial mass, and, to all appearance, 
 formerly supported the principal palace of the kings of Assyria. On 
 the western side, near the southern extremity of this hill, a few bricks 
 of a large size, joined vfith bitumen, seemed to be the remains of some 
 ancient building. It was at this spot that Botta commenced his 
 researches, in the month of December, 1842. 
 
 The residts of these first works were imimportant, but possessed 
 considerable interest when connected with the discoveries subsequently 
 made. The workmen brought to light numerous fragments of bas- 
 reliefs and inscriptions, but nothing in a perfect state was obtained 
 to reward the trouble and outlay, during the three months that the 
 researches w'ere continued. 
 
 Botta’s proceedings had meanwhile attracted attention. Without 
 exactly knowing what was their object, the inhabitants were aware 
 th£ft he was in quest of stones bearing inscriptions, and that he 
 bought all that were offered. In consequence of this, and so early as 
 the month of December, 1842, an inhabitant of Khorsabad had been 
 induced to bring him two large bricks vfith cuneiform inscriptions, 
 which had been foimd near the village, and offered to procure as many 
 more as he vfished. This man was a dyer, and built his ovens of the 
 bricks obtained from the mound on which the -Nfillage was built ; but, 
 reckoning on the success of the first excavations, Botta did not 
 immediately follow up the faint and solitary hint. Three months 
 later, however, about the 20th of March, 1843, being weary of finding 
 in the mound of Kouyunjik nothing save small fragments vithout 
 any value, he called to mind the bricks of Khorsabad, and sent a few 
 workmen to sound the ground there. Such was the manner in which 
 he was led to the discovery of an immense monument, to be com- 
 pared, with regard to richness and ornament, to the most sumptuous 
 productions bequeathed to us by Egypt. 
 
12 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 Three days after the commencement of the works at Khorsabad, 
 one of Botta’s workmen brought the intelligence that some figures 
 and inscriptions had been dug up ; the description, however, which he 
 gave was so confused, that the antiquary himself would not run the 
 chance of making the journey for nothing ; he did not, therefore, go to 
 verify in person a fact of which he was yet incredulous, but contented 
 himself with sending one of his servants, and ordering him to copy a 
 few of the characters of the inscriptions. In this way he acquired the 
 certainty that these inscriptions were cuneiform, and hesitated no 
 longer to proceed personally to Khorsabad, where, with a feeling of 
 pleasure which the reader will easily understand, he saw, for the first 
 time, a new world of antiquities revealed. 
 
 His workmen had been fortunate enough to commence the excava- 
 tions precisely in that part of the mound where the monument was 
 in the most perfect state of preservation, so that he had only to 
 follow the walls which had already been discovered, to succeed most 
 certainly in laying bare the whole edifice. In a few days, all that 
 remains of a chamber, with fa 9 ade covered by bas-reliefs, had been 
 discovered. On his arrival at the scene of action he immediately 
 perceived that these remains could form but a very small portion of 
 some considerable building buried in the mound, and, to assure 
 himself of this, he had a well sunk a few paces further on, and 
 instantly came upon other bas-reliefs, which offered to view the first 
 perfect figures he had seen. He found, also, on his first visit, 
 two altars, and those portions remaining of the fa 9 ade which jutted 
 out above ground at the other extremity of the mound ; and finally 
 his attention was drawn to a line of mounds which formed the grand 
 enclosure. 
 
 In a letter dated the 5th of April, 1813, he hastened to announce 
 the success of his first operations to Monsieur Mohl, and to send him 
 a plan of all that had as yet been laid bare ; adding some copies of 
 difierent inscriptions, and some drawings. The letter was laid before 
 the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres, in Paris, July 7th, 
 1843, and was subsequently printed in the Journal of the Asiatic 
 Society of that city. 
 
 Notwithstanding some difficulty, occasioned by the unfavourable 
 disposition of the Pasha of Mosul, and the fears of the inhabitants 
 of the village, Botta caused the works to be continued with a degree 
 of activity continually increased by the abundant harvest which they 
 yielded ; and on the 2nd of May, 1843, he was enabled to send to 
 Monsieur Mohl a second letter, more important than the first, and 
 accompanied with fresh inscriptions, drawings, and descriptions of 
 
BOTTA. 
 
 13 
 
 doors, chambers, and portions of another wall, ornamented with bas- 
 reliefs, which the excavations had laid bare. Botta’s second letter 
 was, Hke the first, communicated to the Academy of Inscriptions, and 
 inserted in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Paris. 
 
 Up to this epoch the works at Khorsabad, as well as those in the 
 mound of Konyunjik, had been carried on at Botta’s expense, and the 
 smallness of his personal resources threatened soon to put an end to 
 them, even though his learned friend had been kind enough to come 
 to his assistance. But the attention of the learned world had, in the 
 meantime, been greatly excited by the account of .the first fruits of 
 his labours, and they had obtained for him the means of continuing 
 those researches, the subsequent success of which was certain. On 
 the demand of Monsieur Mohl, whom Messrs. Yitel and Letronne 
 kindly hastened to support with their influence, the French govern- 
 ment decided on giving a fresh proof of that generosity vdth which it 
 is always so ready to facilitate scientific researches. By a decision of 
 the 24th of May, 1843, Dnchatel, Minister of the Interior, placed at 
 Botta’s disposal a sum of 3000 francs, that he might thenceforward 
 carry on the works with more activity, and on a more extensive scale. 
 
 Botta had, however, to contend with fresh obstacles at every step. 
 The marshy environs of the village of Khorsabad have a proverbial 
 reputation for insalubrity — a reputation which was fuUy justified by 
 his own personal experience, and by that of the workmen employed : 
 for they all, in turns, felt its dangerous effects, and on one occasion 
 the antiquary himself was very nearly falling a victim. But this was 
 the least of his difficulties ; the unfavourable disposition of the local 
 authorities was one which caused even more uneasiness, and one 
 which was most difficult to surmount. It is a well-known fact that 
 the Moslems, too ignorant themselves to understand the real motives 
 of scientific researches, always attribute them to cupidity, which is 
 the only spring of their own actions. Not being able to comprehend 
 that the sums laid out are for the purpose of obtaining ancient 
 remains, they believed that the search was for treasm^es.' The 
 inscriptions, copied with so much care, are in their eyes the talismanic 
 guardians of these treasures, or point out the spots where they are 
 concealed. Others, who no doubt think themselves more cunning, 
 fly for the explanation of these researches to a still more eccentric 
 supposition ; they imagine that their country formerly belonged to 
 the Europeans, and that these latter search for their inscriptions in 
 order to discover therein the title by which their rights are proved, 
 and by the help of which they may one day or otlier lay claim to 
 the Ottoman empire ! 
 
14 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEERS. 
 
 These absurd prejudices could not fail to influence the avaricious 
 and suspicious mind of Mohammed Pasha, who was then governor of the 
 province of Mosul, and it was not long ere he began to grow uneasy at 
 the researches which he had at first authorised. Taken up with the idea 
 of the treasures hidden in the ruins which were being brought to 
 light, he at first confined himself to having the workmen watched by 
 guards, and when the slightest object formed of metal was found in 
 the course of the excavations, it was seized and carried to him. 
 These relics he submitted to every possible kind of proof to convince 
 himself that they .were not gold ; and then fancying that, despite this 
 watching, the men who were employed might still succeed in keeping 
 from him objects of value, he threatened them with the torture to 
 make them reveal the existence of these imaginary treasures. Several 
 of the workmen were, in consequence, on the point of leaving such 
 service, notwithstanding aU the assurances of protection Botta could 
 give them, so well did they know the cruel disposition of Mohammed 
 Pasha. Each day threatened some fresh combat, and Botta, who had 
 continually to recommence his negotiations, would perhaps have been 
 driven to throw the matter up in disgust, had he not been encouraged 
 by the certainty of the extreme interest of his discovery. The works, 
 however, although often interrupted by these petty annoyances, 
 gradually advanced until about the commencement of the month of 
 October, 1843, when the Pasha, in obedience perhaps to hints 
 emanating from Constantinople, formally prohibited aU further search. 
 Some pretext or other was necessary, but a Turkish governor is never 
 at fault in this respect, and the following is the one he invented : 
 Botta had built, with his express permission, a small house at 
 Khorsabad, in order that he might have a place in which to stop 
 when he visited the ruins. The Pasha pretended that this house 
 was a fortress erected to command the country; he informed his 
 government of this grave fact, and the innocent researches of the 
 zealous antiquary suddenly assumed the proportions of an interna- 
 tionj^ question ! 
 
 Botta lost no time in takmg measures to obtain the removal of this 
 prohibition. On the 15th of October, 1843, he despatched a courier 
 to the Erench ambassador at Constantinople, informing him of what 
 had occurred, and begging him to apply to the Sultan for such orders 
 as might be necessary to enable him to continue without impediment 
 the works which were, at that period, being executed at the command 
 and expense of the Erench government. "While awaiting the result 
 of the steps taken by the ambassador, he had the greatest difficulty in 
 prevailing upon Mohammed Pasha not to pull down his house at 
 
BOTTA. 
 
 15 
 
 Khorsabad, nor fill up the excavations, wbicb be affected to bebeve 
 were tbe ditches of tbe pretended fortress. At last, however, he 
 granted tbe persecuted savant a respite, in the hope that his falsehoods 
 would gain credit at Constantinople, and that the Sultan would 
 approve of his conduct. The means which he employed for this purpose 
 were very curious, and afford an illustration of the way in which the 
 Turkish government is continually being deceived as to what takes 
 place in the provinces of the empire. The inhabitants of Mosul 
 knew, from long experience, that Mohammed Pasha shrunk from no 
 means by which he might attain his ends, and fear rendered them 
 obedient to his will. He first obliged the Cadi of Mosul to go to 
 Khorsabad and draw up a false account of the extent of the pretended 
 fortress : this report was sent to Constantinople, accompanied by an 
 imaginary plan, calculated to inspire the most horrible ideas of poor 
 Potta’s hut. He then had a petition against the continuation of the 
 researches drawn up, which he compelled the inhabitants of Khorsabad 
 to sign ; this petition also was sent to Constantinople. During all 
 this period Mohammed Pasha never desisted from his protestations 
 of friendliness towards Botta ; he assured him that he was a complete 
 stranger to all the difiiculties that impeded the scientific work, and 
 gave him, in writing, the most favourable orders, while he imme- 
 diately afterwards threatened the inhabitants with the bastinado in 
 case they were unfortunate enough to obey him. One single trait 
 in this long comedy will show the mamier in which Mohammed Pasha 
 played his part. “ I told him one day,” says Botta, “ that the first 
 rains of the season had caused a portion of the house erected at 
 Khorsabad to fall down.” “Can you imagine,” said he, laughing 
 in the most natural manner, and turning to the numerous officers 
 by whom he was surrounded, “ anything like the impudence 
 of the inhabitants of Khorsabad ? they pretend that the Drench 
 consul has constructed a redoubtable fortress, and a little rain is 
 sufficient to destroy it. I can assure you, sir, that were I not afraid 
 of hurting your feelmgs, I would have them all bastinadoed till they 
 were dead ; they would richly deserve it, for having dared to accuse 
 you.” “ It was in this manner,” continues the justly indignant 
 Prank, “ that he spoke, while he himself was the author of the lie, and 
 his menaces alone were the obstacle which prevented the inbabitants 
 from exposing it.” 
 
 At the expiration of a little time, however, Mohammed Pasha per- 
 ceived that the shameful tricks he was carrying on did him more harm 
 than good. His position was no longer sure, and as he desired a 
 reconciliation, Botta was in full hope of obtaining permission to 
 
16 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEEEIIS. 
 
 continue his operations, when the Pasha’s death, which took place in 
 the interval, afforded him the wished-for opportunity. But by this time 
 he knew the intentions of the Prench government, and was expecting 
 that the draftsman he had asked for was on his way to Mosul. He 
 had found how quickly the sculptures lost their freshness when once 
 exposed to the air, and thought it better to await this gentleman’s 
 arrival, as he could then copy the bas-rehefs as they were dug out. 
 Besides this, he had no doubt but the Prench ambassador would obtain 
 such orders as would effectually prevent all future annoyance, and he, 
 therefore, did not think it advisable to take advantage of the oppor- 
 tunities afforded by the Pasha’s demise. He was desirous not to 
 commence until he had obtained the means of continuing the work 
 without fear of interruption, and with every chance of turning it to 
 account. During the interval of delay he finished the copies of the 
 inscriptions already discovered, and conveyed into the court-yard of 
 his house at Khorsabad all the bas-reliefs which he judged worthy of 
 being sent to Prance. 
 
 Up to the period of his researches being interrupted, he had brought 
 to light a large number of monuments. He had opened a door, and 
 at the feet of one of the winged bulls which ornamented it, had found 
 a bronze lion, the only one remaining of all which must formerly have 
 ornamented the doors. While the workmen were digging to lay the 
 foundations of his house, they had discovered the head of one of the 
 bulls of another door ; and this single fact would have convinced 
 him, had he not been before satisfied, that the whole space was full of 
 ancient remains. Lastly, the accounts received from the inhabitants 
 of the town allowed no room for doubting that there were also ruins 
 buried at the place where, at a later period, he found the small monu- 
 ment of basaltic stones. He possessed, therefore, the most unmis- 
 takeable signs of the existence of archseological treasures throughout 
 the whole extent of the mound, and his conviction on this head was so 
 great, that he invariably expressed it in his letters to his friend Mohl. 
 
 The Paris Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres had followed 
 the progress of Botta’s discoveries with the liveliest interest. The 
 certainty there was of arriving at still greater results than those 
 already obtained had induced them to second the demand he had 
 made for an artist who was better qualified than himself to preserve, 
 by an exact copy, those sculptures which it would be inypossible to 
 send to Prance. This demand had been granted, and by decisions of 
 the 5th and 12th October, 1843, precisely at the period that the 
 Pasha of Mosul was stopping his researches, the Ministers of the 
 Interior and of Public Instruction had adopted measures for 
 
BOTTA. 
 
 17 
 
 furnishing him with means of terminating his undertaking in a manner 
 worthy of the French government. A fresh sum of money was 
 placed at his disposal for the continuation of the works, and, on the 
 suggestion of the Academy, Monsieur E. Elandin, a young artist, who, 
 conjointly with Monsieur Coste, had formerly been employed on a 
 similar mission, was selected to proceed to Khorsabad to copy the 
 sculptures already found, and wdiich might yet be discovered. At 
 the same time, the Ministers decided that all the sculptures which 
 were in a state to admit of their removal should be conveyed to 
 France, and that a publication, dedicated especially to the purpose, 
 should make the world acquainted with Botta’s discoveries. 
 
 But we must return to Khorsabad. Botta still had to obtain the 
 consent of the Porte : and those who are ignorant of the resources 
 which Ottoman diplomacy derives from falsehood, would hardly 
 imagine all the difficulties that the French Embassy had to overcome 
 in order to prevail upon the Divan no longer to feign a pretence of a 
 belief in those phantom fortifications, said to have been erected by 
 the Consul of France at Mosul. Some more real obstacles, however, 
 founded upon certain peculiarities of the Mahometan law, were added 
 to this ridiculous pretext. The \nllage of Khorsabad was built over 
 the monument it was desirable to lay bare. To do this, it was neces- 
 sary that the inhabitants should remove to some other spot, and pull 
 down their old houses. But the law permits no encroachment upon 
 lands suitable for cultivation, and, consequently, the space destined 
 for the new village could not be taken from the grounds of this 
 description around the mound. 
 
 But the perseverance of the French Ambassador, Baron de Bour- 
 queny, finally triumphed over the reluctance of the Porte. By virtue 
 of a special agreement, the inhabitants of Khorsabad were authorised 
 
 Fig. 6. — VILLAGE OF KHORSABAD. 
 
 to sell their houses and to locate themselves temporarily at the foot 
 of the mound. Botta’s house, which had been the cause of so many 
 disputes, he was allowed to retain until the conclusion of the works, 
 
 c 
 
18 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 The researches were permitted on condition that the ground should 
 he restored to the state in which Botta found it, in order that 
 the village might he rebuilt on its former site, and a commissioner 
 was sent to Khorsahad from the Porte in order to avoid any fresh 
 difficulties. This arrangement, however, rendered almost intermin- 
 ahle hy the unwillingness of the Divan, had taken up several months, 
 and it was not before the 4th of May, 1844, that Monsieur Plandin 
 could reach Mosul, bringing with him the firmans which had been 
 asked for seven or eight months previously. 
 
 JN’othing now prevented the resumption of the excavations. Botta 
 had at his disposal funds sufficient for clearing the whole building ; the 
 artist Plandin had arrived to copy the bas-reliefs, besides afibrding 
 other active and cordial co-operation. The necessary measures for 
 immediately commencing the works were taken, and they were pushed 
 on briskly. In the first place, it was necessary to clear the ground of 
 the houses upon it ; this was an easy task, and there was little diffi- 
 culty in satisfying the humble proprietors, who themselves desired 
 the removal of the village, and were but too happy to effect it at the 
 expense of the stranger antiquary. But Botta had likewise to indem- 
 nify the proprietors, or rather the tenants of the ground on which the 
 new village was to be built, and their expectations were so exorbitant 
 that they would have swallowed up a great part of the sum placed at 
 his disposal, if the new Pasha, by accidentally reminding him of one of 
 the peculiarities of the Mahometan law, had not himself supplied the 
 means of obliging them to moderate their demands. A short digres- 
 sion on this curious subject will afford an interesting and exact idea 
 of the difficulties with which the purchaser of the village of Kliorsabad 
 had to contend before he could commence his operations. 
 
 It had been said that the village and the surrounding groimds 
 were the property of a mosque, and consequently could not be sold 
 without iufringing the law, wiiich does not allow the sale of any 
 property which has become wakf: this was not the case. The 
 houses belonged to the peasants who lived in them, but the ground 
 on which the village was built, as well as the ground in the neigh- 
 bourhood, was owned by several indmduals, each of whom had a 
 greater or less share of the profits. These persons, however, were 
 not the real proprietors, for m Mahometan coimtries there is no real 
 property, but a simple right of possession paid for every year by a 
 ground-rent. All the soil intended for cultivation, with the exception 
 of the gardens and orchards, belongs to an abstract being, the Imaum, 
 who represents the Mahometan community, and is himself repre- 
 sented by the sovereign. The latter being, as it were, nothing more 
 
BOTTA. 
 
 19 
 
 than a guardian, disposes of the ground in favour of the interests of 
 the communitj which he represents, hut cannot alienate it by a 
 complete sale. He can never concede more than a temporary grant 
 in return for an annual rent or service. Sometimes, it is true, these 
 grants were transmitted by means of inheritance or sales ; but this 
 was an abuse, a real infringement of the law. In this manner the 
 Viceroy of Egpyt, Mohammed Ali, was able to recover, without 
 difficulty, from the usurpers of the public domain, the possession 
 which long abuse had perpetuated in their families ; and during 
 Eotta’s residence at Mosul this example was followed, without any 
 more ado, by the Turkish government. In 1845 the Porte revoked 
 all the old grants of land in this province, and commanded that for 
 the future they should be annual, and sold by public auction. 
 
 Such was the state of matters at Khorsabad. The seven indi- 
 viduals who owned the ground between them — the principal of whom 
 was Tahia Pasha, a former governor of Mosul — had no right of real 
 property, but merely a right of possession perpetuated by abuse in 
 their families ; this furnished a weapon against their cupidity. When 
 Botta was treating before the Pasha for the purchase of the house, 
 the accredited agent of these persons had the imprudence to claim an 
 indemnity for the land they stood on. The Pasha replied that they 
 had no right to any, because the Sultan alone was lord of the soil, 
 and disposed of it as he chose. This was a hint for the plundered 
 antiquary. Belying upon this argument, he easily prevailed upon 
 the proprietors to accept with gratitude a reasonable indemnity 
 which he could, had he chosen, have had the right to refuse. They 
 themselves, however, felt so clearly how little their demand was 
 really founded on right, that they refused to give him a receipt, and 
 begged him to be silent on the matter, for fear their conduct should 
 reach the Pasha’s ears. 
 
 To return to Botta’ s narration. The misfortunes of others now 
 placed at his disposal the number of workmen necessary for the 
 speedy clearance of the rest of the monuments. A few months 
 previously the fanaticism of the Kurds had finished by triumphing 
 over the resistance which the courage of the Kestorians had for ages 
 made against them. Intrenched in the lofty mountains where the 
 Zab takes its rise, these Christians, who were the remains of one of 
 the most ancient sects that separated from the Catholic church, had 
 been, up to that time, enabled to escape from the Mahometan yoke ; 
 but in 1843 their own internal divisions weakened them so much as 
 to incapacitate them from contending longer against the continually 
 increasing power of their enemies. After a courageous but useless 
 
20 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 resistance, some Nestorian tribes were destroyed by tbe Kurds : and 
 in order to escape a general massacre, a great number of these 
 Christians, following the example of their patriarch, Mar-Shimoun, 
 took refuge either at Mosul, or in some of the villages of the neigh- 
 bourhood, where they could at least be certain of safety in exchange 
 for their independence. Previous to this event, Botta had been 
 charged with distributing among these unhappy Christians the direct 
 assistance of the Prench government, — not the first relief afibrded by 
 that power to the victims of fanaticism in the East. The con- 
 tinuation of the researches at Khorsabad placed at their author’s 
 disposal new means of alleviating the misery of these Christian 
 refugees ; whilst he turned their work to account, and found among 
 them a whole population of workmen at once robust and docile. 
 Their assistance was the more useful, as it was almost impossible to 
 procure the requisite number of workmen among the inhabitants of 
 the environs. Being employed in their habitual occupations, they 
 could not come and work at the diggings ; or if they had consented 
 to do so, they would have made their employer pay too dearly for 
 their services. Besides their demand for high wages, the natives had 
 certain singular superstitions which inspired them with repugnance 
 for this kind of work, and this influence was trebly powerful when it 
 was proposed to interfere with the village of Khorsabad itself. They 
 said that they were afraid it would bring misfortune upon themselves 
 and their families. As regards the Kestorians, although they suffer 
 a great deal from the climate of the plain, so different from that of 
 the high mountains they had inhabited until then, they worked with 
 great spirit, and many of them were enabled to return to their own 
 country, carrying with them savings which made them much richer 
 than they had ever been before. 
 
 AU obstacles having been removed about the middle of the month 
 of May, 1844, Botta once more proceeded with his researches, so 
 long interrupted by the circumstances just related ; nor did he pause 
 in his labours before the end of the month of October in the same 
 year. As Monsieur Elandin was first obliged to copy the bas-reliefs 
 discovered before his arrival, the works progressed, in the beginning, 
 but slowly; but the scientific labourers were able gradually to 
 increase their scale of operations, until at last they had almost three 
 hundred workmen in full employment. During these six months each 
 had but one thought, which was to unite every effort to turn Botta’s 
 discovery to the best possible account. Accordingly, they worked 
 together with the most cordial understanding. Monsieur Elandin 
 used to copy, with the greatest care, the bas-reliefs as fast as they 
 
BOTTA. 
 
 21 
 
 were uncovered: to measure the building and draw up a definite 
 plan of it ; while Botta, on his side, was occupied not less actively, 
 in transcribing the numerous inscriptions which covered a part of the 
 walls. It is true that both had to suffer much, but they were amply 
 recompensed for it by the results and the nature of the work ; for 
 the reader will easily believe that it was not without a feeling of 
 delight that they were able, from hour to hour, to go and observe 
 what the pickaxe of the workmen had uncovered, and to endeavour 
 to guess the direction of the walls which were still buried, to realise 
 the scenes they would offer to view, and even to divine the signi- 
 fication of the bas-reliefs as they were successively brought to light. 
 
 A detailed account of the difficulties as weU as pleasures of these 
 searchers into the secrets of a buried city would interest the reader 
 but little, even had we space for it; we abstain, therefore, from 
 giving a minute description of the progress made, day by day, in the 
 works, of which we wish to show the ultimate result. Botta, how- 
 ever, finds space to acknowledge the zeal with which Blandin joined 
 him in completing the exhumation of the monument he had dis- 
 covered. Being less accustomed than the consul himself to the 
 miseries of eastern life, Elandin felt more keenly the inconveniences 
 of a prolonged stay in a miserable village, beneath a burning sky : 
 and his health suffered more than once in consequence. But his 
 courage never failed him, not even at a most serious conjuncture, 
 when the consulate of Mosul, and the existence of the whole Christian 
 population, were for a moment endangered. ^ His share in the 
 undertaking was not limited to the execution of the artistic portions 
 with which he was more especially charged. Botta’ s official duties 
 not allowing him to remain constantly at Khorsabad, he relied upon 
 Elandin to superintend and employ the work-people ; and the artist, 
 thus left in charge discovered certain objects which would otherwise, 
 perhaps, have escaped notice, — such, for instance, as the little statues 
 in terra-cotta, hidden under the pavement, and the sepulchral urns. 
 Thus these two Erenchmen worked in concert with each other, and, 
 if there is any merit in the operations which led to the complete 
 
 ' In the month of July, 1844, the Dominican Missionaries settled at Mdsul, having had a 
 house repaired in order to add it to their original monastery, were, as Botta had formerly 
 been himself, accused of wishing to erect a fortress. The weakness of the new Pasha, who 
 had just succeeded Mohammed Pasha, having encouraged the populace, this ridiculous accusa- 
 tion occasioned a serious riot, during which the monastery was destroyed, the church pillaged, 
 and one of the missionaries assassinated. This circumstance, as he could easily foresee, 
 produced similar feelings in the inhabitants of Khorsabad ; and it was only the firmness of 
 Monsieur Flandin which could keep them in check, until such time as the assistance, which 
 he had hastened to send him, arrived. 
 
22 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 exhumation of the monument of Khorsahad, Monsieur Elandin can 
 with justice lay claim to a part of it. 
 
 At the period when Botta was obliged by Mohammed Pasha to 
 suspend the works, he had only to follow into the interior of the 
 mound the walls already laid bare. The work then completed 
 naturally pointed out the direction their further labours should be 
 made to take, and they pursued this indication until all traces of 
 construction disappeared. The monument, however, had formerly 
 extended further, and for some time they still followed the brick 
 wnlls, but the coverings of sculptured slabs no longer existed ; and 
 various signs clearly proved that, even in the most ancient times, a 
 part of the monument had been intentionally destroyed, and the 
 solid materials carried off, to be employed somewhere else for other 
 purposes. In anticipation of still meeting with the lost trace, 
 trenches were opened at various points of the mound ; but it was in 
 vain, and they were at last obliged to renounce the hope of seeing a 
 new store of riches added to those they had already found. At the 
 end of the month of October, 18M, Botta considered that the exhu- 
 mation of all that remained of the palace of Khorsabad was complete, 
 and therefore put a stop to the works. 
 
 By this time Monsieur Plandin had finished his drawings, or at least 
 those which it was indispensably necessary to finish on the spot, and 
 he was enabled to quit Mosul on the 9th of November, and to proceed 
 to Paris to submit his work to the Academy there, and to the admi- 
 ration of the public at large. Arrived there, a commission was 
 named by the Academy to draw up a report upon Monsieur Plandin’ s 
 drawings. Through the medium of its reporter. Monsieur Baoul 
 Pochette, the commission rendered a tribute of deserved praise to 
 the labours of the artist, and suggested the propriety of issuing, in a 
 special publication, Plandin’ s drawings, as well as the explanatory 
 matter Botta might bring with him, for the study of scholars and 
 artists. In a meeting of the 16th of May, 1845, the Academy adopted 
 the conclusions of the commission, ordered the report to be printed, 
 and thus gave both Botta and his artistic coadjutor the first reward 
 of their labours by publishing the results of them in a series of 
 magnificent folio volumes, with the public approval, and at the 
 public expense. 
 
 Plandin, as we have seen, had been enabled, in the beginning of 
 the month of November, 1844, to leave Khorsabad and return to 
 Prance, in order to enjoy that repose of which he stood so much in 
 need, after six months of suffering and fatigue. But Botta’s own 
 task was not so soon ended. In the first place he had to complete 
 
BOTTA. 
 
 23 
 
 his copies of the inscriptions — a work that had been commenced a 
 year before Monsieur Mandin’s arrival at Mosul ; was continued 
 during the whole period of his stay, and which occupied several 
 months after his departure. Besides this, in conformity with the 
 orders of the government, Botta and Blandin had chosen together 
 the most remarkable and best-preserved pieces of sculpture to send to 
 Erance ; and after Elandin’s departure Botta was left alone to prepare 
 and pack these precious relics, to get them conveyed to Mosul, and 
 thence to send them to Baghdad. All the difficulties which had stood 
 in the way of this had been overcome. The Porte had at first imposed 
 certain restrictions on the removal of the sculptures, but had ended 
 by yielding to the persevering efibrts of the Erench Ambassador, 
 Baron de Bourqueny, who had shown the most unceasing and lively 
 interest in the exhumation of Nineveh. He obtained the necessary 
 orders, and Botta was at liberty to remove aU objects he deemed most 
 worthy to Erance. 
 
 Now a new species of difficulties arose. Neither the needful machi- 
 nery nor workmen accustomed to the kind of operations were to be 
 had. The object was to convey, for a distance of four leagues, a 
 number of blocks, some of which weighed as much as two or three 
 tons. Botta had to invent everything, to teach everything — and, 
 above all, not to despair of success after many fruitless attempts. 
 Much against his will, he was obliged to saw up into a number of 
 pieces several blocks, the weight and size of which would have ren- 
 dered the carriage, if not impossible, at least too dear. As regards 
 the packing, it was so impossible to procure cases sufficiently strong, 
 that he was obliged to adopt the most simple plan, and contented 
 himself mth covering the sculptured surfaces of the bas-reliefs with 
 beams, which were fastened by screws to corresponding pieces of 
 wood placed upon the opposite side of the stone. These means of 
 protection fortunately proved to be sufficient. 
 
 The most difficult part of the whole afiair was the conveyance of the 
 blocks. Great trouble had to be taken to get a car built of sufficient 
 strength, and Botta was even under the necessity of erecting a 
 forge in order to construct axle-trees strong enough to support so 
 heavy a load. The reader may fancy the kind of workmen available 
 for the task by one fact — these axle-trees took six weeks to make ! 
 
 Patient perseverance secured at last the necessary car, but then an 
 almost equal amount of trouble had to be taken for finding the means 
 of dragging it. The Pasha of Mosul had at first lent some bufialoes 
 used to work of this description, but, from some inexplicable whim 
 or other, he took them back again. Botta then endeavoured, but in 
 
24 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEEEES. 
 
 vain, to employ oxen, and at last was forced to have recourse to the 
 thews and sinews of the JN’estorians themselves. In addition to all 
 this, the road from Khorsahad to Mosul being soaked through with 
 continual rain, had no firmness, so that the wheels of the car, although 
 they were made very broad, sank into the mud up to their axles. In 
 several places it was necessary to pave the road, or to cover it over 
 with planks. Two hundred men were scarcely sufficient to draw 
 along some of the blocks. “ The difficulties were indeed so great, 
 that more than once,” says Botta, “I feared I should not be able to 
 transport, that year, the most interesting blocks, because they hap- 
 pened to be also the heaviest. I had no time to lose : although a 
 great amount of rain obstructed my operations at Mosul, by a most 
 unfortunate contrast very little snow had fallen in the mountains 
 during the winter of 1844-45, so that not only was the Tigris far 
 from attaining its usual height, but it began to decrease much before 
 the accustomed time. It was necessary, however, to avail myself of 
 its rise, in order to send to Baghdad the objects which I had deter- 
 mined to transport to Trance, for the carriage of the sculptures 
 required rafts of unusual dimensions, and a delay of a few days might 
 obhge me to wait until the next year. By dint of great exertions, 
 I succeeded in surmounting the obstacles and terminating these 
 wearisome operations before the Tigris had finished falling. In the 
 month of June, 1845, eight months after my researches were ended, 
 all the sculptimes had been removed to the side of the river, and, by 
 means of an inclined plane formed in the bank, embarked on the 
 rafts. This last part of my task was, unfortunately, attended by 
 a sad accident. The men were employed in embarking the last block, 
 and had already placed it upon the inclined plane : in order to move it, 
 one of the Nestorians, in spite of my reiterated warnings, persisted in 
 pulling it from the front; it was impossible to stop the course of the pon- 
 derous mass already in motion, and the miserable workman was crushed 
 between it and the blocks previously on the raft. This was the only 
 accident I had to regret during the whole duration of the works.” 
 The Tigris is navigated by means of rafts constructed of pieces of 
 wood, which are supported by infiated skins ; the largest can carry 
 great weights. These rafts (which are called by the natives holeJc) 
 are well adapted for descending the stream, which in summer is very 
 shallow ; but they are of no use for going up. When the rafts have 
 arrived at Baghdad, they are broken up, the wood sold, and often at 
 a profit, and the skins brought back to Mosul, to serve again for the 
 same purpose. Such were the means that Botta successfully employed 
 for transporting the sculptures down the river towards the sea — the 
 
BOTTA. 
 
 25 
 
 rafts of the required solidity being secured by the use of timber of 
 a large size cut in the mountains, and a number of skins proportioned 
 to the dimensions of the raft. 
 
 ISTot content with giving to his countryman, Mandin, all the credit 
 due for the assistance he rendered on the works of Khorsahad, w'e 
 find in Botta’s hook a paragraph of grateful praise awarded to a more 
 humble, yet scarcely less valuable assistant whom he found on the 
 scene of operations. “As my principal object,” says the savan, 
 “ in WTiting my introductory chapter, was to do justice to those who 
 assisted me in my labours, the reader wiU, I hope, pardon me for 
 naming the chief of the workmen, Naaman ehn Naouch (Naaman 
 the son of ^^’aouch), who, from the commencement of my researches 
 in the mound of Kouyunjik up to the termination of the works, 
 never failed to give me convincing proofs of two qualities wdiich are 
 very rare in his country — namely, intelligence and probity. It was 
 he w^hom I charged to go and explore Khorsahad, and it was he who 
 discovered its hidden treasures. Since that time his activity and 
 his spirit of invention were of the greatest assistance to me when in 
 a difficult position ; and it is certainly to him that I owe the fact of 
 my having been able to surmount the difficulties I met with durmg 
 the removal of the sculptures.” 
 
 Some time elapsed before all the sculptures obtained from the 
 mound at Khorsahad had been successfully landed at Baghdad, and 
 confided to the care and intelligence of the Brencli Consul- Gfeneral 
 there who was charged to forward them to their ultimate destination. 
 For several months he had them, so to speak, under his protection; 
 for the wants of the service did not allow a ship of war being sent 
 earlier, and the few merchantmen visitmg the Persian Gnlf could not 
 have taken charge of such a cargo. It was only in the month of 
 March, 1846, that the wished-for vessel, the Cormorant., could reach 
 Bassora. The consul then experienced as much difficulty in shipping 
 these ponderous masses on board the boats of that part of the 
 country, as had before been felt in sending them as far as Baghdad ; 
 hut he eventually succeeded, and had them carried down the Tigris 
 to the place where the vessel awnited them. In the beginning of 
 dime. Lieutenant Cabaret shipped them without accident, and setting 
 sail from Bassora, arrived in December, 1846, after a favourable 
 passage, at Havre ; wdiere at the close of the year was landed the 
 first collection of Assyrian antiquities that had ever been brought to 
 Europe. They now form one of the greatest attractions in the noble 
 museum in the Louvre. 
 
Fig. 7.— THE MOUND AT NIMEOUD. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 LAYARD. 
 
 The last and most important of the labourers in the field of 
 Assyrian antiquities, is our own countryman, Austen Henry Layard ; 
 and to him, therefore, the following chapter is dedicated. 
 
 Layard commenced his career, as a traveller, in the summer of 1839, 
 when he visited Russia and other northern countries. 'Without any 
 very definite plans, he journeyed in succession through various states 
 in Germany, paying special attention to those on the Danube, master- 
 ing not only the German language itself, but several of the dialects 
 of Transylvania, in Montenegro. Erom Montenegro, he travelled 
 through Albania and Roumelia, and not without perilous and trouble- 
 some adventures made his way to Constantinople, which he reached 
 about the latter part of the year. 
 
 Having by this time seen all that was most remarkable in Europe, 
 a new field seemed opening upon him, full of interest, in Asia. His 
 experience as a traveller had rendered him hardy, and equal to the 
 emergencies of European journeymgs ; but new languages and new 
 habits — a more perfect reliance upon himself — were requisite before 
 he could plunge into the half-wild life led in Asia Minor and other 
 countries of the East. But the true spirit of the traveller and inves- 
 tigator was in him ; and, undaunted by difiiculties, he went to work 
 to learn the languages of Turkey and Arabia. He studied the 
 manners — adopted the costume — and was before long able to lead the 
 life of an Arab of the Desert. 
 
LAYAED. 
 
 27 
 
 Some records of these wanderings found place in the Journals of 
 the London Greographical Society, through either incidental mention, 
 or direct communication. In one nmnher of the Society’s trans- 
 actions, we find a paper by Mr. William Francis Ainsworth, in which 
 he gives notes of an excursion in the neighhoimhood of the Tigris 
 and JN'ineveh — Layard hemg one of the party. The travellers started 
 from Mosul, April 18th, 1840, and made their way down the stream 
 to Kalah Shergat, where the ruins of an ancient Persian city are still 
 visible. In this excursion Layard passed the spot where his futirre 
 excavations were to he made, and where he was to unveil Ximroud, 
 and so raise a lasting monument to his own fame. Mr. Ainsworth 
 thus speaks of the circumstances under which Layard joined the 
 party : — 
 
 “ The accidental arrival of two English travellers, Messrs. Mitford 
 and Layard, at Mosul, enabled us to make up a strong party to visit 
 the sites of the ruined cities of Kalah Shergat and A1 Hadbr. 
 
 “ The party consisted of the above-mentioned gentlemen, Mr. Eassam, 
 and myself ; and we were accompanied by an Arab of Tunis, of whose 
 courage we had had proof in crossing Korthern Alesopotamia, when 
 he was in the service of Mohammed ’Ali; hut being worsted in 
 an engagement between the Shammar Arabs (the men ‘without 
 bondage’) and the irregular troops of Ibrahim Pasha, which had 
 recently taken place, he had abandoned his horse to save his life, and 
 sought refuge at Mosul. We had also with us a khawass from 
 Mohammed Pasha of Mosul.” 
 
 As, however, we intend availing ourselves of Mr. Ainsworth’s 
 interestuig paper in a subsequent chapter, we shall now limit our- 
 selves to scenes in which Layard took a more prominent part. From 
 one of his communications, dated Karak, December 31st, 1840, we 
 gather that, after visiting Ispahan, he crossed the highest part of the 
 great chain of Alimgasht, on his way to Kala Tul ; examined the 
 ancient moimd and Sassanian ruin in the plain of ]Mel Amir ; the 
 scidptures and cuneiform inscriptions of the Shikajti Salman ; besides 
 observing in the same plain, and on the road to Susan, numerous other 
 sculptures and mscriptions. After encountering many difficulties and 
 dangers in his journey, he at length reached Susan, beheved by 
 Colonel Eawhnson to mark the site of the Susa of the ancient 
 geographers. Layard expresses himself satisfied that a large city 
 did once exist on the spot, although at the present day there are 
 neither moimds of any size, nor columns, nor hewn stones, nor bricks 
 to mark the site. The ruins that are found are entirely confined to 
 the left bank of the Karim, but on either side there are the remains 
 
28 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEEEES. 
 
 of ancient roads, and the river was formerly spanned by a bridge, four 
 buttresses of which still attest the stupendous nature of the building. 
 He adds that the so-called tomb of Daniel is a comparatively modern 
 building of rough stones, containing two apartments. It is, however, 
 regarded with great veneration, and is always known by the name of 
 Grebr Daniel Akbar, or the greater Daniel, in contradistinction to the 
 one at Shus. During two visits to Susan he searched and inquired 
 in vain after inscriptions ; and was, therefore, inclined to doubt the 
 existence of the sculptures which he was informed were to be found 
 in a cave at a place called Pairah (the first of the road). 
 
 These excursions, sketches of sculptures, and copies of various 
 inscriptions, seem only to have whetted Layard’s appetite for further 
 adventures and discoveries. In 1842 and 1843 we find him busy at 
 Khiizistan, and of his adventures there he sent a lengthy description 
 through Lord Aberdeen to the Gleographical Society. 
 
 This paper gives glimpses of the history of an interesting portion 
 of our traveller’s life, while to the geographer it has especial value 
 from the exactness of its details relative to a country previously but 
 vaguely understood. Among the more dry and scientific details, we 
 find little illustrations of the character of the tribes he sojourned with. 
 He lived with those he met just as they lived, and seems to have 
 adapted himself to surrounding circumstances with great readiness. 
 With all his experience, and with all his hardihood, he had, however, 
 difficulties to overcome that would have conquered many less hardy, 
 and risks to run that might have intimidated the most brave. His 
 companions were often the most lawless of the desert tribes ; men 
 owning no absolute authority, and restrained by no sufficient law 
 either of society or honour. He considered this country as very 
 difficult of access, particularly to a European ; and although he twice 
 succeeded in traversing it, partly in disguise, he was plundered by 
 those who were sent to protect him, and narrowly escaped on several 
 occasions with his life. This was the more remarkable, as the Sheikh 
 had frequently courted the friendship of the English engaged in navi- 
 gating the Tigris, and it was under his protection that he entered his 
 territories. But there were some spots safer and more pleasant than 
 others. It would seem that one Mohammed Taki Khan then exercised 
 a wide authority in the province of Khuzistan. Sober and abstemious, 
 and never indulging in many vices prevalent in Persia — he was affable, 
 and mixed with his people as though on an equality with, rather than 
 above them. Layard says, that during a year’s residence with him 
 he never saw an individual receive chastisement, nor did a case of 
 robbery or violence come under his notice ; yet, nevertheless, Layard 
 
LAYAED. 
 
 29 
 
 appears to have been a victim to partial violence at the hands of 
 another tribe, for he says : “ I was attacked and robbed, but by a tribe 
 of Dinariines, which even Mohammed Taki Khan could never control. 
 He, however, sent to the chief, and insisted that every missing article 
 should he immediately returned ; and I received hack the whole of 
 my property. It was my habit to traverse these wild mountains 
 perfectly alone, and never was I attacked or insulted, except on the 
 occasion mentioned, when the country was in a state of war.” 
 
 In the province of Khuzistan, Layard visited the most important 
 of the rivers — the Karun, which he tells us he examined in the 
 “Assyria,” accompanied by Lieut. Selby, whose survey of this river, 
 the Bahmah-Shir, the Kerkhah, and the Hai, are, he says, “ some of 
 the most interesting and useful results of the Euphrates expedition.” 
 
 The most painful story in the description of this portion of his 
 experience relates to an act of curious barbarity committed by the 
 eunuch Mo’tammid upon the followers of Mali Khan, the legitimate 
 chief of the Mamesseni : — “ He built a lofty tower of lining men ; 
 they were placed horizontally one above another, and closely united 
 together with mortar and cement, their heads being left exposed. 
 Some of these unfortunate beings lived several days, and I have been 
 informed that a negro did not die till the tenth day. Those who 
 could eat were supplied with bread and water by the inhabitants oi 
 Shnaz, at the gate of which this tower was built. It still exists, an 
 evidence of the utter callousness to cruelty of a Persian mvested with 
 power.” 
 
 In the summer of 1842, we find Layard again at Mosul, in the 
 neighbourhood of the spot which now formed the one chief object of 
 his thoughts. It was during this Hsit that he met with Botta, who 
 was then engaged in excavating the great moimd of Kouyimjik, on 
 which was supposed to have been built the palace of Kineveh. 
 The success attending the subsequent researches at Khorsabad still 
 further strengthened Layard’ s desire to follow out his scheme of 
 investigations on the Tigiis, and he departed for Constantinople, 
 intent upon obtaining means for realising his views. Botta’ s excava- 
 tions were encouraged by his countrymen, and upon the first appear- 
 ance of success, the French government supported him with money, 
 artists, and diplomatic influence ; in England, however, science meets 
 but little sympathy from those in power, and the government leaves 
 to individuals what ought to be the duty of the nation. Layard 
 sought help in vain, until Sir Stratford Canning nobly volunteered 
 to bear for a while, out of his private purse, the cost of the excava- 
 tions. To Sir Stratford Canning we already owed the marbles from 
 
30 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEKERS. 
 
 Halicarnassus, and to his generous offer, as Layard observes, “ are we 
 mainly indebted for the collection of Assyrian antiquities with which 
 the British Museum will be enriched ; as, without his liberality and 
 public spirit, the treasures of JSTimroud would have been reserved for 
 the enterprise of those who have appreciated the value and importance 
 of the discoveries at Khorsabad.” Thus prepared, by private munifi- 
 cence with means for commencing his long- desired labours, Layard 
 quitted Constantinople for Assyria, in the autumn of 1845. We can, 
 however, only slightly sketch the progress of his labours, and must refer 
 to his own volumes for his personal narrative and experiences ; which 
 none can peruse without admiring the bold and enterprising spirit he 
 has displayed, and the earnest consciousness he felt of the importance 
 of his work : his book is, indeed, equally interesting to the sober and 
 patient antiquary, as glowing to the eager reader who seeks but for 
 fresh excitement. 
 
 When Layard arrived at Mosul, with the intention of commencing 
 his excavations, he found the province under the rule of Mohammed 
 Pasha, a man notorious for his rapacity and atrocious cruelties. 
 The Pasha was the last man likely to comprehend the traveller’s object; 
 and was, therefore, certain to offer every open and vexatious opposition 
 in his power to whatever works might be commenced. To avoid this, 
 Layard, with hunting weapons ostentatiously displayed, but with a few 
 mason’s tools secreted in his valise, quietly floated down the Tigris on 
 a small raft, with no other companions than Mr. Boss, a British mer- 
 chant, a khawass, and a servant. He established himself for a time at 
 Haifa ; but subsequently, for greater security, removed to Selamiyah, a 
 village near the Tigris, well known to the early Arab geographers. 
 Whilst at Haifa, the excavations at Himroud were commenced ; and 
 some fragments of inscriptions, slabs which had evidently been exposed 
 to intense heat, a great accumulation of charcoal, and many fragments 
 of ivory, gilt pottery, bricks, &c., were discovered. Ere long, how- 
 ever, as in the case of Botta, reports that Layard was extracting gold 
 from the ruins, reached the town, and excited the cupidity and jealousy 
 of the principal inhabitants so far, that he began to apprehend a 
 formidable opposition to his labours. The excavations at Himroud 
 had been entered upon not only without the permission, but without 
 the knowledge, of the local authorities ; and as the supplies of money 
 which were to sustain the undertaking were only guaranteed for a 
 limited period, their continuance was contingent on a fair prospect of 
 success. As yet no sculptures had been discovered; nevertheless, 
 Layard did not slacken the ardour of his application. As a first 
 step he proceeded to Mosul to acquaint the Pasha with the doings at 
 
LAYAED. 
 
 81 
 
 Nimroud, but tbe wily ruler, with true oriental duplicity, affected 
 ignorance of the works, though he had had a spy w'atching them from 
 day to day ; he forbore, however, either to sanction or object to the 
 continuance of the excavations, and Layard consequently felt con- 
 vinced that he would seek an opportunity for obstructing his 
 proceedings. 
 
 After a short sojourn in Mosul, Layard returned to Nimroud, 
 having hired a number of Nestorian Christians to proceed thither, to 
 join his gang of workers. He began to examine the south-west ruins, 
 with the view to discover their plan, but the soil offered such resistance 
 to the tools of the wmrkmen, that the labour was immense. The 
 Arabs were not sufficiently robust to be trusted with the pickaxe, and 
 no spade could be thrust into the heterogeneous rubbish, which the 
 Arabs were obliged, therefore, to collect as they could into baskets 
 for removal ; and by such a wearisome process, were the remains of 
 Assyrian art at length brought into the light of day. 
 
 Layard was workmgin the ram with his men on the 28th ISTovember, 
 when the first of the long wished for bas-reliefs was suddenly disclosed 
 to view. At this critical and exciting stage of the proceedings, orders 
 were privately issued from Mosul to stop the works. Layard 
 hastened to remonstrate with the governor, who pretended to be 
 surprised, and disclaimed the orders ; but, on returning to the village, 
 he found that even more positive commands had been issued, on the 
 ground, as was subsequently declared, that the mound which he was 
 digging had been a Mussulman burying place. Hemonstrance was 
 useless ; there was no resource but to acquiesce and rest satisfied 
 with the permission to draw the sculptures and copy the inscriptions, 
 under the inspection of an officer, who Layard specially requested 
 might accompany him to Nimroud. The presence of this officer 
 reheved Layard from the interference of the local authorities, as he 
 was easily induced to countenance the employment of a few workmen, 
 ostensibly to guard the sculptures, but actually for the purpose of 
 opening a few trenches and ascertaining the existence of further 
 remains. Lortunately, at this juncture the Pasha Mohammed was 
 supplanted by Ismael Pasha, who was favourably reported, and whose 
 conciliatory acts towards the people of Mosul produced a change as 
 sudden as great. Layard was received by the Pasha with affability, 
 and consequently, in January, 1846, was enabled to take up his 
 quarters at the village of ISTimroud, and to resume his excavations. 
 A ravine, apparently formed by the winter rains, wdiich ran far into 
 the mound, attracted Layard’ s attention, and he formed tbe fortunate 
 resolution of opening a trench in its centre. In two days this 
 
32 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 measure was rewarded b j tbe discovery of several additional bas-reliefs, 
 and of a gigantic human head, much to the terror of the Arabs, who 
 hurried to communicate the intelligence that Nimroud himself had 
 been found. The excitement produced by this discovery set the 
 whole of Mosul into commotion ; and the result was a message from 
 the governor to the effect that “ the remains should be treated with 
 respect, and be by no means farther disturbed!” The operations at 
 Nimroud having been thus, for the third time, suspended, Layard 
 had no alternative but to await the arrival of a vizirial order from 
 Constantinople : but in the meantime he visited the Tunnel of JS’egoub, 
 or the hole, on the outskirts of Nimroud, the inscriptions in which 
 led him to infer that it was contemporary with the Kouyounjik palace ; 
 and occupied himself in receiving visits from, and in visiting various 
 Arab tribes, and in studying their manners and customs, with a view 
 to securing the friendship of Sheikhs, and thus checking the thievish 
 propensities of their followers. During his excursion, Ismael Pasha 
 had been superseded in the Government of Mosul by Tahyar Pasha, 
 who enjoyed a reputation for liberality, kindness, and intelligence. 
 Under his auspices the excavations were resumed ; and though the 
 progress was slow, fresh sculptures and rilievi, of increasing value 
 and interest, were disclosed. At length, through the instrumentality 
 of Sir Stratford Canning, Layard received the order from the Turkish 
 government, authorising him to continue his operations, and to remove 
 any objects he might discover. The opposition of subordinates being 
 thus overcome, Layard determined to open trenches in the southern 
 face of the great mound of Kouyounjik, and a rich collection of 
 sculptures, in an excellent state of preservation, soon rewarded his 
 exertions. Kings, priests, griffins, eunuchs, and the symbolic tree, 
 were among the figures, which excited feelings of amazement in the 
 Arabs, and of rapturous delight in their employer. 
 
 Among the remarkable discoveries made by Layard at Kimroud, 
 was a vaulted chamber, built in the centre of a wall, nearly 50 feet in 
 thickness, and about 15 feet beneath the surface of the mound. The 
 dimensions of this vault were 10 feet in height by 10 feet in width, 
 and the arch over it w’-as formed of kiln-burnt bricks ; but there was 
 no apparent entrance, nor could Layard divine to what purpose it had 
 been applied. The discovery, however, of so large an arch, timned in 
 baked bricks, and built into the solid mass of the mound, is a con- 
 vincing proof that the ancient Assyrians, like the ancient Egyptians, 
 were acquainted with the principle of the arch, although they both 
 evidently refrained from using it in their larger structures, or where 
 the abutments were not secure, from a knowledge, as we are assured 
 
LA YARD. 
 
 33 
 
 by this discreet use of it, of the inherent self- destroying principle of 
 the arch. We could have wished that the discoverer had informed 
 us whether the bricks were of the usual form, whether they were 
 wedge-shaped, or whether, as in some Egyptian brick arches, pieces of 
 tile were inserted to keep the bricks apart at the top. 
 
 Another curious discovery was that tubular drain-tiles were used in 
 removing the rain-water that fell through the openings in the roofs on 
 to the pavements of the several apartments, and that there was under 
 the pavement of the mound a main drain, the invert formed of kiln- 
 burnt bricks, and the upper part covered with slabs and tiles. 
 
 He noticed also, that a thin layer of bitumen passed under all the 
 floors and slabs, to preserve them doubtless from the damp which 
 would otherwise have risen from the earth beneath. 
 
 As it was in vain to think of moving the gigantic lions, or other 
 larger sculptures with the means then at command, Layard proceeded 
 to take steps for the embarkation of such as could be moved. The 
 difficulties that Botta had had to overcome were repeated in his case, 
 but ultimate!}^ the sculptures were removed from the trenches with 
 levers and native ropes, packed in rough cases, conveyed to the Tigris 
 in buflalo carts, and transported by raft to Baghdad preparatory to 
 their removal to Bombay. 
 
 After despatching these first fruits of his discoveries, Layard 
 undertook a short excursion in pursuit of health, to the country of 
 the devil-worshippers, and upon his return to Mosul, he found letters 
 apprising him that the British Museum had received a grant of 
 funds for the continuation of the Assyrian researches. Notwith- 
 standing the inadequacy of the sum, which was to include all 
 expenses, private and otherwise, Layard determined on directing the 
 excavations, and economising to the utmost, in order to secure as 
 complete a collection as such small means would allow. Many of the 
 sculptures were far too dilapidated to admit of removal, and, as 
 others were likely to fall to pieces as soon as uncovered, there w^as no 
 alternative but to make drawings of them, or the records they afforded 
 would be for ever lost. As no artist had been sent to assist him, 
 Layard was obliged to do his best to copy what he saw, and his 
 drawings were very creditable to him. He had thus, he tells us, to 
 superintend the excavations, to draw all the bas-reliefs, to copy, 
 compare, and take casts of the inscriptions, to direct the moving and 
 packing of the sculptures, to be continually present at the works, and 
 frequently to remove the earth with his own hands from the face of 
 the slabs, — -labours sufficiently various and onerous. At the end of 
 October, he was again among the ruins of Nimroud, and in November, 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEHEES. 
 
 tlie excavations were proceeding on a large scale. New chambers 
 were explored, battles, sieges, victories, triumphs, banqnetings, and 
 sacrifices were daily discovered, and besides these an obelisk of black 
 marble, which was instantly packed for transport. The large band 
 now at work rapidly uncovered the buried treasures, and by the end 
 of the second month a sufficient number of bas-reliefs w^ere collected 
 to despatch to Baghdad. Layard proceeded to Mosul, bought the 
 necessary materials for a raft, and for packing the sculptures, and 
 returned to ISiimroud, leaving the raftsmen to bring the purchases by 
 water. On their way, having found it necessary to halt for the night, 
 they were plundered by Arabs ; and the mats, felts, and cordage were 
 carried off. This was a proceeding which Layard was determined 
 should not become a precedent. He applied, in the first place, to the 
 authorities, and was put off, no doubt, with the Turkish phrase Bak- 
 kalum (we will see), the equivalent of the Arabic Bouhkara (to-morrow). 
 In three or four days he learned who w^ere the robbers, and deter- 
 mined to make them feel that they were not to carry their incursions 
 into his quarters with impunity. Taking with him two trusty Arabs, 
 expert at their weapons, he came upon the guilty sheikh in the 
 midst of his followers, and politely asked for the missing articles, 
 some of wffiich were hanging up in his sight. Wlien the sheikh and 
 his party had stoutly denied the possession of the goods in question, 
 one of Layard’ s two attendants handcuffed the old man in a moment, 
 and, jumping on his horse, dragged him out of the encampment at a 
 most uncomfortable pace. The suddeimess of the performance 
 paralysed the by-standers, who were well supplied with arms. The 
 sheikh wus carried to Nimroud, where he thought it wiser to make a 
 full confession, than journey to Mosul and confront the Pasha. Hext 
 morning the missing property, with the addition of a kid and a lamb, 
 as a peace-offering, made their appearance, the shiekh was liberated ; 
 and Layard had no subsequent reason to complain of him or his tribe. 
 
 In the first four months of the Hew Tear Layard explored almost 
 the entire north-w^est palace, opened twenty new chambers and dis- 
 covered numerous sculptures of considerable interest and importance. 
 Tlie means at his disposal did not warrant him in searching for 
 objects Avhich he could not hope to carry away. He therefore spent 
 the greater portion of his time in exposing the monuments previously 
 discovered. An opportunity now offered of examining the mounds 
 of Kalah Shergat, ruins rivalling those of Himroud in extent, but 
 which the reputation of the vicinity as a rendezvous for plunder- 
 ing parties had preserved from the spoliation of the traveller. The 
 long drought at Mosul had now, however, driven many of the 
 
LAYAllD. 
 
 35 
 
 Jebour tribe, friends of Layard, towards those ruins, and he re- 
 solved to profit by the circumstance, to visit them under that pro- 
 tection. Layard remained at Kalah Shergat but a few days, and 
 returned to Nimroud, having left a superintendent to continue exca- 
 vations at the former place. The position of the workmen, however, 
 shortly became so insecure, that he was reluctantly compelled to 
 recal them, but not without satisfying himself that the mounds 
 contained many objects of interest, if not sculptured slabs. A sitting 
 figure, discovered there, has since been added to the Nimroud 
 sculptures in the British Museum. 
 
 Having decided to attempt the removal of the lion and bull, two 
 of the best preserved of the various sculptures that lay around, 
 Layard formed different plans for dragging them to the river, and 
 placing them upon the rafts. He at length resolved to build a cart 
 of the best materials attainable. A carpenter was dispatched to the 
 mountains, to fell mulberry timber, and convey it to Mosul. A frame- 
 work of strong beams was formed, and laid over two strong iron axles, 
 fortunately found in the toTvm (those made by Botta). Each Vvdieel 
 was made of three solid pieces of wood, nearly a foot thick, bound 
 together by an iron hoop : a pole was finally added, fiumished with 
 rings, to admit a rope, by which the carriage might be drawn- 
 In order to raise the bull, and place it on the carriage which 
 stood in the plain below, a distance of 200 feet, it was necessar}' 
 to make a road through the mound, 15 feet wide, and in some 
 places 20 feet deep. Around the bull a large open space was 
 formed, so that the energies of the workmen might have free scope. 
 The figure was to be lowered from its pedestal on its back, a work of 
 no small difficidty ; for during its descent, ropes, which were the only 
 means of supporting it, might break, and involve the destruction of 
 the whole. Although ropes had been sent for from Aleppo across the 
 desert, the best of them were too small to be relied on. A stout 
 palm-fibre hawser had been obtained from Baghdad, and two pairs of 
 blocks, and a pair of jack-screws had been borrowed from the stores 
 of the Euphrates expedition. These were all the resources available 
 for removing the bull and lion. 
 
 By the middle of March the earth and rubbish had been cleared 
 away from the bull, which wus now retained in its place only by 
 beams which sprang from the opposite side of the excavation. Well- 
 greased sleepers of poplar were laid down on the ground parallel to 
 the sculpture, and over these several thick roUers on which the object 
 was to be lowered. A deep trench had been cut in the solid mass of 
 the unburnt brick wall at some distance behind and above the bull. 
 
36 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEEERS. 
 
 and the square block, thus exposed, formed a sort of column, round 
 which the ropes used for lowering the bull might be run during the 
 operation. Two of the pulleys were secured to this mass of earth by a 
 coil of ropes, and two others to the bull and between these two points 
 the tackle worked. On each side of the bull, stood a large party of 
 Arabs, holding the ends of the ropes, and some powerful Chaldeans 
 were directed to hold strong beams which they were to remove 
 gradually, so as to take the strain olF the ropes as far as possible. 
 
 All being ready, Layard ordered the men to strike out the sup- 
 porting wedges. Still the bull remained erect, until at last five or six 
 men tilted it over. The Baghdad hawser almost broke with the strain, 
 and wore its way into the block of earth around which it was carried, 
 but the smaller ropes did their Avork well, and the bull began to 
 descend slowly toAvards the rollers. The critical moment would 
 arriA'e as soon as the mass should be half loAvered. As the bull 
 neared the rollers, the beams could no longer be used, and the entire 
 strain was thrown on the ropes, which stretched and creaked more 
 than ever ; at length the ropes all broke together, and the bull fell 
 forward to the ground. A silent moment of suspense followed. 
 Layard leaped into the trenches, expecting to see the bull in fragments. 
 It was entire and uninj ured ! A sort of tram- way was laid down to 
 the end of the track, over which the bull v/as to be drawn on rollers 
 to the edge of the mound; and thus the journey to the end of the 
 trench was speedily accomplished. When the bull arrived at the 
 sloping edge of the mound, it was lowered into the cart by digging 
 aAvay the soil. All was now ready for proceeding to the river, and 
 the buffaloes which were at first procured refusing to pull at the 
 weight, the Arabs and Chaldeans, assisted by the villagers, in all 300 
 men, drew the cart. 
 
 On reaching the village of Nimroud, the procession was brought to 
 a sudden halt. Two wheels of the cart were seen buried in the 
 ground ; and the ropes were broken in the attempt to extricate the 
 vehicle. The wheels had sunk in a concealed corn-pit, in which 
 some villager had formerly stored his grain. Layard was compelled 
 to leave the sculpture on the spot for the night, with a guard. In 
 the course of the night some adventurous Bedouins, attracted by the 
 packing materials around the sculptures, had fallen on the workmen. 
 They were beaten off, but left their mark ; for a ball indented the side 
 of the bull. Next morning the wheels were raised, the procession 
 was again in motion, and, after some temporary obstructions, the bull 
 Avas placed on the platform from which it was to slide to the raft. 
 Here a small camp of Arabs Avas formed to guard the bull until its 
 
LAYAllD. 
 
 37 
 
 companion the lion, should be in like manner brought down, and the 
 two embarked together for Baghdad. 
 
 By the middle of April, this second sculpture Iiad been brought 
 down to the river, and both lion and bull were ready for ship- 
 ment as soon as the necessary arrangements could be made. On the 
 20th of the month, Layard determined to attempt the embarkation 
 of his treasures. The raft lay alongside the platform ; and the 
 two sculptures were so placed on beams, that on the withdrawal of 
 the wedges they would slide into the centre of the raft. 
 
 An inclined plane, reaching from the figures to the river, was formed 
 of beams of poplar wood, which were well greased. The large raft, 
 supported by six hundred skins, was brought close to the bank ; the 
 wedges were removed, and the bull was slowly lowered into its place. 
 The lion was next placed on board a second similar raft. In a few 
 hours the two sculptures were properly secured, and by nightfall 
 they were ready to set out on their long journey. The working 
 party was now disbanded, and by the middle of May, 1847, the 
 excavations at Nimroud was finished. Bayard took a parting glance 
 at the ruins and, on the 24th of June, he bade farewell to the 
 Arabs, and departed on his journey to Constantinople. 
 
 It now becomes necessary to inquire what biblical and classical 
 writers, had been thinking and saying about the buried cities in the 
 East, and to examine also in detail the discoveries of Botta, at 
 Khorsabad. 
 
1. Babel. 
 
 8. Resen. 
 
 15. Jerusalem. 
 
 22. Iconium, 
 
 2 Erech. 
 
 9. Dura. 
 
 16. Tyre. 
 
 23. Perge. 
 
 3. Accad. 
 
 10. Ecbatana. 
 
 17. Sidon. 
 
 24. Van. 
 
 4. Calneh. 
 
 11. Ecbatana. 
 
 18. Damascus. 
 
 25. Ur. 
 
 5. Nineveh. 
 
 12. Susa. 
 
 19. Palmyra. 
 
 26. Arbela. 
 
 6. Eehoboth. 
 
 13. Persepolis. 
 
 20. Issus. 
 
 27. Rhagae. 
 
 7. Calah. 
 
 14. Petra. 
 
 21. Tarsus. 
 
 28. Cyropolis. 
 
 N.B.— The first eight numbers refer to the cities in the order they occur in the tenth 
 chapter of Genesis. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 HISTORICAL. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 ASSYRIA AND MESOPOTAMIA. 
 
 A GLANCE backwards — more than two thousand years — becomes 
 necessary, when we ask what Nineveh was understood to be before 
 the excavations of Eotta and Layard. We have two sources of 
 information on the subject ; the sacred wTiters and the ancient 
 Greek and Eoman historians. Let us examine first, then, the 
 Nineveh of the Bible. 
 
ASSYEIA AND MESOPOTAMIA. 
 
 39 
 
 Trom tlie sacred writings we learn that the long forehorne vengeance 
 of Heaven, overtaking the impious pride of the antediluvian world, 
 had swept from the face of the earth the numerous tribes of Adam, 
 reserving only the family of Hoah, to make him the second progenitor 
 of the human race. The three sons of the Patriarch, conscious of 
 the dignity of their relation to the new world, had gone forth to 
 assume other new sovereignties and to people the earth. At this 
 period, within a century after the flood, and while Hoah was in the 
 full vigour of his power, his great-grandson, the founder of the earliest 
 post-diluvian cities, is introduced on the historic page. 
 
 “ And Cush begat Nimrod ; he began to be a mighty one in the 
 earth. Pie Avas a mighty hunter before the Lord; wherefore it is 
 said, Even as Nimrod, the mighty hunter before the Lord. And 
 the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and 
 Calneh, in the land of Shinar.” ^ 
 
 Although the scriptural' account of Nimrod, the first monarch on 
 record, is short, yet so much more is said of him than of any other of 
 the immediate posterity of Noah, as to afford ample testimony to his 
 strength of character and superior natural endowments. The IlebreAV 
 word "inJi Gribbor, which the Yrdgate renders “ mighty one” is by the 
 Septnagint translated “ giant but the subsequent “ mighty hunter” 
 would intimate that he not only sought to hunt wild beasts, but to 
 subdue men also ; and Ezekiel is understood by some commentators to 
 give the name of hunters to aU tyrants." Nevertheless, some think that 
 the words “ before the Lord,” may be taken in a favourable sense, and 
 Calmet admits that they are commonly rmderstood as heightening the 
 good qnahties of any one. It must be allowed that there is nothing 
 in the history of Nimrod which carries an air of reproach excepting 
 his name, which signifies “ rebellion of him that rides,” or according 
 to Gfesenius, “ extremely impious rebel;” but it is this name which 
 has caused commentators to represent him as a usurper and oppressor, 
 and as instigating the descendants of Noah to bund the Tower of 
 Babel. The qualifications ascribed to Nimrod as “a mighty hunter” 
 snfiiciently fix his character ; and after the separation of mankind he 
 is supposed to have become the head of those who remained at Shinar. 
 He united the people into companies, and by exercising them in the 
 chase, he gradually led them to a social defence of one another, laying 
 the foundations of this authority and dominion in the same way that 
 the Persians to a much later day prepared their kings for war and 
 government by hunting. ^ His kingdom began at Babel, but it seems 
 
 * Genesis, x. 8 — 10, 2 Ezekiel, xxxii. 30, 
 
 Xeiiopk. Cyrop., lib. i. See also Bochart, Plialeg., lib. iv. c. 12, pp. 227, 228, 
 
40 
 
 KINEVEH A]SD ITS DISCOVEIlEllS. 
 
 doubtful wlietber he actually founded the city, and was arrested in 
 his work by the destruction of the tower ; or whether the city and 
 tower were commenced by others of the human family, and that, 
 after the abandonment of the place, he and his folloA¥ers completed 
 the unfinished city, and established themselves in it. There can, 
 however, be little doubt that as his first seat of power became too 
 populous to be regulated by his inspection, and governed by his 
 influence, he laid the foundation of other cities, and by this means 
 dispersed his people under the direction of such deputies as he 
 deemed prudent. That he was aided in establishing his power by 
 his brothers Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and liaamah, and 
 Sabtechah, ^ who were all settled in Arabia, may readily be believed, 
 for without such aid he could scarcely have built cities, and united 
 his people with others under a common form of government. The 
 four cities which are recorded in Scripture to have been founded by 
 JN’imrod, Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, were all in the land of 
 Shinar, the southern part of Mesopotamia. That Babel was the 
 original of the subsequently imperial city of Babylon, the identity of 
 name sufiiciently proves, the latter being the same with a Greek 
 ending. The ruins near Hillah are still by the Arabs designated 
 Babel. According to Chesney, “ four miles and a quarter north, 
 and twenty miles west of the bridge of Hillah is the Mujellibeh, near 
 which are the remains of the Kasr, and the hanging gardens ; and at 
 rather more than six miles from Hillah, standing amidst, and crowning 
 the summit of, extensive masses of ruin, is the ‘ Birs Nimroud,’ sup- 
 posed by Niebuhr, liich, and others, to be the temple of Belus, 
 which Herodotus tells us was separated from the palace by the 
 river.” ^ 
 
 Erech, Accad, and Calneh, having probably grown up arounfi. the 
 frontier fortresses of Nimrod’s first realm, the identification of their 
 sites would serve to define its limits as they existed before the con- 
 quest of Assyria had merged the mother country in a superior king- 
 dom. Herodotus, Ptolemy, and Ammianus Marcellinus, speak of 
 cities, the names of which, like the Irak of the modern Arabs, are 
 clearly derivable from the Erech of Scripture ; but do not precisely 
 indicate their position. 
 
 Colonel Taylor, the late British resident at Baghdad, who devoted 
 great skill and distinguished abilities to the geography of the Baby- 
 lonian region, satisfied himself that the place formerly called Orchoe 
 l^y the Greeks, and now known as Werka, is the true site of the 
 ancient city. Werka is situated on the Euphrates, 82 miles south, 
 
 * Cicncsis, X. 7. 
 
 2 Clicsncy, Survey of the Euphrates. 
 
ASSYRIA AND MESOPOTAMIA. 
 
 41 
 
 48 east from Babylon, and is celebrated for tbe immense mounds of 
 ElAssayali, the Place of Pebbles, wbicb bear also tbe names of ’Irka 
 and Irak, and are believed to be tbe ruins of Erecb.^ 
 
 The site of Accad — or Accur, as tbe best scholars agree to MTite 
 it — is assigned to the Sittace of the Greeks, the Akkerkuf, Akari 
 INTimroud, or Akari Babel, of the present day. It is distant about 55 
 miles north, 13 miles west of Babel. A primitive monument found 
 here is still called by the Arabs “ Tel jSTimrud,” and by the Turks, 
 “Isimrud Tepasse,” both designations signifying the hill of Nimrod. 
 It consists of a mound, surmounted by a mass of building which looks 
 like a tower, or an irregular pyramid, according to the point from 
 Avhich it is viewed : it is about 400 feet in circumference at the 
 bottom, and rises to the height of 125 feet above the elevation on 
 Avhich it stands.^ The mound which seems to form the foundation of 
 the pile, is a mass of rubbish, accumulated from the decay of the 
 superincumbent structure. 
 
 Calneh, or Chalnah, is fixed by the concurrence of a great mass of 
 authority, ancient and modern, oriental and European, at vliat Avas 
 the ancient Ctesiphon, on the banks of the Tigris, about eighteen 
 miles below Baghdad, the district surrounding AAdiich aaus called by 
 the Greeks Chalonitis. The site of Calnah was afterwards occupied 
 by El Badair, among the remains of which timellers find the ruins 
 of an ancient palace called Tauk-Kesra, believed to have been the 
 A\diite Palace of the Persian kings, the magnificence of aaIucIi 
 struck the barbarian conquerors from Arabia Avith amazement and 
 dehght. 
 
 This site does not agree vdth that mentioned by Colonel Chesney, 
 Avho says, “ At the extremity of the plain of Shinar, and near the foot 
 of the Sinjar mountains, we find on the banks of the Khabur, near its 
 confluence with the Euphrates, tAVO extensive heaps of ruins, partaking 
 of the same characters as those Avhich appertained to the preceding 
 cities. That on the right bank (the presumed Kerkisyah) is crowned 
 with the modern toAvn, Abu Serai (father of palaces), whilst that on 
 the opposite, or left bank, may, from its name Calneh, or Chalanne, 
 and the more modern Charchemish, be the fourth city of Nimroud.” 
 This surmise is supported by the learned annotator on Calmet, wlio 
 suspects, as it stands the last city in the order of those built by 
 Nimrod, that this circumstance is denoted in its name Cala, “ the 
 completion,” mtc/i “ of settled habitations as if it were “last built 
 toAvn.” Or it might be at the extremity, last district of his 
 dominions ; “ border-toAA'n.’ ’ 
 
 ‘ Clicsney. 
 
 2 Ainsworth’s Researches in Assyria. 
 
42 
 
 KINEYEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 Tlie prophet Amos^ speaks of Calnali as forming, in liis time, an 
 independent principality ; but shortly afterwards it became, with the 
 greater part of Western Asia, a prey to the Assyrians. 
 
 If Nimrod’s chief towns are thus correctly localised, his first 
 kingdom — resting on the Euphrates, stretching from Erech on the 
 south to Accad in the north, and guarded in front by the TigTis — 
 must have extended towards the tribes of the east a frontier of about 
 130 miles. To the sons of Shem, occupying the other bank of the 
 river, the seizure of the plams of Shinar by the Hametic chieftain 
 would be a just cause for apprehension ; but, with the setting-up of 
 Nimrod’s kingdom, the entire ancient world entered a new historical 
 phase. The oriental tradition, which makes that warrior the first 
 man who wore a kingly crown, points to a fact more significant than 
 the assumption of a new ornament of dress, or even the conquest of a 
 province. His reign introduced to the world a new system of relations 
 between the governor and the governed. The authority of former 
 rulers had rested upon the feeling of kindred : and the ascendancy of 
 the chief wus an image of parental control. Nimrod, on the contrary, 
 was a sovereign of territory and of men, just so far as they were its 
 inhabitants, and irrespective of personal ties. Hitherto there had 
 been tribes, enlarged families — Society; now there was a nation, a 
 political community — the State. The pohtical and social history of 
 the world henceforth are distinct, if not divergent. The diadem of 
 tradition may have been only a figure of speech ; it betrays, however, 
 the feeling that a natural relation, universally and promptly recog- 
 nised, had given place to a fortuitous sovereignty which stood in need 
 of an external mark or symbol to denote its possessor. 
 
 “ Out of that land w^ent forth Asshiir, and budded Nineveh, and 
 the city Eehoboth, and Calah, and Eesen, between Nineveh and 
 Calah : the same is a great city.” ^ 
 
 Of the sons of Shem, Scripture has recorded nothing, except of 
 Asshur ; but of him the record is of the highest importance, as it 
 fixes the epoch of the kingdom of Assyria. It may be inferred from 
 the verses in Glenesis, that Asshur had originaUy dwelt in the plains 
 of Shinar, from whence he may probably have been driven by the 
 grasping ambition of Nimrod. At all events, we gather that at some 
 period of Nimrod’s reign, Asshur led a company or tribe from Babel ; 
 that he traveUed up the Tigris, and settled in the land to which he 
 gave his name, Assyria being the Grreek derivative from the Hebrew 
 Asshur : and farther, it may be deduced that he followed the system 
 
 1 Amos, vi. 12, b.c. 803. 
 
 2 Genesis, x. 11, 12. Aspin. Anal. Un. Hist., vol. i. p. 297. 
 
ASSYRIA AYD MESOPOTAMIA. 
 
 43 
 
 of goyernment adopted by ISTimrod ; dispersing bis people over the 
 country as they increased, and employing them in establishing adjacent 
 cities. Others explain the text differently; adopting the marginal 
 reading, “ he went ont into Assyria,” which they understand to speak 
 of IN^imrod, who left his own country to attack Assyria. The verse 
 in Micah, however, strongly corroborates onr view of the question : — 
 “And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land 
 of l^imrod in the entrances thereof;”^ — a passage which certainly 
 imphes distinct founders for the separate kingdoms of iSiineveh and 
 Babylon, which were both luiited in the Assyrian monarchy about the 
 tune of this prophecy. As to the silence of history respecting Asshim, 
 the argument tells with equal force against Isimrod, who is nowhere 
 mentioned but in Scripture, or by writers who have copied Holy 
 Writ ; but apart from this, neither Xineveh nor the kingdom of 
 Asspda coidd, for obvious reasons, have attained any grandeim under 
 their first founder ; the glory of Xineveh, and the increase of the 
 empire, being the work of subsequent kings. Asshur only planted 
 the original people, and founded the cities ; but the retention of his 
 name as the name of the country marks the importance attached to 
 hhn. How long Asshiu hved, or how far he estabhshed his power, 
 are not to be learned from the sacred narrative ; nor has Assyria, like 
 Babylonia, any great natural frontiers to determine its extent. The 
 site of Behoboth is so imcertain, that it has been shifted everywhere; 
 but we learn from Chesney, that “on the right bank of the Euphrates, 
 at the north-western extremit}^ of the plain of Shinar, and tluee-and- 
 a-half miles south-west of the town of Mayadin, are extensive 
 rums, around a castle, still bearing the name of Behoboth.” Of 
 the ruins of Kalah Shergat, which have been, with great probabihH, 
 identified with the ancient Calah ; of Ximrond, which competent 
 judges have satisfied themselves is the ancient Besen ; and of 
 Xtneveh itself, we shall treat more at length in the next section of 
 our work. 
 
 After the foundation of the kingdoms of Ximrod and Asshur, we 
 meet with no direct mention, in the sacred writing, of Xineveh or its 
 king, for a period of fifteen hundred years. This is no proof that the 
 city or empire remained unimportant, since the Bible does not profess 
 to contain a systematic history of the world. In the fourteenth chapter 
 of Genesis, one “ Amraphel, king of Shinar , is mentioned, of whom 
 the Jewish archaeologist, Josephus, says he was a commander in the 
 Assyrian army.^ Likewise x4rioch king of EUasar, El-Asar : may not 
 this be “ The Assyrians ” ? At all events, it is probable that they 
 
 Micah, Y, 6. 
 
 Ant., lib. i. cap. ix. 
 
44 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 were Ass 3 rrian satraps or viceroys, according to the subsequent 
 Assyrian boast, “Are not my princes altogether kings ^ At the 
 closing period of the age of M oses, we again meet with traces of 
 Assyria as an independent and formidable state. Balaam, the seer, 
 addressing the Kenites, a tribe of highlanders on the east of the 
 Jordan, “took up his parable,” — “Strong is thy dwelling-place, and 
 thou puttest thy nest in a rock. Nevertheless the Kenite shall be 
 wasted until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.” ^ We also find, 
 that, shortly after the death of Joshua, the Israelites submitted to the 
 arms of Chushan-rishathaim, king of M’esopotamia, wdiich was then a 
 separate government from Assyria. “ Therefore the anger of the 
 Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of 
 Chushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia : and the children of Israel 
 served Chushan-rishathaim eight years.” ^ 
 
 Although the Assyrian kings or their country are not expressly 
 mentioned until the reign of Jeroboam (825 b.c.), we are not left 
 without indications of the state of the kingdom during the latter part 
 of this period. It is a striking proof of the imbecility or sloth of the 
 kings of Nineveh, that they made no attempt to resist the rise of the 
 Jewish power under David and his son Solomon, whose sovereignty 
 extended to the very banks of the Euphrates, so as to form, at that 
 period, if not the greatest, at least the most brilliant kingdom of 
 Western Asia."^ 
 
 The first returning mention of Assyria or Nineveh in the Bible is 
 in the book of Jonah. The name of the monarch then reigning is not 
 given, but it is supposed that he was the father of that “ Phul,” 
 whose invasion of Israel is subsequently recorded, and the commence- 
 ment of whose reign is dated b.c. 821. In the history of Jonah’s 
 visit, Nineveh is twice described as “ that great city,” and again as an 
 “ exceeding great city of three days’ journey.” It had by this time 
 evidently recovered from the blow inflicted by political misfortunes, 
 and was flourishing under regal government. 
 
 The measurement assigned to Nineveh by the sacred writer applies, 
 without doubt, to its circuit, and gives a circumference of about sixty 
 miles. 
 
 The twelfth verse of the fourth chapter of J onah furnishes us with 
 the means of estimating approximately the population of the ancient 
 city when visited by the prophet. It is there stated to have contained 
 120,000 persons who “ could not discern between their right hand 
 
 Isaiah, x. 8. Numbers, xxiv. 21, 22, ^ Judges, iii. 7 — 10. 
 
 ^ Gen., XV. 18 ; Exod., xxiii. 31 ; 1 Kings, iv, 21, 24 ; 1 Chron., xviii. 3 ; Psalm, Ixxii. 8. 
 
ASSYllIA AND MESOPOTAMIA. 
 
 45 
 
 and their left,” — a figurative expression usually understood of young 
 children. As these are, in any place, commonly reckoned to form 
 one-fifth of the population, Nineveh must have contained 600,000 
 inhabitants. 
 
 The following diagram shows the relative proportions of Nineveh, 
 Babylon, and London, by which it will be seen that the area of 
 Babylon was 225 square miles, that of Nineveh 216 square miles, 
 while that of London and its environs is but 114 square miles ; so that 
 
 with an area of little more 
 
 than half that of Nineveh, 
 the population of the latter 
 is nearly four times greater. 
 
 This may at first sight appear 
 a disappointing calculation, 
 considering the unanimous 
 testimony of antiquity to 
 the greatness of “ Imperial 
 N ineveh, the earthly queen ’ 
 but we are not to frame our 
 ideas of the eastern and 
 ancient, from the western 
 and modern, or look to our 
 crowded tovms and high streets as types of those arrangements 
 which 3,000 years ago prevailed in Asia. 
 
 Babylon, we know, contained within its walls not only gardens and 
 large open spaces for purposes of pleasure, but a sufficient quantity of 
 land left for tillage to support the inhabitants in the event of a siege. 
 It may be that the majority of the houses of Nineveh, like those of 
 many eastern cities of the present day, consisted but of one story, so 
 that the number of people spread over a much wider area than in our 
 western towns, where tenements are carried to a considerable height, 
 and one house is often made to accommodate several families ; but to 
 enable masses to provide themselves with the necessaries of life, there 
 must be ten thousand centres instead of one, and immense independ- 
 ence of individual action ; this can only be the offspring of freedom 
 through long ages, and no one of these conditions ever existed in 
 Assyria. 
 
 None of the historical books of the Old Testament give any details 
 respecting Nineveh, although, as we shall see, its existence is more 
 than once referred to. The Prophets, however, make frequent 
 incidental allusion to its magnificence, to the “fenced place,” the 
 “stronghold,” the “valiant men and chariots,” the “silver and 
 
 Fig. 10. — COMPARATIVE SIZE OF CITIES. 
 
48 
 
 NINEYEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 gold,” the “pleasant furniture,” “carved lintels and cedar work.” 
 Zephaniali, who wrote about twenty-four years before the fall of 
 Nineveh, says of it — 
 
 “ This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly ; 
 
 That said in her heart, ‘ I am, and there is none beside me.’ ” i 
 
 Tor a long series of years the foreign relations of the Jewish 
 kingdom tiu’ned upon Assyria, and from the commencement of that 
 period we consequently meet with its empire in the sacred writings. 
 This may be regarded as the second historical period of the Assyrian 
 empire. The first king of Assyria named in Scripture is Pul or Phul, 
 who appeared in the countries west of the Euphrates, in the days of 
 Menahem, king of Israel (772 b.c.), upon whom he made war, and 
 carried off two tribes of his subjects, finally exacting from the weak 
 monarch a tribute of a thousand talents of silver as the price of his 
 maintenance on the throne.^ "We find the prophet Hosea making 
 frequent allusions to the practice common to both the Hebrew 
 kingdoms of throwing themselves for support on the kings of Assyria. 
 The next Assyrian monarch mentioned by name is Tiglath-Pileser,^ 
 of whose accession we have not the means of determining the date, 
 although his intercourse with the Jewish nation is repeatedly men- 
 tioned.^ The usurper Pekah, who, by the murder of the hereditary 
 monarch, had established himself as rider, of ten revolted tribes 
 composing the kingdom of Israel, entered into treaty with Eezin king 
 of Syria, with the object of expelling the race of David from the 
 throne of Judah, and to place upon it a tributary of his own. If, as 
 is probable, he hoped hereby to strengthen his power against that of 
 Assyria, he signally faded. Ahaz, king of Jerusalem, whose throne 
 was menaced by the movements of the confederates, called upon 
 Tiglath-Pileser to advance to his assistance, ofiering him feudal 
 allegiance and the temple treasures as the price of that service. 
 “ So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, saying, 
 I am thy servant and thy son : come up and save me out of the hand 
 of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which 
 rise up against me. And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was 
 found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king’s 
 house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.” ^ NaturaUy 
 willing to interfere in the disputes of his weaker neighbours, the king 
 of Assyria advanced at the request of Ahaz, and laid siege to 
 
 ^ Zephaniah, ii. 15. ^ Chron., v. 26 ; 2 Kings, xv. 19, 20. 
 
 3 Diglath-pul-Assur, great Lord of the Tigris, called in Aelian “ Thilgamus.” 
 
 ^ Kings, XV. 29 ; xvi. 5 — 10 ; 1 Chron., v. 26 ; 2 ' Chron., xxviii. 16 ; Isaiah, vii. 1 — 11. 
 
 5 2 Kings, xvi. 7 — 9. 
 
ASSYIIIA AND MESOPOTAMIA. 
 
 47 
 
 Damascus, subdued Syria, Galilee, and all tbe country east of J ordan, 
 and sent the chief inhabitants of Syria to the banks of the Kir or 
 Kur, — a river which, uniting its stream with the Aras or Araxes, 
 flows into the Caspian in K. lat. 390, — while those of Galilee were 
 transferred to Assyria. This deportation of the Trans- Jordanic 
 tribes was a forestalment of the captivity into which the entire 
 kingdom of Israel was shortly to enter. Tiglath-Pileser soon 
 proved not less dangerous as an ally than he could have been in 
 the character of an enemy. The accumulated wealth of three cen- 
 turies of prosperous trade was exposed to the view of the wily 
 Assyrian, and with it the weakness of its possessors. The Syrians 
 were subdued ; but Tiglath-Pileser, instead of retiring to his own 
 dominions, hovered dubiously about Jerusalem, as if in the hope of 
 exacting a larger recompence. 
 
 Prom this point it would have been easy for him, had he been so 
 disposed, to move against the Philistines and Edomites, wEo during 
 the Syrian w'ar had invaded the south and western frontiers of Judah, 
 and made themselves masters of its strong cities ; but it is said that 
 “ Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, came unto the king of Israel and dis- 
 tressed him, but strengthened him not ; for Ahaz took away a portion 
 out of the house of the Lord, and out of the house of the king and of 
 the princes, and gave it unto the king of Assyria ; but he helped him 
 not.” ^ Ahaz and his successors had now to contend alone with the 
 Avhole force of the king of Assyria, instead of with that of two petty 
 princes. 
 
 The successor of Tiglath-Pileser wus Shalmaneser, called in the 
 apocryphal book of Tobit, Enemessar, who ascended the ihrone about 
 729 B.c. Ahaz still occupied the throne of David, and Hoshea wus 
 king of Israel. Shalmaneser now resolved to complete the subjugation 
 of Israel begun by his predecessor. He commenced by exacting of 
 Hoshea a tributary acknowledgment of subjection — “ Hoshea became 
 his servant, and rendered him presents.”^ Growing wuary of this 
 dependence, the king of Israel attempted to negotiate a defensive 
 alliance with So, at that time king of Egypt, then the only power that 
 coidd pretend to rival the Assyiian, and proceeded so far as to 
 withhold the annual tribute. Dpon this rebellion Shalmaneser 
 advanced into Samaria, wiiere he carried on a campaign of three years, 
 finally imprisoned its king, and carried awuy the Ten Tribes into his 
 own country. The captive Israelites were sent to Halah and Habor, 
 tw’o cities by the river of Gozan, and into the cities of the Medes, a 
 fact which shows that Media was not yet separated from Assyiia. In 
 
 2 Chron., xxviii, 18 — 21. 
 
 2 Kings, xvii. 3—6, 
 
48 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 tlieir stead a number of Ass^rrian families from Babylon, Cntbab, 
 Ava, and Sepbarvaim, were settled in Samaria, and, mingling witb tbe 
 few remaining Israelites, formed tbe Samaritan people whom we 
 subsequently meet in tbe I^ew Testament. 
 
 Mr. Dickenson^ remarks upon the foregoing passage in 2 Kings, 
 that tbe interpretation cannot witb propriety be other than this : 
 “ To tbe Habor tbe river of Gozan,” as the particle “ by” has been in- 
 terpolated without authority. As regards Halab, there are no means of 
 ascertaining precisely whether this is the name of a river or of a 
 town ; but he surmises it to be a river. The Greek translation of 
 the Septuagint renders the passage “ about the Halah, and about the 
 Habor, rivers of Gozan.” — In substantiation of this view, Mr. Dickenson 
 quotes Edrisi, “ and from A1 Habor to Karkasiah is two marches ; 
 and Karkasiah is a town on the East side of the Euphrates, and 
 under it flows the Hermas, commonly called A1 Habor.” This A1 
 Habor is 250 miles west of Baghdad, near the left bank of the river 
 Euphrates ; and the name is extended to the district, stretching for 
 miles along the banks of the river. Hot many miles west of the 
 source of this stream, stands the ruined, but well-known town of 
 Haran, or Hara, the Charrse of the ancient geographers. About 
 fifty miles from Karkasiah, up the Habor, at its junction with another 
 stream, stands the town of Naharaim, or the “ Tovm of the two 
 Kivers.” The one is the Habor, which flows down to Naharaim 
 from a westerly direction ; the other is called A1 Halih and Halah 
 by the Arabs, and the country on its banks is called by Ptolemy, 
 Gauzanitis : when, therefore, Mr. Dickenson observes, “ in the very 
 places where it is most probable that the Israelites were deposited, 
 we And every name recorded in Scripture so little changed in the 
 lapse of centuries,” it is reasonable to believe that we have ascer- 
 tained the locality in which the captives from Samaria were placed. 
 Another argument in support of this theory, is, the probability that 
 the conqueror would exchange the captives for people of his own 
 country, as he would thus have vassals on whom he coidd rely, at 
 distant points of his empire, while the malcontent foreigners would 
 be more immediately under his own eye, and more likely to become 
 incorporated with the Assyrians. 
 
 Sennacherib, the Assyrian king who succeeded Shalmaneser, appears 
 in Scripture as a worthy follower of his warlike predecessor. 
 
 Since the inglorious reign of Ahaz, the kingdom of Judah had been 
 numbered with the many states which confessed the superior lordship 
 of Assyria. Hezekiah was the first liing of J udah in whose patriotic 
 
 1 Article on the fate of the Ten Tribes of Israel, in Journ. Roy. As. Soc,, vol. iv., p. 217. 
 
ASSYRIA AND MESOPOTAMIA. 
 
 49 
 
 judgment the risks of resistance were preferable to the ignoininj of 
 tame and spiritless servitude : “ he rebelled agamst the king of 
 Assyria, and served him not.”^ Tor fourteen years the prudence or 
 disdain of the Assyrian withheld his arm from chastising this pre- 
 sumption ; hut in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib 
 advanced — probably in the course of that expedition to Egypt, of 
 which Herodotus has preserved the tradition — against the fenced 
 cities of Judah, and took them. The approach of the eastern 
 conqueror having opened Hezekiah’s eyes to the consequences of the 
 quarrel he had provoked; while the Assyrian camp was yet at 
 Lachish, he sent thither messengers bearing a most full and complete 
 submission. “ I have offended ; return from me : that which thou 
 puttest on me I will bear,”^ was the brief but expressive supplication 
 of the revolted, but now penitent, king. Sennacherib received the 
 submission thus tendered, but paid no regard to the conditions by 
 which it was accompanied. In the exercise of his now re-acknow- 
 ledged power, he appointed to Hezekiah a tribute or indemnification 
 of thirty talents of gold and three hundred talents of silver — a weight 
 of bulhon which, if found to be of standard fineness, would exchange 
 in “the City” for about 266,850Z. When, to raise this large sum, 
 Hezekiah had drained his own treasury, borrowed all the money of 
 the Temple, and even stripped off the golden ornaments, with which, 
 in more auspicious days, he had overlaid its doors and pillars, to 
 send them to the invader, Sennacherib resumed the campaign, and 
 sent his lieutenants with a large force to require the surrender of the 
 king with his capital. The gasconading communications of these 
 commissioners, as preserved by Isaiah, mark the arrogant and 
 boastful character of the Assyrian people, and agree remarkably with 
 the tone of the inscriptions lately brought to light at Nimroud. 
 Eabshakeh pretends that his master is the especial messenger of Grod, 
 deputed to subjugate the earth : he is the Great King, the King of 
 Assyria, and is ready not only to conquer the Jewish army, but, in 
 pity to its weakness, to lend Hezekiah two thousand horses, &c. 
 
 “ Kow therefore, I x^ray thee, give pledges to my lord the king 
 of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be 
 able on thy part to set riders ujDon them.” ^ 
 
 The signal catastrox>he which cut short these insolent boastings, 
 destroyed the Asspfian army, and with it the j)restige of the empire, 
 is described with beautiful simplicity by Isaiah. “ Then the angel of 
 the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a 
 
 1 2 King=5, xviii. 7. 2 2 Kings, xviii. 14. 3 2 Kings, xvlii. 23. 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose 
 early in the morning, behold they were all dead corpses.”^ 
 
 Thus in one night perished 185,000 fighting men, a number 
 which, considered as forming but one division of the invading 
 forces, gives an exalted idea of the military power of Assyria at 
 this time. The prophet, in the elevated style of his age and 
 country, states that the enemy were smitten by an “angel of the 
 Lord,” an assertion which by no means precludes the operation of a 
 second cause. The piety of the J ewish prophets was accustomed to ac- 
 knowledge the divine hand in whatever was greatly beneficial, whether 
 effected by direct interposition or the familiar agencies of nature. 
 Isaiah’s words threaten the insolent conqueror with a “hot blast,” and 
 Jeremiah speaks of them as being cut off* by a “ destroying wind,” or 
 more literally, “a hot pestilential wind:” words which favour the prob- 
 ability that Sennacherib’s army was destroyed by one of those hot winds 
 which to this day sometimes envelope and destroy whole caravans. 
 
 A tradition preserved by Herodotus, who received it from his 
 favourite authorities, the Egyptian priests, is too curious in resem- 
 blance to the Bible narrative to pass unnoticed. The priests, trans- 
 ferring the entire event with admirable patriotism and devotion to 
 their own country, and the empire of their own deities, related that 
 after the reign of Anysis, there succeeded to the throne a priest of 
 Vulcan, named Setho, who “treated the military caste of Egypt with 
 extreme contempt ; and as if he had no occasion for their services, 
 among other indignities, he deprived them of their arursD, or fields of 
 fifty feet square, which, by way of reward, his predecessors had given to 
 each soldier. The result was, that when Sennacherib, king of Arabia 
 and Assyria, attacked Egypt with a mighty army, the warriors whom 
 he had thus treated refused to assist him. In this perplexity, the 
 priest retired to the shrine of his god, before which he lamented his 
 danger and misfortunes : here he sunk into a profound sleep, and his 
 deity promised him in a dream, that, if he marched to meet the 
 Assyrians, he should experience no injury, for that he would furnish 
 him with assistance. The vision inspired him with confidence ; he 
 put himself at the head of his adherents, and marched to Pelusium, 
 the entrance of Egypt. Hot a soldier accompanied the party, which 
 was entirely composed of tradesmen and artisans. On their arrival 
 at Pelusium, so immense a number of mice infested by night the 
 enemy’s camp, that their quivers and bows, together with what secured 
 their shields to their arms, were gnawed in pieces. In the morning 
 the Arabians, finding themselves without arms, fied in confusion, and 
 
 ^ Isaiah, xxxvii. 36, 
 
ASSYEIA AND MESOPOTAMIA. 
 
 51 
 
 lost great numbers of their men. There is now to be seen in the 
 temple of Yulcan a marble statue of this king, having a mouse in his 
 hand, and with this inscription : — ‘ Whoever thou art, learn from my 
 fortune to reverence the gods.’”^ 
 
 Such is the narrative of Herodotus, which, confused as it is, and 
 evidently made up by the priests, is yet obviously connected with the 
 true story. The visit to the temple, the prayer, the vision and 
 deliverance are, as nearly as possible, alike in both versions, and 
 grammarians have discovered that the title under which the Egyptian 
 god who interposed on this occasion, was worshipped, was also 
 ascribed to the Supreme Deity of the Jews. 
 
 The catastrophe which suddenly terminated the Jewish campaign, 
 paralysed Sennacherib’s forces just as a report reached him that 
 Tirhakah, king of Cush, one of the greatest heroes of antiquity, wus 
 on his march to attack the Assyrian territory; this determined 
 the king to lose no time in hastening back to his capital. “ So 
 Sennacherib, king of Assyria, departed, and went, and returned, 
 and dwelt at Hineveh.” ‘^And it came to pass, as he was wor- 
 shipping in the house of Hisroch his god, that Adrammelech and 
 Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword : and they escaped into 
 the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his 
 stead.” ^ 
 
 The death of Sennacherib, added by the sacred writer immediately 
 after the flight from Judea, for the sake of dismissing the subject, did 
 not actually take place until some time after that event. Such at 
 least is the inference from a curious relic of antiquity which, for 
 another reason, demands notice. In the Armenian version of Euse- 
 bius a fragment of Alexander Polyhistor is preserved. This ancient 
 fragment states that “ after the reign of the brother of Senecherib, 
 Acises reigned over the Babylonians, and when he had governed for 
 the space of thirty days, he was slain by Marodach Baladanus (Baal- 
 adon ? the sovereign lord) ^ who held the empire by force during six 
 months : and he was slain and succeeded by a person named Elibus. 
 But in the third year of his reign, Senecherib, king of the Assyrians, 
 le\ued an army against the Babylonians ; and, in a battle in which 
 they were engaged, routed, and took him prisoner mth his adherents, 
 and commanded- them to be carried into the land of the Assyrians, 
 Having taken upon himself the government of the Babylonians, he 
 appointed his son, Asordanius, their king, and he himself retired again 
 into Assyria.”'^ This fragment of history explains how there could be 
 
 1 Euterpe, cxii. 
 
 2 Isaiah, xxxvii. 37, 38. 3 Isaiah, xxxix. 1, 
 
 * Cory’s “ Fragments.” 
 
 2 Kings, XX. 13, 
 
 E 2 
 
52 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 in HezekiaK’s time a king in Babylon to send bim presents and letters, 
 altbongb both before and after Sennacherib that city was the capital 
 of an Assyrian province. Berodach-Baladan was one of those three 
 de facto kings ; and it may be that the misfortunes of the Assyrian 
 campaign in Jndea had tempted the Babylonian revolt, as it most likely 
 did that of the Medes, which happened about this period. In any 
 case, however, common hostility to Assyria would form a natural basis 
 of alliance and friendship between the successful Hezekiah and the 
 aspiring monarch of Babylon. The flight of Sennacherib’s murderers, 
 who were at the same time the natural heirs of his crown, left the 
 path to the throne open to Esarhaddon, his faithful son. Little is 
 recorded of this monarch in the Bible. His great concern seems to 
 have been to restore to his empire its lost military sway, in which 
 he was highly successful. One of his first enterprises was to recover 
 the sovereignty of Syria and Palestine, which seems to have been in 
 the hands of the Egyptians from the time of Hezekiah. His general 
 advanced into Judah, defeated Manasseh, its king, overtook him in 
 flight, and removed him into captivity. “ 'Wherefore the Lord 
 brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, 
 which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, 
 and carried him to Babylon. After two years’ duresse, Manasseh 
 was permitted to return to Jerusalem, and to pass the remainder of 
 his hfe as an Assyrian vassal. 
 
 The empire of Assyria now fades away from the page of canonical 
 Scripture, and is only to be traced on the transitional ground of the 
 apocryphal writings. The author of the book of Judith preserves the 
 memory of Hebuchodonosor, who ruled at Nineveh in the forty-eighth 
 year of Manasseh, or b.c. 632. This king, in the seventeenth year of 
 his reign, and fifty-seven years after the loss of Sennacherib’s army, 
 determined to attempt the reconquest of Media, then governed by 
 Arphaxad. Previous to his taking the field he called upon his allies 
 and tributaries, Persia, Cilicia, Samaria, Damascus, &c., to join him 
 with their forces. An unwillingness to increase the power of their 
 mighty neighbour, the remembrance of Sennacherib’s reverses, and 
 probably a confidence in the success of Arphaxad, induced every one 
 of them to avoid compliance with the request. Nebuchodonosor 
 advanced with his own unaided army, gave battle to Arphaxad on the 
 plain of Pagan, overthrew his power, secured Ecbatana, his capital, 
 took him prisoner, and put liim to death. 
 
 Peturning from Ecbatana, Nebuchodonosor celebrated his victory 
 by a feast at Nineveh, which lasted one hundred and twenty days, 
 
 ^ 2 Cliron. xxxiii. 11, 
 
ASSYIIIA AND MESOPOTAMIA. 
 
 53 
 
 and then prepared to chastise the countries which had refused their 
 assistance while his success was doubtful. 
 
 “And thou shalt go against all the west country, because they 
 disobeyed my commandment. 
 
 “ And thou shalt declare unto them* that they prepare for me earth 
 and water : for I will go forth in my wrath against them, and udll 
 cover the whole face of the earth with the feet of mine army, and I 
 will give them for a spoil unto them : 
 
 “ So that their slain shall fiU their valleys and brooks, and the river 
 shall he filled with their dead, till it overflow : 
 
 “And I will lead them captives to the utmost parts of the earth.” ^ 
 
 The power of Nineveh was now in its zenith, and to this period 
 the graphic description of the prophet applies : — 
 
 “ Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, 
 and with a shadowing shroud, and of a high stature ; and his top 
 Avas among the thick boughs. 
 
 “ The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high vdth her 
 rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers 
 unto aU the trees of the field. 
 
 “ Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, 
 and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because 
 of the multitude of waters when he shot forth. 
 
 “AD. the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and mider 
 his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, 
 and under his shadow dwelt aU great nations. 
 
 “ Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches ; 
 for his root was by great waters. 
 
 “ The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him : the fir trees 
 were not like his boughs, and the chestnut trees Avere not like his 
 branches : nor any tree in the garden of God Avas like unto him in 
 his beauty. 
 
 “ I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches : so that 
 all the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God envied him.”^ 
 
 Erom this hour, hoAvever, the glory of Assyria began to decline. 
 The invasion of Judea by Holofernes, tlie Assyrian general, followed 
 immediately upon the subjugation of Media. After long marches 
 and numerous conquests, that commander was disastrously beaten and 
 slain, and his army put to the rout. How long Nebuchodonosor 
 maintained himself on the throne is not knoAAm, but the effect of his 
 military misfortunes on the renoAvn of the Assyrian name is not 
 doubtful, for the empire, surrounded by younger and ambitious 
 
 * Judith, ii. 6 — 9. 
 
 ^ Ezekiel, xxxi. 3, 9, 
 
54 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 kingdoms, stood in need of all its ancient influence to secure it against 
 aggression, and its main army being now disorganised and conquered, 
 it no longer possessed the power of resistance. 
 
 The alliance of Cyaxares, son of Arphaxad, with IN’abopolassar, the 
 revolted satrap of Babylon, and their combined attack upon Assyria, 
 will be noticed with the testimony of secular history in the succeeding 
 chapter. The fall of IN’ineveh, which took place twenty-eight years 
 after the rout of Holofernes’ army, was anticipated by the Jewish 
 captive Tobit, long a resident of that capital. Some of his latest 
 instructions to his family are : “ Gio into Media, my son, for I surely 
 believe those things which the prophet Jonas spake of Nineveh, 
 that it shall be overthrown.” “And now, my son, depart out of 
 Nineveh : bury me decently, and thy mother with me, but tarry no 
 longer in Nineveh.”^ 
 
 While reading the details of the destruction of Nineveh, preserved 
 by the secular historians, the predictions of the Hebrew prophets are 
 forcibly suggested. An inundation of the Tigris swept away twenty 
 furlongs of the city waU: “With an overrunning flood he will make 
 an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his 
 enemies. The gates of the rivers shall be opened, and the palace 
 shall be dissolved. Nineveh is of old like a pool of water.” ^ 
 
 The despairing monarch perished in the conflagration of the im- 
 perial residence : “ The fire shall devour thy bars. There shall the 
 fire devour thee.” ® 
 
 The spoil was divided between the conquerors ; “ Take ye the spoH 
 of silver, take the spoil of gold ; for there is none end of the store and 
 glory out of all the pleasant furniture.” * 
 
 Her images shall be destroyed : “ And the Lord hath given a com- 
 mandment concerning thee, that no more of thy name be sown : out 
 of the house of thy gods will I cut ofi* the graven image and the 
 molten image : I will make thy grave ; for thou art vile.” ^ 
 
 The ruin of the proud city, long the terror of nations, is celebrated 
 by the prophet Ezekiel in bold and striking language “ Thus saith 
 the Lord Grod, Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he 
 hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up 
 in its height ; I have, therefore, delivered him into the hand of the 
 mighty one of the heathen, he shall surely deal with him : I have 
 driven him out for his wickedness. And strangers, the terrible of the 
 nations, have cut him off, and have left him : upon the mountains and 
 in the valleys his branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all 
 
 1 Tobit, xiv. 4, 10, 15. ^ Nahum, i. 8 ; ii. 6, 8. ^ Nahum, iii. 13, 15. 
 
 ^ Nahum, ii. 9. » Nahum, i. 14. ® Ezekiel, xxxi. 10, 14. 
 
ASSYRIA AND MESOPOTAMIA. 
 
 55 
 
 tlie rivers of the land; and all the people of the earth are gone down 
 from his shadow, and have left him. Upon his ruin shall all the fowls 
 of the heaven remain, and all the beasts of the field shall be upon his 
 branches : To the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt 
 themselves for their height, neither shoot up their top among the 
 thick boughs.” 
 
 With the destruction of Nineveh the empire of Assyria fell, pur- 
 suant to what had been foretold by the Prophets ; henceforward it 
 merged in that of Babylonia, and the charm of power passed finally 
 from the Tigris to the Euphrates. 
 
 Fig. 11. — NIMROD. 
 
HERODOTUS. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 HISTORICAL. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE ASSYRIA AND MESOPOTAMIA OF CLASSICAL WRITERS. 
 
 The object of this chapter is to sketch out all that can be gathered 
 of the history of Nineveh and its empire from the “ classical ” writers, 
 not, however, despising the aid of those historians of antiquity whose 
 testimony is trustworthy, even though they may not usually be 
 honoured with that distinctive epithet. A brief glance at the subse- 
 quent fate of the country, will appropriately bring us to the examination 
 of existing ruins. 
 
 The story of Assyria, as collected from uninspired testimony, has 
 been often told, and generally with success, as long as one or two 
 authorities only have been consulted ; it is when we come to compare 
 and attempt to harmonise the scattered and often incidental notices 
 of many ancient writers, that the difficulty commences. The causes of 
 the vagueness and discrepancy which mark the statements which have 
 come down to us are obvious. The ruins of Nineveh were virtually 
 unknown to the ancient classical writers, though we gather from all 
 of them that it was one of the oldest, most pow^erful, and most 
 splendid cities in the world ; that it perished utterly many hundred 
 years before the Christian Era j and that after its fall Babylon became 
 
CLASSICAL ASSYRIA AND MESOPOTAMIA. 
 
 57 
 
 tlie capital of the Assyrian empire. On examining their details, we find 
 names confounded, incidents transposed, and chronology by turns 
 confused, extended, or inverted. Difdculties of another and more 
 pecidiar kind beset this path of inquiry, of which it will suffice to 
 instance one illustration — proper names, those fixed points in history, 
 around which the achievements or sufferings of its heroes cluster, are 
 constantly shifting in the Assyrian nomenclature ; both men and 
 gods being designated, not by a word composed of certain fixed 
 sounds or signs, hut by aU the various expressions equivalent to it in 
 meaning, whether consisting of a synonyme or a phrase. Hence 
 we find that the names furnished by classic authors generally have no 
 Assyrian analogy, as the Greeks usually construed the proper names 
 of other countries according to the genius of their o^vn language, and 
 not unfrequently translated the original name into it. Herodotus, 
 however, though he mentions hut one Assyrian king, gives him his 
 true name, Sennacherib. 
 
 After this premonition, we shall trouble the reader no further with 
 technical considerations, hut at once set out to track the stream of 
 history, grateful even for the starlight in which much of the journey 
 is to be accomplished. 
 
 Ancient Assyria, or Athur,^ fromAsshur, Shem’s son, was originally 
 of hut small extent, its limits being partly determined by the sites of 
 the cities founded by Asshiu*. It is stated to have been “ hounded 
 on the north by Mount Mphates and part of Armenia ; on the east, by 
 that part of Media which lies towards Mounts Chaboras and Zagros ; 
 on the south, by Susiana as well as part of Babylonia ; and, finally, on 
 the west by the river Tigris.”^ 
 
 Strabo ^ and Pliny inform us that Mesopotamia or Haharaim, is 
 hounded by the Tigris on the east, the Persian Gulf and the 
 Euphrates on the south, the Euphrates on the west, and Mount 
 Taurus on the north j the length being 800 miles and the breadth 
 360 miles. 
 
 Babylonia was situated in lower Mesopotamia, between the estuary 
 of the Shatt-el-Arah, the Euphrates, and the western extremity of the 
 river Khabur, and adjoining this lay the monarchy of Assyria.^ 
 
 “ Hear the commencement of the Dujeil, or little Tigris, is one 
 extremity of the Median waU, which proceeds from thence S.S.W iW. 
 towards the Euphrates, a few miles westward of the Saklawiyah 
 canal. It is from 35 to 40 feet high, with towers at intervals of 55 
 paces from each other along its western side, and there is a ditch 
 
 ^ Dion. Cassiup, lib. Ixviii. 2 chesney, vol. i. ^ Book, xvi. p. 746. 
 
 Lib. vi. c. 27. ^ Cbosncy. 
 
58 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 towards the exterior 27 paces broad. It is called Chalu, or Sid 
 Nimrud, and is built of the small pebbles of the country, embedded in 
 lime of great tenacity.”^ The natives say that the Median waU was 
 budt by Nimrod to keep oif the people of Nineveh, with whom he 
 had an implacable feud. The bed of the DujeH is cut from 50 to 60 
 feet deep, through ground apparently as hard as iron, in many parts 
 exposing sections of ancient brick walls. 
 
 According to Scripture, Nineveh was founded by Asshur about 
 2230 B.C., but according to Diodorus Siculus, quoting Ctesias, it was 
 founded by Ninus 2183 b.c. Herodotus is silent upon this point, but 
 Africanus, quoted by Syncellus, states that the foundation of the 
 Assyrian monarchy took place 2284 b.c. The Armenian historian 
 Eusebius places it 1300 years before the fortieth year before the first 
 Olympiad, or 2116 b.c. ^milius Sura, quoted by Y. Paterculus, 
 says, it was 2145 b.c. By far the most distinct evidence is contained 
 in the extract from Polyhistor, found in the Armenian Chronicle, 
 which is, with good reason, believed to be an extract from the work of 
 Berosus the ancient native historian, of which we shall have more to 
 say. This Chronicle contains a table from the dynasties of the old 
 Assyrian empire, assigning the date to each, and the addition of the 
 figures gives the epoch 2317 b.c. as that of the foundation of the first 
 monarchy. He thus attains a date fixed within certain Hmits, and 
 differing so immaterially from that of the Biblical Chronology, that it 
 would not be unreasonable to suppose Ninus to have been the great 
 grandson, or, at all events, no very remote descendant of Asshur. 
 Abydenus,^ in the Armenian edition of Eusebius’ Chronicle, places 
 him sixth in descent from the first king of the Assyrians, who he calls 
 Belus, and the editor, in a note, produces some passages from Moses 
 Choronensis and others to show that such was the general opinion 
 among the Armenians.^ This account, which makes Ninus contempo- 
 rary with Abraham,'^ the tenth generation from Shem, perfectly 
 accords with the duration of the Assyrian empire, which all agree did 
 not exceed 1300 years from its rise to the fall of Sardanapalus. 
 Sardanapalus died 743 b.c., and if we reckon backwards 1300 years, 
 we shall find that the reign of Ninus commenced 200 years after 
 Nimrod began to be mighty on earth, so that he could neither have been 
 Nimrod himself, nor the son of Nimrod, as some have inferred from 
 the statement of Berosus. In our view the evidence is very satis- 
 
 1 Chesney’s Survey of the Euphrates. 
 
 2 A disciple of Aristotle, and a copyist of Berosus. 3 Cory’s “Fragments,” p. 69. 
 
 Idem., p. 36. Petavius says Abraham was born in the twenty-fourth year of Semiramis’ 
 reign, lib. i. c. 2. 
 
CLASSICAL ASSYEIA AND MESOPOTAMIA. 
 
 59 
 
 factory, for while it is higlily corroborative of the hypothesis that 
 Babylonia and Assyria were originally two distinct kingdoms, it is, 
 likewise, perfectly consistent with the authorities who ascribe the 
 foundation of the Assyrian empire to Ninus. Asshnr was the founder 
 of the monareJiy only of Assyria, but the beginning of the em^ire^ we 
 consider, may be justly computed from the time of his descendant 
 JN’inus, who was king of both Assyria and Babylonia, which were for 
 the first time united in his reign. 
 
 Justin, the Eoman historian, who abridged the History of Trogus 
 Pompeins in the second century, in the reign of Antoninus, gives a 
 little account of him in the commencement of his work. He says, 
 that, at the beginning, the sole object of the early kings had been to 
 guard their own confines ; but “ first of all, JN’inus, king of the 
 Assyrians, changed this old, and, as it were, hereditary custom of these 
 nations, by his lust of empire. He first brought wars against his 
 neighbours, and conquered the people, as yet unused to resistance, to 
 the very boundaries of Libya ” — which name was anciently applied, 
 by-the-by, to aU Africa. “ There w*ere, indeed (adds he), more 
 ancient than he, Sesostris in Egypt, and Tanaus, king of Scythia ; of 
 whom one brought war into Pontus, the other even to Eg)q>t. But 
 they brought distant wars, not neighbouring ones ; they sought not 
 empire for themselves, but glory for their people ; and, content with 
 victory, abstained from government : Mnus confirmed the magnitude 
 of his domination by continual possession. His neighbours, therefore, 
 being subdued ; when, by accession of strength, he was stronger, he 
 passed to others ; and, every new victory being the instriunent of the 
 next one, he subdued the whole of the East.” His last war was with 
 Oxyartes, or Zoroaster, king of the Bactrians.^ Here he met with a 
 more powerful resistance than he had yet experienced; but after 
 several fruitless attempts upon the chief city, he at last conquered it 
 by the contrivance and conduct of Semiramis, wife to Menon, president 
 of the King’s council, and chief governor of Assyria. Semiramis w'as 
 born at Ascalon, and said to be the daughter of Dercetis, the Assjuian 
 Venus ; but the story of her birth, as related by Diodorus,^ is so well 
 knovm, that it is unnecessary to recapitulate it here. The ability, 
 courage and beauty of Semiramis so captivated Kinus, that he used ^ 
 every imaginable persuasion and threat, to induce her husband to bestow 
 his wife upon him. Menon, however, would not consent, but in a fit 
 of distraction he destroyed himself, and Semiramis was advanced to 
 the regal state and dignity. Ninus had a son by Semiramis, named 
 
 ^ Ezekiel, xxiii. 23. Jer. 1. 17, 18. 
 
 3 Diod. Sic. lib. ii. c. 1. 
 
 ^ Justin, lib. i. c. 1. 
 
60 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEIIEES. 
 
 Ninyas, and died after a reign of fifty-two years/ leaving lier the 
 government of his kingdom. In honour of his memory, she erected 
 in the royal palace a monument, which remained till long after the 
 ruin of Nineveh. Diodorus describes it as a mound of earth, one 
 mile and two hundred yards high, by one mile and a quarter in 
 breadth. Serniramis had had so large a share in the administration of 
 affairs during the reign of Ninus, that she was the fittest person to 
 succeed him, especially as her son was a minor ; she accordingly con- 
 tinued the policy that had prevailed in the latter part of the reign of 
 her predecessor, and set herself earnestly to settle and establish the 
 empire. Shortly after her accession, she removed her court from 
 Nineveh to Babylon, which she enlarged, embellished with magnificent 
 buildings, and surrounded with walls ; so that, if not the actual 
 founder of the city, she rendered it the “mighty Babylon” so 
 renowned in history.^ After this, she settled all the neighbouring 
 kingdoms under her authority ; and wherever she went, left useful 
 and magnificent monuments of her progress : many of her aqueducts, 
 and highways cut through mountains, or formed by the filling up of 
 valleys, stdl existed when Diodorus wrote. She is said to have 
 conquered great part of Ethiopia, and to have consulted the oracle at 
 Jupiter Ammon ; but her greatest and last expedition was against 
 India. Justin says that she was the only monarch who ever pene- 
 trated to India before the time of Alexander. Diodorus says, that, 
 having resolved to conquer India, she ordered her troops to rendezvous 
 in Bactria (the ancient name of part of Persia). “ She there,” says 
 he, “ found herself in want of elephants, on which occasion she hit 
 on an ingenious expedient.” She resolved, it would seem, to make 
 some “ sham” elephants. To this end she provided “three hundred 
 thousand black oxen;” distributed the flesh among an enormous 
 number of mechanics, and ordered them to sew up straw in the 
 skins, in an elephantine form. In each of these she put a man to 
 govern it, and a camel to carry it, by which means the deception was 
 complete. She, however, was defeated by the Indian king, and had 
 to return with scarcely a third of her army. Nevertheless, in the 
 course of a reign of forty-two ^ years, this queen, the first on record, 
 helped to consolidate the oldest empire named in history. 
 
 Ninyas the son of Ninus and Serniramis was the next king of the 
 Assyrian empire. As he appears to have cultivated the arts of peace, 
 he is generally described by historians as a weak and effeminate 
 
 ^ Africanus and Eusebius. See Cory’s “ Fragments,” 
 
 Diod. Sic. lib. ii. c. 1. Herod. Clio, c. 178, 180, 184. Q. Curt., lib. v. c. 1. 
 
 ^ Africanus and Eusebius. See Cory’s “ Fragments.” 
 
CLASSICAL ASSYEIA AND MES0P0TA:MIA. 
 
 61 
 
 prince. He made no wars, nor used any endeavours to enlarge his 
 empire ; but he took measures to establish his authority over the 
 dominions acquired by his parents, and by a judicious contrivance of 
 governing his provinces, by means of deputies on whom he could 
 depend, wdth a number of regular troops changed annually, he pre- 
 vented the many revolts of distant countries which might othervdse 
 have happened.^ Shuckford in his “ Sacred and Profane History of 
 the World Connected,” has supposed that in the time of Abraham, 
 the seat of the Assyrian government was in Persia, one of the Asiatic 
 nations subjected by Hinus, and that the Chedorlaomer, king of 
 Elam of Moses, was identical with Hinyas. In support of this con- 
 jecture he cites the coincidence of locahties and offices, observing that 
 Amrapliel was his deputy in Shinar (probably at Babylon) ; Arioch 
 at EUasar (Assyria ?) ; and Tidal his deputy over other adjacent 
 countries, ^ verifying the Assyrian boast that its deputy princes or 
 chiefs, were “ altogether kings.” After showing that Chedorlaomer 
 had nations subject to his service eight or nine hundred miles distant 
 from the city of his residence, for so far were Sodom and Gomorrah, 
 and the other three cities whose kings paid him tribute, he concludes 
 that no power east of Assyria would be hkely to possess dominion 
 west of the Euphrates, and consequently that Chedorlaomer, could be 
 no other than the head of the Assyrian empire.^ We venture no 
 opinion upon these speculations, but insert them as curious and 
 interesting at the present time when the field of Assyrian research is 
 so much enlarged. Hinyas is reported to have commenced that state 
 which oriental sovereigns subsequently improved ; maintaining him- 
 self within his palace in mysterious secresy, in order to excite the 
 veneration of his subjects. He died after a reign of thirty-eight 
 years, transmitting to his successors an empire so well constituted, 
 as to remam in the hands of a series of kings for thirty generations 'L 
 Although we have no direct history of the acts of any of these 
 sovereigns, beyond those sure indications of their rule aftbrded by the 
 sculptures and inscriptions which have been found in Persia, Media, 
 Armenia, Coelo- Syria, and Cyprus; the records of other nations 
 furnish occasional gleams of information connected with Ass}u*ia. 
 
 Scripture tells us of Jacob’s visit to his rmcle Laban in 
 Mesopotamia,® and of the servitude of the Israelites, under Cushan- 
 Eishathaim which occurred about 1409 b.c.’' 
 
 ^ Diocl. Sic. lib. ii. c. 2. 2 Genesis, xiv. 1, 4, 5, 9. Isaiah, x. 8. 
 
 ^ Slmckforcl’s “ Sac. and Prof. Hist. Con.” bk. vi. * Diod. Sic. lib. ii. c. 2. 
 
 ^ AssjTian Dpi. Cory’s “Fragments,” pp. 70, 71. 7i 
 6 Genesis, xxix. 1 — 14. 
 
 Judges, iii. 1 — 9. 
 
63 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 Heykab, king of Armenia, appears to kave maintained a protracted 
 contest with Amyntas, ^ seventeenth king of Assyria, who was at length 
 snhdned and compelled to do homage to the Armenian king. His 
 successor Belochus, ^ however, recovered his territory, and killed 
 Heykah ; and finally the most interesting revelations are likely 
 to result from the readings of Egyptian monuments, some of 
 which leave it beyond doubt that Mesopotamia was conquered, and 
 siege laid to Nmeveh and Babylon, by the Egyptians between 1400 
 and 1300 b.c. In Mr. Birch’s Observations on the Hieroglyphical 
 Inscription of the Obehsk of the At Meidan at Constantinople;” 
 and on the “Statistical Tablet of Karnak,”^ he shows ns the names 
 of Saenkara, Singara, or the Mesopotamian Sennaar, and Haharaina, 
 Mesopotamia, the Heharjim of the Bible besides many other 
 
 names on which he most ingeniously speculates, and numerous allu- 
 sions to Asiatic customs, and to articles of tribute, to which we shall 
 have occasion to refer in a subsequent section. The period of the 
 Obelisk is the reign of Thothmes III. (Menophra Thothmosis HI.), 
 1341 B.C., as we gather from Theon, the Alexandrian mathematician, 
 who says that the cycle of 1460 years, which terminated a.d. 140 was 
 named the era of Menophres.^ “ The tablet of Karnak records the 
 tributes and exploits of the same king from his twenty-fifth to his 
 thirty-fourth year,”® and the following reading of one line is especially 
 worthy of note, “ Nenjiu^ in stopping — when his Majesty came he set 
 up his tablet to enlarge^ (or, on account of having enlarged') the confines 
 ofKam (Egypt).” 
 
 Mr. Birch remarks, that though the identification of the word 
 Nineveh is not perfectly satisfactory, yet the mention of tablets as 
 land-marks of the empire is most important ; ^ and the great historical 
 interest of both records is, that they are among the earhest which 
 mention Mesopotamia as the frontier of the Egyptian monarchy. 
 The first notice of its being attacked by the Egyptians is in the reign 
 of Thothmes I. ® In the reign of Amenophis the second son, the son 
 of Thothmes III., the ofiicer who had been directing fresh works at 
 Tourah,® states, ’"^that he had set up tablets for his Majesty as far 
 north as Naharaina, and southwards to Kara (Kalaa),” and under 
 Thothmes lY. the chiefs of Mesopotamia are seen humbly prostrated 
 
 1 Africanus, Dyn. Ass. and Eusebius, Arm. Chron. Cory’s “ Fragments,” pp. 72, 73, 77. 
 
 2 Ibid. 3 Trans. Roy. Soc, Lit., Second Series, vol. ii., pp. 218, 317. 
 
 Dr. Hindi’s “ Letters of Ancient Alphabets.” 
 
 5 Sharpe’s “ Chronology and Geography of Ancient Egypt,” p. 6. 
 
 * Trans. Roy. Soc. Lit., p. 220. ’ Idem, p. 345. 
 
 « Trans. Roy. Soc. Lit., p. 223, and Lepsius Auswahl, T. xiv. 
 
 9 Vyse’s Journal, vol. iii. Tourah quarries, pi. 2. 
 
CLASSICAL ASSYEIA AND MESOPOTAMIA. 
 
 63 
 
 and presenting tribute to that monarch. ^ The Egyptian monuments 
 do not, as yet, furnish us with later data connected with Assyria, but 
 it was under the reign of its early kings that Ehamses the Great 
 (the Sesostris of the Greeks) pursued his conquests in the East, far 
 beyond Assyria. Plato makes the kingdom of Troy in the time of 
 Priam 1184 n.c., a dependant on the Assyrian empire ; ” and Diodorus^ 
 says, that Teutamus the twentieth from Ninyas, sent 20,000 troops 
 and 200 chariots to the assistance of the Trojans, whose king Priam 
 was a prince under the Assyrian empire, which had then existed 
 above a thousand years. 
 
 The above is almost all we know concerning the warlike kings who 
 extended their sway over Western Asia, until the revolt of Media, 
 which is believed to have taken place about 700 n.o. Herodotus says 
 nothing of Assyria, until he begins to relate how Media became a 
 nation. Thus, he says, when speaking of an event which happened 
 711 B.c. — that the Assyrians had ruled Upper Asia 520 years before 
 that;'‘ a discrepancy from the statements of other historians to be 
 easily reconciled by the supposition that Ctesias dated from the 
 earliest establishment of the monarchy, while Herodotus confines 
 himself to the establishment of the great empire over central Asia. 
 
 Eurther on, he speaks casually of the “ Tigris which flows near 
 Nineveh.”® This little mention, we see, at once establishes its locality 
 and great antiquity. Eor Herodotus wrote b.c. 455, and had travelled 
 in Asia. He mentions his intention of relating the particulars of the 
 taking of Nineveh “hereafter, but it is uncertain whether he ever 
 executed the intention at all. Herodotus seems to have had no 
 knowledge of the existence of the Assyrian state before the extension 
 of its dominion over Upper Asia. That the Assyrian kingdom may 
 not have been known much beyond its limits, until the time of its 
 greatest prosperity, is highly probable, and this may account for the 
 silence of ancient history, as well as that of the Jewish writers. 
 The books of the Old Testament, however, being chiefly confined to 
 the history of the Jews, we have little mention in them of any other 
 nations farther than the Jew^s chanced to be concerned with them ; 
 but, so far as the Scripture accounts go, there seems to be nothing 
 irreconcileable with the statements of profane writers. 
 
 The historical period, properly so called, of Assyrian history, begins 
 with the revolt of the Medes and the fall of the first empire. Of 
 this event we have two accounts from Greek authors ; that of Ctesias, 
 
 1 Eighth Tomb at Gournah, Champ. Mon. Egypt, vol. ii. p. 160. 
 
 2 De Leg. lib. iii. 685. See Rollin, vol. ii. ^ Diod. Sic. lib. ii. c. 2 ; after Ctesias, lib. ii, 
 
 ■' Clio, xcv. ^ Euterpe, cl. ® Clio, cvi. 
 
64 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 as quoted by Diodorus, is in substance as follows : — “ Sardanapalus, 
 tbe thirtietb from Mnus, and tbe last king of the Assyrians, exceeded 
 all his predecessors in sloth and luxury ; for, besides that he was seen 
 of none out of his family, he led a most effeminate life, and proceeded 
 to such a degree of voluptuousness,” as showed him to be utterly 
 shameless. “ Being thus coiTupt in his morals, he not only came to a 
 miserable end himself, but utterly overturned the Assyrian monarchy, 
 which had continued longer than any we read of.” 
 
 ‘‘ Bor Arbaces, a Mode, a valiant and prudent man, and general of 
 the forces which were sent every year out of Media to Mneveh, was 
 stirred up by the governor of Babylon, to overthrow the Assyrian 
 empire. This governor’s name was Belesis, a most famous Babylonian 
 priest, one of those called Chaldseans, expert in astrology and divi- 
 nation. ^ ^ ^ And now the year’s attendance being at an end, 
 
 new troops succeeded and came into their place, and the former were 
 sent away, one here and there, into their several countries. Here- 
 upon Arbaces prevailed with the Medes to invade the Assyrian 
 empire, and drew the Persians, in hopes of liberty, to join in the 
 confederacy. Belesis, in like manner, persuaded the Babylonians to 
 stand up for their liberties. He sent messengers into Arabia, and 
 gained that prince for a confederate. 
 
 “ Sardanapalus, being informed of the revolt, led forth the forces 
 of the rest of the provinces against them ; whereupon, a battle being 
 fought, the rebels were totally routed, and with a great slaughter 
 were forced to the mountains, seventy furlongs from INTineveh. 
 
 “ Being drawn up a second time in battalia, he fought them again, 
 and destroyed many of the rebels, and forced them to fly to their 
 camp upon the hills. ^ Another battle was fought, wherein 
 
 the king gained a great victory, and pursued the revolters as far as 
 the mountains of Babylon.” 
 
 While Sardanapalus was rejoicing at these victories and feasting 
 his army, Arbaces induced the Bactrians to revolt, fell suddenly upon 
 the king’s camp, and made a great slaughter of some, forcing the rest 
 into the city. 
 
 “ Hereupon Sardanapalus committed the charge of the whole army 
 to Salamenes, the queen’s brother, and took upon himself the defence 
 of the city. But the rebels twice defeated the king’s forces, and the 
 king being afterwards besieged, many of the nations revolted to the 
 confederates, so that Sardanapalus, now perceiving that the kingdom 
 was lil^e to be lost, sent post into all the provinces of the kingdom, 
 in order to raise soldiers, and make aU other preparations necessary to 
 endure a siege. And he was the more encouraged to this, for that 
 
CLASSICAL ASSYRIA AND MESOPOTAMIA. 
 
 65 
 
 he was acquainted with an ancient prophecy, that Nineveh eould never 
 he taleen hy foree till the river heeame the city'' s enemy, * * * The 
 
 siege continued two years. The third year, it happened that the 
 river, overflowing with continual rains, came up into a part of the city, 
 and tore down the wall twenty furlongs in length. The king here- 
 upon conceiving that the oracle was accomplished, in that the river 
 was an apparent enemy to the city, utterly despaired ; and, therefore, 
 that he might not fall into the hands of his enemies, he caused a huge 
 pile of wood to he made in his palace court, and heaped together upon 
 it all his gold, silver, and royal apparel, and enclosing his eunuchs and 
 his concubines in an apartment within the pile, caused it to be set 
 on fire, and burnt himself and them together ; which, when the 
 revolters came to understand, they entered through the breach in the 
 walls, and took the city, and clothed Arbaces with a royal robe, and 
 committed to him the sole authority, proclaiming him king.”^ 
 
 The account of Herodotus is, that “ The Medes first of all revolted 
 from their authority, and contended with such obstinate bravery 
 against their masters, that they were ultimately successful, and 
 exchanged servitude for freedom. Other nations soon followed their 
 example, who, after living for a time under the protection of their 
 own laws, were again deprived of their freedom”^ by Deioces, a 
 Mede, who collected the Medes into one nation, over which he 
 ruled. After a reign of fifty-three years, he was succeeded by his 
 son, Phraortes, who reduced the Persians under the dominion of the 
 Medes. “ Supreme of these two great and powerful nations, he 
 overran Asia, alternately subduing the people of whom it was 
 composed. He came at length to the Assyrians, and proceeded to 
 attack that part of them which inhabited JSTineveh. These were 
 formerly the most powerfid nation in Asia : their allies at this period 
 had separated' from them ; but they were still, Avith regard to their 
 internal strength, respectable. In the twenty-second year of his 
 reign, Phraortes, in an excursion against this people, perished, Avith 
 the greater part of his army.” ^ He was succeeded by his son, 
 Cyaxares, Avho “proceeded with aU his forces to the attack of Mneveh, 
 being equally desirous of avenging his father and becommg master of 
 the city. He vanquished the Assyrians in battle ; but when he Avas 
 engaged in the siege of Nineveh, he aaus surprised by an army of 
 Scythians,” who beat him in a fixed battle, gaining not only the 
 victory, but the empire of Asia.^ 
 
 After a space of tAventy-eight years, “ The Medes recovered their 
 
 1 Diod. Sic. b. ii. c. 2. 2 3 102. 
 
 ^ Idem, 103, 104. 
 
66 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEllEES. 
 
 possessions and all their ancient importance ; after which they took 
 Mneveh, They moreover subdued the Assyrians, those only excepted 
 which inhabited the Babylonian district.” ^ 
 
 Thus far Herodotus, who, instead of contradicting Ctesias, confirms 
 and completes his statement, provided we bear in mind that Ctesias 
 speaks of the advance and victory of Arhaces, and his establishment on 
 the throne of Mneveh, and Herodotus of another Median, who, more 
 than a hundred years after gathered strength sufficient to overthrow 
 the elder race. 
 
 The warlike character of the four kings, whose victories are recounted 
 in Scripture, has led to the exceedingly probable opinion that they 
 were not predecessors of Sardanapalus, but monarchs of the dynasty 
 formed by Arbaces. The Median king Phraortes is the Arphaxad 
 slain by Hebuchodonosor, as related in the previous chapter. 
 Herodotus states that Cyaxares, his son, was assisted in the 
 expedition which destroyed Hineveh by Labynitus, king of Babylon, 
 probably Habopolassar, the Ahasuerus of Tobit. 
 
 Prom this time we hear no more of Nineveh nor of the Assyrian state, 
 and Babylon became the seat of the imperial power. The grand era 
 of Babylonian greatness commences with Nebuchadnezzar, who suc- 
 ceeded his father shortly after the overthrow of Nineveh. Most of 
 the great works for which his capital became famous are due to him or 
 to Nitocris, his queen. It is under this monarch that the Chaldeans, an 
 old but hitherto powerless race, appeared in the scene as a great and 
 warlike nation. It was they who invaded Judea, and carried away 
 its people into captivity.” Under Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon became 
 the mistress of the East, and its vast power caused the jealousy of 
 surrounding nations. Pharaoh-Necho was the first to take up arms 
 against him ; and after meeting with a rebuff in the kingdom of 
 Judah, joined battle with the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar at 
 Carchemish, was defeated, and driven out of Asia. It was immediately 
 after this that the Chaldeans marched upon Jerusalem, dethroned the 
 king whom the Egyptians had set up, and carried away a great number 
 of prisoners, among whom were Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, 
 Mishael, and Azariah. The conquest of Egypt seems to have been 
 the crowning work of Nebuchadnezzar’s active life ; and on his return 
 to Babylon, that monarch appears to have spent the remainder of his 
 reign in improving and beautifying the city. Of the story of the 
 Hanging Grardens, familar to every reader, it is unnecessary to speak; 
 the grandeur of the city has been a constant theme for poets. 
 
 1 Clio, 106. 
 
 2 Jcr. xxiv. 5 ; xxv. 12. Ezekiel xii. 13. Dan. i. 1, 2. Diocl. Sic. b. ii. c. 12. Ptol. v. 
 Joseph, i. Euseb, ix. 
 
CLASSICAL ASSYHIA AND MESOPOTAMIA. 
 
 67 
 
 The Chaldaeo-Babylonian empire, comprehending all Western Asia, 
 as far as the Mediterranean, never exceeded the limits it attained 
 under the rule of IMehuchadnezzar, and on the death of its founder it 
 began to decline. The book of Daniel relates how it fell under his 
 third or fourth successor, before the assault of Cyrus the Mede. 
 Xenophon gives us the military details : — 
 
 “He came at last to Babylon” (Institution, Book YII.), “bringing 
 with him a mighty multitude of horse, a mighty multitude of archers 
 and javelin men, but slingers innumerable ! ” He made preparations 
 as if to blockade it, and the “people,” says the historian, “laughed,” 
 for they knew that they had provisions for twenty years. It was then 
 that Cyrus discovered, that great plan of ruining them which has 
 always been so celebrated. 
 
 “ He, Cyrus, dug round the waU on every side a very great ditch, 
 and they threw up the earth towards themselves. In the first place, 
 he built the turrets on the river, laying their foundations on palm 
 trees that were not less than a hundred feet in length ; for there are 
 some of them that grow to a yet greater length than that ; and palm 
 trees that are pressed bend up under their weight as asses do that 
 are used to the pack-saddle. He placed the turrets on these for this 
 reason, that it might carry the stronger appearance of his preparing to 
 hloclc up the city.’’’* 
 
 Of course this stratagem diverted the minds of the citizens from his 
 real design. They laughed louder than ever — but — “ the ditches were 
 now finished f says Xenophon. 
 
 The ditches lying there — gaping, as it were, like graves for the 
 town — the Babylonians had a great festival. Cyrus, then, when it 
 grew dark, “ took a number of men with him, and opened the ditches 
 into the river. When this wns done, the water ran off in the night 
 by the ditches, and the passage of the city through the river became 
 passable y 
 
 Cyrus marched in — gained possession — and thus Babylon was taken, 
 B.c. 538. 
 
 Babylon now remained subject to the Persian power, which dated 
 from this period a vast predominance in Asia. The army assembled in 
 that city, at the close of the year in which it was taken, consisted, 
 according to Xenophon, of “ 120,000 horses ; 2000 chariots armed 
 with scythes ; and 60,000 foot.” Cyrus’s empire at this period of 
 glory was “ bounded to the east,” to quote the same writer, “ by the 
 Bed Sea : to the north by the Buxine (Black) Sea ; to the west by 
 Cyj^rus and Egypt ; to the south by ^Ethiopia.” 
 
 During the two centuries which had elapsed since the taking of the 
 
68 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 city by Cyrus, the Persian power had fluctuated, and soon after his 
 death there began dissension and degeneracy. Under Xerxes the 
 Persians invaded Greece in the most famous expedition of all antiquity, 
 and were defeated and destroyed by land and sea — so that the attempt 
 of their monarch became a proverbial illustration of the insanity of 
 ambition. 
 
 Babylon of course fell under the sway of the all-conquering 
 Alexander. “ He traversed the whole province of Babylon,” says 
 Plutarch, which immediately made its submission. It was in this 
 famous city that the great hero died of a fever, brought on by eastern 
 habits.” 
 
 The Seleucidse for a time made Babylon the seat of an empire, 
 which succumbed in power to the Bomans, never having played a 
 conspicuous part in the world’s affairs. After this time, Babylon was 
 of course only a distant and insignificant fragment of the Boman 
 empire growing dimmer and dimmer in fame and importance, until 
 it eventually shared the fate of its sister Nineveh, and sunk beneath 
 the very surface of the earth. 
 
 The foregoing historical abstract has been drawn up without any 
 attempt to analyse the dynastic lists found in Greek and Armenian 
 historians, because we strongly felt the difficulty of arriving at any 
 just conclusions from the data they have handed down to us. Never- 
 theless, chronology is so essential a part of our history, that its 
 omission might be esteemed a mark of carelessness ; and with a view, 
 therefore, to obtaining the best possible information on this branch of 
 our subject, we applied to our valued friend Mr. Samuel Sharpe, the 
 learned author of “ The History of Egypt,” &c., for assistance. He 
 at once acceded to our request, and we take this opportunity of 
 expressing our warm acknowledgments for his liberality in placing at 
 our disposal the results of his diligent researches, which appear in the 
 important chronological table and historical sketch forming the 
 following chapter. 
 
Fig. 12. — COLOSSAL LION FROM KOUYITNJIK. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 A SKETCH OF ASSYRIAN HISTORY. 
 
 BY SAMUEL SHARPE. 
 
 The Assyrian records have saved for us the names of thirty-six 
 kings who reigned in Nineveh, on the banks of the Tigris, before 
 what we must now consider the beginning of Assyrian history. 
 The last of these was Sardanapalus, whose true name was, perhaps, 
 Asser-Hadan-Pul, syllables which we shall find used in the names 
 of many of the later kings. His throne was overturned by an 
 invasion of the Medes, a people who dwelt on the shores of the 
 Caspian Sea, and who were separated from the kingdom of Nineveh 
 by the mountains of Kurdistan. Arbaces, king of the Medes, led 
 his army across these mountains, and made himself king of Assyria 
 in about b.c. 804. 
 
 After the death of Arbaces the Mede, the Assyrians were able 
 to make themselves again independent. The first of the new line 
 of kings was Pul. In his reign, Menahem, king of Israel, was wise 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
70 
 
 NINEYEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 enougli to provoke a war witk these neighbours. Tempted by the 
 disturbed state of Assyria, in the year b.c. 773, he led his army 
 300 miles northward, either conquering or passing by the kingdom 
 of Syria ; and then about 100 miles eastward to Tipsah or Thapsacus, 
 on the Euphrates, one of the nearest cities on that side of Assyria. 
 He was able to conquer the place, and he put the inhabitants to 
 death with great cruelty.^ But this was an unfortunate victory 
 for the Israelites. In the next year Pul marched in his turn into 
 Samaria. The frightened Israelites could make no sufficient resist- 
 ance, and they purchased a peace at the price of 1000 talents of 
 silver. "With this booty Pul returned home. He reigned twenty-one 
 years. 
 
 [b.c. 753.] Tiglath Pileser, or Tiglath Pul Asser, the next king 
 of Assyria, also found an excuse for invading Samaria. In the civil 
 war between Israel and Judah, when the Israelites called to their 
 help the king of Syria, whose capital was Damascus, Ahaz, king 
 of Judah, sent a large sum of money to purchase the help of the 
 Assyrians from Nineveh. Tiglath accordingly led the Assyrian army 
 against Syria; he overran that country, and conquered Damascus, 
 and slew Eezin, the king. He invaded the country of the Israelites, 
 and so entirely routed them, that he took from them the larger part 
 of the kingdom. He then added to the Assyrian empire, not only 
 Syria, but Gilead and Napthali on the east of the Jordau, and 
 Galilee to the north. He left to the Israelites only the province of 
 Samaria. He carried his prisoners to the furthest end of his own 
 kingdom, and placed them on the banks of the river Kir, which flows 
 into the Caspian Sea in latitude 39°. Ahaz, king of Judah, went in 
 person to Damascus to pay his homage to the Assyrian conqueror 
 and thank him for his help.^ 
 
 By this time we are able to mark the limits of the great Assyrian 
 empire. Nineveh, the capital, was situated on the east bank of the 
 Tigris, a little above the point where the greater Zab falls into that 
 river, and opposite to the modern city of Mosul. Near it were the 
 cities of Behoboth, and Calah, and Eesen.^ These cities together 
 formed the capital of the upper part of the valley watered by the 
 Tigris and Euphrates. At this time the king of Nineveh held also, 
 first, the mountains of Kurdistan, the country of the hardy Kurds ; 
 and, secondly, the country between Kurdistan and the Caucasus, 
 being the valley of the rivers Kiri and Araxes, which rise in the 
 mountains of Armenia and flow into the Caspian Sea. Tiglath was 
 
 1 2 Kings, XV. IG. 
 
 2 2 Kings, XV. 29 ; xvi. 9. 
 
 ® Genesis, x. 11, 12. 
 
A SKETCH OF ASSYRIAN HISTORY. 
 
 71 
 
 also master of the kingdom of Media, between Kurdistan and the 
 southern end of the Caspian Sea, of the kingdom of Syria, whicdi 
 contained the sources of the Euphrates and the yaUey of the Orontes, 
 and of the northern part of Palestine. 
 
 [b. c. 734.] Shalmaneser, the next king of Assyria, is also called 
 Shalman by the prophet Hosea. In the ninth year of his reign 
 (b. c. 725), he led an army against the little kingdom of Israel, which 
 was now reduced within the limits of Samaria. At the end of three 
 years (b. c. 722), he wholly conquered this unfortunate people, and 
 carried away into captivity the chief men of the ten tribes. He 
 placed them at Ilalah near Kineveh, at Gabor on the river Gozan, 
 and in some of the cities of the Medes. ^ He also conquered Sidon 
 and Acre, and the island of Cyprus ; Tyre alone held out against a 
 siege. ^ Shalmaneser reigned fourteen years, and died before this 
 removal of the Israelites into captivity was completed. The prisoners 
 were sent home, says the prophet Hosea, ^ as a present to his 
 successor. 
 
 [b. c. 720.] Sennacherib, called Jareb by Hosea, succeeded Shal- 
 maneser. He followed up the successes of the last two kings. He 
 completed the carrying away of the Israelites, and then invaded Judea, 
 in the fourteenth year of the reign of king Hezekiah (b. c. 714). 
 He marched -without interruption through Galilee and Samaria, 
 which were now provinces of Assjnia. His troops entered the 
 country of Benjamin at Aiath and Migron. He laid up his carriages 
 at Michmash as he came upon the hiU comitry around J erusalem. 
 The people fled at his approach, and aU resistance seemed hopeless. 
 While Sennacherib was near Lachish, besieging that city in person, 
 Hezekiah sent messengers to beg for peace and to make terms of 
 submission. The haughty conqueror demanded 300 talents of silver, 
 and 30 talents of gold, a sum so large that Hezekiah had to take the 
 treasures from the temple to enable him to pay it. 
 
 In the meantime, Sennacherib sent forward part of his army south- 
 ward, under the command of Tartan, against the cities of the coast. 
 In passing by Jerusalem, Tartan endeavoured to persuade the people 
 to open the gates, and assured them that it was in vain to look for 
 help from Egypt. But he made no attempt to storm the place ; he 
 moved forward and laid siege to Azotus in due form, and soon made 
 himself master of the place. ® 
 
 When Sennacherib had made terms with Hezekiah, he led his army 
 against Egypt, provoked by the news that Tiidiakah, the Ethiopian 
 
 1 2 Kings, xviii. 11, ^ Meiiandcr, in Josephus. 
 
 ^ Chap. X. 6. *2 Kings, xviii. 14. 2 Chron., xxxii. ^ Isaiah, xxxvi, xxxvii. 
 
7 :^ 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 sovereign of that comitiy, was marching to the relief of the Jews. 
 He passed through the desert, along the coast, and arrived at Pelusium, 
 the frontier town on the most easterly branch of the Nile. Here he 
 was met by an Egyptian army, under the command of Sethos, a priest 
 of Memphis. But before any battle took place some unknown cause 
 had scattered and routed the Assyrians ; and while the Jews gave 
 glory and thanks to Jehovah for their deliverance, the Egyptians set 
 up a statue in the temple of their god Pthah in Memphis. ^ 
 
 Sennacherib himself escaped alive and returned home to Nineveh, 
 but he was probably at the end of his reign less powerful than at 
 the beginning ; and Merodach-baladan, who was then reigning at 
 Babylon, may have felt himself too strong to be treated as the vassal 
 of Nineveh. Merodach made a treaty with Hezekiah, king of Judah,^ 
 which could hardly have been agreeable to Sennacherib. The 
 latter years of Sennacherib’s reign were probably employed in wars 
 with Babylon against Merodach and his successors ; till, when old, 
 as he was worshipping in the temple of the Assyrian god Nisroch, 
 he was murdered by two of his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer. 
 But they gained nothing by their crime. They had to flee from 
 punishment, and they escaped over the northern frontier into 
 Armenia, a mountainous country that had been able to hold itself 
 independent of Assyria. Esarhaddon, his third son, then gained the 
 throne of Nineveh.^ Sennacherib had reigned for perhaps thirty- 
 seven years over Assyria, Media, Glalilee, and Samaria, and probably 
 held Babylon as a dependent province, governed by a tributary 
 monarch. 
 
 [b.c. 683.] The date of Esarhaddon’ s gaining the throne of Nineveh 
 is uncertain, but the time that he became king of Babylon is better 
 known, for in the year b.c. 680, he put an end to a line of kings 
 who had reigned there for sixty-seven years. Towards the end of 
 his reign, he had occasion to punish some act of disobedience on the 
 part of Manasseh, king of Judah. He sent an army against him, 
 and carried him prisoner to Babylon ; but, after a short time, he 
 released him, and again seated him on the throne of Jerusalem.'’* 
 Esarhaddon reigned perhaps sixteen years. 
 
 [b.c. 667.] Sardochseus, the next king, reigned over Nineveh, 
 Babylon, and Israel for twenty years ; and over Media also, till that 
 country revolted in the thirteenth year of his reign, b.c. 665. Media, 
 under Phraortes and his successors, remained independent for one 
 
 1 2 King's, xix. 35. Herodotus, ii. 141. 2 Ibid., xx. 12. 
 
 ^ 2 Kings, xix. 37. Ptolemy’s Canon, and that of Syncellus, in Cory’s “Fragments.” 
 
 ^ 2 Chron. xxxiii. 11. 
 
A SKETCH OE ASSYEIAK HISTOEY. 
 
 73 
 
 hundred and twenty-eight years. The bright days of Nineveh’s 
 glory were already past. 
 
 [b.c. 647.] Chyniladan reigned twenty-two years ; but, during 
 this latter reign, Assyria was still further weakened by the loss of 
 Babylon, which then fell into the hands of the Chaldees. 
 
 The Kurds, a hardy race who inhabit the mountains of Kurdistan, 
 between Nineveh and Media, are thought with some probability to 
 be the people who, under the name of Chaldees, now made them- 
 selves masters of Babylon. In the year b.c. 625, their leader, Nabo- 
 polassar, was king of that city, and of the lower half of the valley of 
 the Tigris and Euphrates. Two years later, he marched northward 
 against Nineveh. The prophet Nahum describes his storming and 
 sacking that famous capital. Nineveh fell before the rising wealth 
 of Babylon, a city three hundred miles nearer the sea, as Egyptian 
 Thebes had already sunk under the cities of the Delta. ^ 
 
 In this falling state of the country, while Media was independent, 
 and civil war was raging between Nineveh and Babylon, Assyria was 
 further weakened by an inroad of the Scythians. These roving 
 Tartars, passing the Caspian sea, whether on the west side or east side 
 is doubtful, first came upon the Medes, and wholly routed the army 
 which Cyaxares, the king, sent against them. They then crossed 
 Mesopotamia, laying waste the country as they passed. They met 
 with no resistance in Judea; but their numbers lessened under the 
 hardships of their march. Bsammetichus, king of Egypt, was able to 
 turn them aside from entering that country, and those that remained 
 perished, as they marched northward, on the eastern shore of the 
 Mediterranean.^ 
 
 On the conquest of Nineveh by Nabopolassar, the city was by no 
 means destroyed. It probably shared, with the rising Babylon, the 
 favour of the sovereign, who is still sometimes styled the king of 
 Assyria.^ It was probably then that the Book of Jonah was written. 
 The Jews had expected that Nineveh, the great enemy of their nation, 
 would have been wholly and for ever destroyed ; but Assyria is no 
 longer unfriendly to them, and the purport of the book of Jonah is to 
 explain the justice of God’s government in sparing that great city, 
 which had repented of its enmity, and should now find favour in their 
 sight. Josiah, king of Judah, finds a friend and protector in 
 Nabopolassar, King of Assyria. 
 
 Modern research has not yet helped us to understand the ancient 
 authors in their description of Nineveh. Its walls surrounded a 
 
 ’ C. Ptolemy, in Cory’s “ Fragments.” 
 
 Herodotus, i. 103. ^ 2 Kings, xxiii. 29. 
 
74 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 large space of cultivated land, and probably embraced wbat we may 
 call several towns within their circuit. Diodorus Siculus (ii. 3) says 
 that it was 480 stadia, or 48 English miles round. The Book of 
 Jonah tells us that it was a great city of three days journey, by which 
 the writer seems to mean that it was a journey of three days to pass 
 through the city ; but he adds rather more exactly, that it held within 
 its walls cattle for its maintenance, and a population of more than 
 120,000 persons, who, in their heathen ignorance, he said, did not 
 know their right hand from their left. Its palaces were, no doubt, 
 chiefly built in the reigns of Shalmaneser, Sennacherib, and 
 Esarhaddon ; but it is not impossible that it may have been further 
 ornamented with buildings and sculptures by Nabopolassar. The 
 walls were covered with the Cuneiform writing, in which every 
 character, whether it is a letter or a syllable, is formed of several 
 straight lines, each headed like a nail. 
 
 These civil wars between Nineveh and Babylon may have given 
 encouragement to Necho, king of Egypt, to push his arms eastward, 
 and to claim authority over Samaria and Judea. But Josiah, king of 
 Judah, was true to the Babylonians. When Necho landed on the 
 coast, and marched northwards towards the Euphrates, Josiah led an 
 army against him. But the Egyptians were victorious ; Josiah was 
 slain at Megiddo, and Jerusalem and the whole of Palestine was in 
 the power of the Egyptians, who set up a new king over Judah. A 
 few years later, however, Nabopolassar again reduced the Jews to 
 their former state of vassalage under Babylon.^ 
 
 Nabopolassar was nowold, and his son Nebuchadnezzar commanded 
 for him as general, and carried on the war against the Egyptians on 
 the debateable ground of Palestine. After three years Necho again 
 entered the country, and marched as far as Carchemish, on the 
 Euphrates. Here he was wholly defeated by the Babylonian army 
 under Nebuchadnezzar.- By this great battle the Babylonians 
 regained their power over Jerusalem, and drove the Egyptians out of 
 the country. Nebuchadnezzar carried captive to Babylon the Jewish 
 nobles, and Judea remained a province of that great monarchy. 
 
 In B.c. 605, Nebuchadnezzar succeeded to his father, and governed 
 that large kingdom in his own name, which he had hitherto been 
 enlarging as a general. He fixed his seat of government at Babylon, 
 a city which soon became as large as Nineveh, which it had overthrown. 
 Jerusalem twice rebelled against him, but he easily reduced it to 
 obedience, although on the second rebellion Hophra, king of Egypt, 
 
 * 2 Kings, xxiii. 29. 
 
 ^ ^ 2 Kings, XXV. 1. 2 Chron. xxxv. 20 ; xxxvi. 1. Berosus in Josephus. 
 
A SKETCH OF ASSYRIAN HISTORY. 
 
 came up to help the Jews. Nebuchadnezzar defeated the Egyptians, 
 and took away from them every possession that they had held in 
 Palestine, Arabia, or the island of Cyprus. He died in the forty-third 
 year of his reign. ^ 
 
 [b.c. 562.] After the death of Nebuchadnezzar, four other kings 
 of less note reigned over Babylon, and held Nineveh. But the Median 
 power was now rising. The Medes were in close alliance with the 
 Persians, and the young Cyrus, at the head of the united armies, 
 routed the Babylonians in several battles, and at last conquered 
 Babylon and put an end to the monarchy. After a few years Cyrus 
 united the kingdoms of Media and Persia, by right of inheritance ; 
 and he thus (b.c. 536) added to the land of his birth the whole of 
 the possessions which had been held by Sennacherib, and more than 
 those of Nebuchadnezzar. 
 
 Notwithstanding its conquest by Persia, Babylon continued a large 
 city, being still the capital of the plain watered by the Tigris and 
 Euphrates. Though no longer the seat of government, it was still 
 the seat of trade, and of great importance when visited by Alexander, 
 on his overthrow of the Persian monarchy in the year b.c. 324. 
 Alexander died there, and on the division of his wide conquests 
 among his generals, Babylon in a few years became the kingdom 
 of Seleucus and his successors. Tliis city of Nebuchadnezzar was 
 now to fall yet lower. It was governed by Hreeks, and Seleucus 
 found Syria the most suitable province in his empire for the 
 capital. Accordingly he built Antioch, on the Orontes, for the seat 
 of his government, and Seleucia, on the Mediterranean, as the port 
 of that new city, and Babylon never rose again to be a place of 
 importance. 
 
 The chronology of the times that we have been describing, from Pul, 
 king of Assyria, to Cyrus, king of Persia, will be better understood 
 by the help of the following table. By the side are written the years 
 before ^Ollr era; at the top are the names of the countries; and from 
 the whole we are enabled to see at a glance the width of kingdom 
 under each sovereign. "When the wedge-shaped characters shall have 
 been more certainly read by the able decipherers now engaged on 
 them, we shall no longer be required or at liberty to guess by what 
 kings the palaces of Nineveh were built and ornamented. But in the 
 mean time, it seems reasonable to suppose that it was during those 
 years wdien the nation’s energy was shown in its width of empire, 
 that it was also engaged on its largest, most costly, and most lasting 
 buildings. Success in arms is usually followed by success in arts ; 
 
 Berosus in Josephus. 2 Kings, xxy. 8. 
 
Cyrus. 
 
 Cambyses. 
 
 Darius. 
 
 Xerxes. 
 
 Arbaces. 
 
 Dejoces. 
 
 NINEVEH. 
 
 Phraortes. 
 Cyaxares I. 
 
 Astyages. 
 Cyaxares II. 
 PERSIA. 
 
 Xabopolassar. 
 
 Nebochadnessar. 
 
 Evil-Merodacb. 
 
 Nabboned. 
 
 PERSIA. 
 
 Nabonassar. 
 
 Nadius. 
 
 Mardoch-Empadus. 
 
 Arkianus. 
 
 Belibus. 
 
 Eigebelus. 
 
 NINEVEH. 
 
 BABYLON. 
 
 PERSIA. 
 
 Acrapazus. 
 
 Sardanapalus. 
 
 MEDIA. 
 
 Pul. 
 
 Tiglath-Pileser, 
 
 Shalmaneser. 
 
 Sennacherib. 
 
 Esarhaddon. 
 
 Sardochseus. 
 
 Chyniladan. 
 
 BABYLON. 
 
 PERSIA. 
 
 Joash. 
 
 Jeroboam II. 
 
 Zachariah. 
 
 Menahem. 
 
 Pekahiah. 
 
 Pekah. 
 
 Hosea. 
 
 NINEVEH. 
 
 Jeboabaz. 
 
 Jehoacbin. 
 
 Zedecbiah. 
 
 BABYLON. 
 
 PERSIA. 
 
 Amaziah. 
 
 Uzziah. 
 
 Jotham. 
 
 Ahaz. 
 
 Hezekiah. 
 
 Manasseh. 
 
 Amon. 
 
 J osiah. 
 
 ta : 
 bs • 
 
 Si 
 
 c ; 
 
 PERSIA. MEDIA. BABYLON. NINEVEH. ISRAEL. JUI^AH. CYPRUS. 
 
A SKETCH OE ASSYRIAN HISTORY. 
 
 77 
 
 and the size of the palace hears some proportion to the size of the 
 kingdom. 
 
 Among the Assyrian sculptured monuments there has been found 
 a small ivory slab, or lid of a box, ornamented with Egyptian sculjiture 
 and rudely carved hieroglyphics. This naturally leads us to inquire 
 when and how far one of these nations was indebted to the other for 
 its knowledge of art. 
 
 The first trace of Egyptian fashion in Nineveh is in the name of 
 King Tiglath Pileser. Of this, the latter half is formed of the Assyrian 
 words Pul and Asser ; but the first half is borrowed 
 from the name of King Tacelothe, who reigned in 
 Bubastis one hundred and fifty years earlier. In the 
 same way the first half of the names of Nebo-pulassar, 
 and Nebo-chednezzar, is perhaps from the Egyptian 
 word Neb, lord ; which is also seen in the name of the 
 Babylonian god Nebo. Again, when Baineses II. 
 marched through Palestine, he left behind him 
 sculptured monuments in boast of his victories. One 
 of these is still remaining in Syria, near Beyrout ; and 
 when the Assyrian conqueror (perhaps Sennacherib, 
 or perhaps the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar) after- 
 wards marched through the same country, he carved 
 a yet larger monument, on the face of the rock beside that of 
 Baineses, and in imitation of the Egyptian in such 
 less convenient place as was left for him. (See wood- 
 cut, Nahr al Kelb monument.) Again, on a monument 
 at Persepolis, the sculptured figure of Cyrus, the 
 Persian king, bears an Egyptian head-dress. It has 
 horns copied from those of the god Knef, and above 
 the horns are two basilisks or sacred serpents. 
 
 These instances, taken together, are enough to prove 
 that Egyptian fashion and Egyptian art were copied 
 by their eastern neighbours ; and this is yet further 
 shown in more modern cases. The names of Soter, Philadelphus, 
 and Euergetes, when used by kings in Asia, had 
 always been already used by kings of Egypt. The 
 Egyptians seem in every case to have set the fashion 
 to their neighbours, and were far before the Assyrians 
 in skill as artists. 
 
 This ivory slab, of which we have been speaking, 
 bears the name of Aobeno Ba, written in hieroglyphics, within a 
 ring or oval, in the usual style of an Egyptian king’s name. 
 
 Fig. 13. — NAME 
 ON IVOKY BOX. 
 
 Fig. 14. — HEAD OF 
 CYEtrS. 
 
 O 
 
 5 @ LC 
 
 Fig. 15. — NAME 
 OBENRA. 
 
78 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 This is, however, not a king’s name, hut only the eastern way 
 of pronouncing the name of the god Amun Ea. On a mummy-case, 
 in Dr. Lee’s museum at HartweU, the name of the god is written 
 Oben-Ea, under a large disc or figure of the sun, as the head of the 
 inscription. The style of this mummy-case makes it probable that it 
 was made at Memphis, under the rule of the Persians, and 
 no doubt at a time when those conquerors had intro- 
 duced their own sun-worship and pronunciation. On 
 the sarcophagus of Amytoeus, one of the Egyptian 
 kings who rebelled successfully against the Persians, the 
 name of the god is also spelt Oben-Ea. (See Egyptian 
 Inscriptions, plate 30.) These two cases of the use of 
 this name, prove its meaning on the ivory slab from 
 Mneveh, while the last, which was sculptured about 
 B.c. 450, would lead us to think the ivory slab not much 
 older. 
 
 Tradition tells us that the city of Balbec, near 
 Damascus, was ornamented with a temple to the Sun 
 by a king of Assyria who held Syria, and was friendly 
 to Egypt, from which country he was willing to copy 
 his customs and religion. In Egyptian Heliopolis he 
 found a god so like his own that he copied his statue 
 for his own temple in Syria.^ The city received an Egyptian 
 name, Balbec, the city of Baal^ from Baki, the Egyptian for city, 
 and was by the Greeks afterwards called Heliopolis, when the 
 later temple was there built. The builder of this earlier temple 
 can be no other than Tiglath Pileser. 
 
 ’ Macrobius, lib. i. 23. ‘ 
 
 16.— AMMUN-. 
 
 Figs. 17 and 18 .— Babylonian cylindeical seals. 
 
Fig. 19.— PLAN OF MOUND OF KHORSABAD. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 TOPOGRAPHY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 BANKS OF THE TIGRIS AND SITES OF THE ASSYRIAN PALACES. 
 
 KIIORSABAD. 
 
 Haying in tlie previous sections sketched the labours of Rich, 
 Botta, and Lajard, and gone over what records, scriptural and classical, 
 are left to ns of the early history of the Assyrian empue, it may now 
 he desirable to trace the general topographical featiues of the locality 
 where the modern searches have been made for the discovery of the 
 buried city — Hineveh, 
 
 Plowing down the sides of the mountains in which it takes its rise, 
 the Tigris still for a while meanders at their base, and then being 
 enlarged by the tributary waters of the Peechabeur, it washes the 
 western extremity of the mountain of Gako. Prom this point it 
 stretches away from the hills in which it had its birth, leaving between 
 
80 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 them and itself a plain which gradually widens, imtil, opposite Mosul, 
 it shows a broad expanse. 
 
 This plain is far from presenting the flat alluvial character ofiered 
 by Mesopotamia in the lower part of the course of the Euphrates and 
 the Tigris ; it is, on the contrary, extremely undulating, and deeply 
 furrowed by the water-courses which, running dovm from the moun- 
 tains and following the general inclination of the ground, flow 
 towards the river. The principal of these streams is the Khauser, 
 which rises to the north of Mosul in the mountains, and empties itself 
 into the Tigris after having traversed the boundaries of the ancient 
 walls of Nineveh itself. 
 
 The town of Mosul is situated on the right shore of the Tigris, 
 being distant 190 miles south-east of Diarbekir, and 220 W. N. "W. 
 of Baghdad, and Colonel Chesney informs us that the average width of 
 the river, from Mosul to Baghdad, is 200 yards, with a current, in 
 high season, of about four miles and a quarter an hour. 
 
 It will greatly facilitate the subjoined description if the reader will 
 at once fancy himself transported, across the desert or up the Tigris, 
 as he may please, to the city of Mosul. He is invited thither, not to 
 gaze on its old walls, which withstood the fierce Saladin’s hosts ; or its 
 streets, which Grenghis Khan once deluged with blood, nor to watch 
 the many caravans which enter and emerge by its eight gates ; nor to 
 mark the manners of its large and motley population. Mosul is the 
 starting point of Assyrian research ; we wiU therefore at once cross the 
 Tigris, here 400 feet wide, by the ricketty bridge of boats, and thus 
 gain the eastern side of the river. 
 
 Arrived here, the first objects that strike us are two shapeless 
 mounds, standing due north and south of each other, on a level tract, 
 and separated by the Khauser, a mere rivulet. They are the mounds 
 of Kouyounjik and Nebbi Tunis : these two eminences being 
 connected on the side nearest the Tigris by a rampart and fosse, which 
 run beyond them, turn to the east, and circumscribe an area having 
 the form of an oblong square. The rampart consists of sun-dried 
 brick and earth. It varies in height from ten to twenty feet, has here 
 and there been broken through, but continuous traces remain, the 
 whole bearing a striking resemblance to the Eoman entrenchments 
 still extant in our own country. 
 
 The mound of Khorsabad is situated about 14 miles N. E. of 
 Mosul,^ on the left bank of the little river Khauser, and about 8 
 miles S. S. E. of Mosul Lies the mound of Nimroud, both mounds 
 being visible, through a telescope, from the loftiest houses in Mosul. 
 
 * Botta’s Letters on Nineveh. 
 
ROAD TO KHORSABAD. 
 
 81 
 
 A fourth mound, Karamles, is as far north from Mmroud as 
 Khorsahad is from Mosul ; but although Assyrian remains are knoum 
 to exist there, the mound has hitherto been but slightly examined. 
 
 We will now proceed to the mound of Khorsahad, distinguished as 
 that in which the first Assyrian building was discovered. Lyiug some 
 distance on one side of the principal route which leads from Mosul to 
 Diarbekir, it is not surprising that the village of Khorsahad, from its 
 situation and slight importance, had received but little notice from 
 European investigators. Chance seems to have conducted Mr. Kich 
 there, during a journey wEich he made from Mosul to the convent of 
 Kabban-Ormuzd ; and after visiting the ruined convent of Mar-Matteh, 
 he regained the plain by traversing the first chain of hills which 
 separate the waters of the Gromel from those of the Khauser. 
 Following the base of the hills, he says that he saw several mounds 
 situate near each other, and particularly one of considerable size with 
 a flat top. There is little doubt but this was the mound of Khorsahad, 
 for the village called by Mr. Kich, Iman-Eadla, is certainly the village 
 of Fadlieh, situated at the foot of the mountain at half a league from 
 Khorsahad ; the position of the place, the mention made of gardens in 
 this locality, and still more, a compaidson of the names, aU concur in 
 confirming the surmise. 
 
 Kiebuhr, also, followed the route of the Desert to the west of the 
 Tigris, on his way from. Mosul to Mardin ; he, consequently, did not 
 pass near Khorsahad; nevertheless the name of this village did not 
 escape his researches, which were always so precise and exact : in his 
 list of the villages situated to the north of Mosul and to the east of 
 the river, is found the name of Kliastabad, one of the variants still in 
 use for Khorsahad. This latter name, in fact, not being Arabic, and 
 suggesting no meaning to the inhabitants, is vnitten and pronounced 
 by them very variously.^ According to tliein, the word means 
 dwelUng of the sicTc, a term which perfectly agrees with the insalubrity 
 of the neighbourhood. 
 
 1 Botta says it ought to be spelt and pronounced “ Khouroustabaz, with a dhamma on the 
 klm and the ra, a sekoun on the sin, and the two points on the ta." Yacouti, in his Turkish 
 Geographical Dictionary, says, “ This is a village to the east of the Tigris, forming a portion 
 of the district of Ninioua. Water is plentiful there, and there are numerous gardens watered 
 with the surplus of the waters of the Eas-el-Na’our, which are called Jara’at. In this 
 neighbourhood there is a ruined ancient city called Saro’Cin.” With regard to this city 
 of Saro’un, Yacouti speaks of it in the same dictionary as follows : — “ Saro’un, with a fatha 
 on the sad and a sekoun on the ra, was an ancient city in the district of Ninioua, and 
 the best of the district of Mosul. It is ruined ; ancient treasures are believed to exist there, 
 and some individuals are said to haA^e found sufficient to satisfy them. There is a story on the 
 subject of this town mentioned in the ancient chronicles.” It was Rawlinson who pointed out 
 this curious citation, which is all the more interesting because, while fixing the real 
 
83 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOYEEEES. 
 
 Two roads lead from Mosul to Khorsabad, passing north and south 
 of Kouyounjik, In following the northern route, it is necessary to 
 traverse the Khauser near its mouth, and then to recross it a little 
 distance from Khorsabad, This passage, which is not always easily 
 effected during the floods, is avoided by keeping on the left bank of 
 the Khauser, to the south of Kouyounjik ; and this route was that 
 which Botta generally took. The traveller enters the boundaries of 
 old Kineveh by one of the cuttings made through the wall between 
 the village of Niniouah and the mound of Kouyunjik, and emerges 
 from thence at the very point where the river, turning round the 
 mound, cuts the eastern rampart to penetrate the enclosed space : a 
 few remains of masonry in the bed of the river at this spot would seem 
 to indicate the ancient existence of a bridge, or rather of some work 
 destined to support the continuation of the wall, but allowing at the 
 same time a free passage for the water. Brom this point the road 
 turns gradually to the north, parallel with the left bank of the 
 Khauser, and then, after having traversed a deep ravine, which 
 ultimately joins the river, it separates from the road to Bachika, at 
 the foot of the eminence on which the ruined village of Hachemich 
 is situated. 
 
 At the base of the elevations by which the road is bounded on the 
 east, are remarked those masses of concretions considered by Mr. Bich 
 to be the remains of ancient masonry. On the way from Mosul to 
 Zakho masses of conglomerations precisely similar are found in the 
 ravines which cut the plain transversely as they descend from the 
 mountains ; and there is no reason for behoving that the origin of 
 those which border the valley of the Khauser is diflerent. 
 
 Brom the village of Hachemich up to Khorsabad, the road presents 
 nothing remarkable ; it gradually nears the chain of the mountains, by 
 traversing a vast undulated plain. The soil of this plain is capable of 
 cultivation, but not a single tree breaks the monotony of it ; and as 
 soon as the sun, whose power is in this country felt at a very early 
 period of the year, has dried up the vegetation, nothing can be more 
 mournful to behold or more wearisome to traverse, than this long 
 succession of fields lying fallow or despoiled of their crops. 
 
 The road, after having traversed the bed of a torrent, rises gradually 
 by a gentle undulation. On arriving at the highest point, the 
 
 orthography of the name of Khorsahad, it proves the falseness of an etymology already 
 proposed, the historical consequences of which were of some importance. The name of 
 Khouroushad might very well he decomposed into Khourous and abad, and thus signify the 
 dwelling of Cyrus ; but the presence of a i and a z in Khouroustabaz renders this derivation 
 impossible. As to the existence of an ancient town named Sar’oun on this spot, the present 
 is not a fitting time to discuss the question. 
 
LOCALITY OF KHOESABAD. 
 
 83 
 
 traveller, for tlie first time, perceives Kfiorsabad, situated in a plain 
 comparatively very low, the verdure of which, in summer, forms an 
 agreeable contrast with the general aridity of the country ; he then 
 descends into the plain, and soon penetrates into the ancient fortified 
 enclosure by passing an opening through which a little stream fiows 
 forth ; and lastly, he crosses the marshy land which occupies a large 
 portion of the space contained within the old wall, and reaches the 
 village, which before Botta’s researches was built upon the very 
 summit of the mound. 
 
 Travelling thus from Mosul to Khorsabad, it is remarkable that no 
 trace of the waU which, according to historians, ran round Nineveh, 
 is any where visible. Neither on the other route which leads 
 from Mosul to Khorsabad, by passing to the north of Kouyunjik, and, 
 from thence, stretching out towards the village, and a considerable 
 distance to the west of the other road, can any trace of the ancient 
 wall be met with. 
 
 “It is,” says Botta, “a well-known fact, that walls of unbaked 
 bricks, such as those which must have surrounded Nineveh, leave 
 behind them traces which, in some degree, are indelible ; we have a 
 proof of this at Mosul itself, where those which formed the enclosure 
 of Nineveh are still perfectly distinct, and coidd not be mistaken by 
 any one. Since, then, no similar vestiges are found further on, must 
 we conclude that the enclosm’e in question was that of the city itself, 
 and that the palace of Khorsabad was placed at a great distance 
 beyond it ?” How far subsequent discoveries confirm this opinion we 
 wdl not now stay to inquire ; but one word may be said ad interim. 
 Khorsabad, if a chief palace of the lords of Nineveh, vdll doubtless be 
 within the boundaries of that great city in days wlien, to be isolated, 
 was to be in danger. 
 
 The low ground in the middle of which Khorsabad is situated is 
 open completely to the west only ; to the south it is bomided by the 
 elevation of the plain ; to the east arise the calcareous mountains, 
 separating the basin of the Tigris from the valley of Homel ; and to 
 the north stretches a chain of hills, through which the Kliauser 
 passes. Towards the west only can the eye wander without hindrance, 
 over the plain watered by the Tigris, beyond which are seen the 
 mountains where dwell the Tezidis. 
 
 The low position of the ground, and the great quantity of streams 
 which unite there, afibrd the inhabitants of Khorsabad great facilities 
 for watering their plantations — a circmnstance which accounts for the 
 freshness of this little canton in the midst of the general aridity. 
 Unfortunately the lowness of the position, so advantageous for 
 
84 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 cultivation, is attended by the evils inseparable from it in a hot 
 climate ; for the superfluous waters not finding an easy means of exit, 
 form marshes in the enclosure, and at different points round about 
 the mound, rendering the air during the summer very unhealthy. 
 This insalubrity is still more increased by the bad quality of the water 
 for drinking ; but in spite of this evil we can easily suppose that the 
 plentiful supply of water was one of the motives which induced the 
 kings of Assyria to build at Khorsabad so considerable a palace. 
 
 The architecture of the Assyrians, as illustrated in its only relics, 
 cannot be understood without some preliminary reference to the 
 nature of the mounds, on which the edifices were built. If the 
 strongholds, palaces, or temples were to be distinguished from the 
 humbler dwellings around, it became essential to place them upon 
 imposing sites, such as nowhere appeared in the broad expanse 
 between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, and the boundaries formed 
 by the Armenian mountains. In the absence, therefore, of natural 
 elevations, it became necessary to resort to art, and hence the origin 
 of those vast structures which arrested the attention of Xenophon, 
 and which still astonish the traveller by their extent and solidity. 
 
 As no mound has hitherto been so fully explored as that of 
 Khorsabad, and moreover, since no other gives us so much insight 
 into the plan of the cities, as well as the temples of the Ass}uians, a 
 description of its configuration and structure wiU best give an idea of 
 all the mounds. 
 
 The following are the dimensions of this donble mound, taken as 
 correctly as the unequal inclinations and the irregularities would 
 allow : — 
 
 Length from north-west to south-east ...... 975 feet. 
 
 Breadth of the large rectangle , . . . . . ..975,, 
 
 Breadth of the little rectangle . . . . . . . 650 ,, 
 
 The common summit is nearly flat, although not everywhere of the 
 same level. The north- wesk portion is the more elevated, and always 
 preserves the same height. Within a line which woidd pass over the 
 mound, and sever the two mounds, the level gradually sinks towards 
 the east, so that the south-east side is much lower than the north- 
 west. About the middle of the south-west side, in the right angle 
 formed by the junction of the two portions, there is a little cone, 
 which is the most elevated point, and commands all other parts of the 
 surface. The isolation of this mass, in the midst of the plain, rendered 
 its aspect sufficiently imposing ; but it is impossible to give the exact 
 elevation; Botta says that it exceeded 40, and certainly did not 
 exceed 51 feet in height. This cone is surmounted by a small square 
 
PLATFOEM OF THE PALACE. 
 
 85 
 
 tower, altogether modem, and dilFering in nothing from the actual 
 style of buildings now in use in these parts. 
 
 Near the northern angle of the mound is a well, which, from its 
 being situated on the bank of a river, seems useless ; this well is 
 believed to be an ancient work. The bottom of it is paved vdth a stone 
 
 1 
 
 Fig 20. — PLAN OF PLATFORM ON WHICH THE PALACE STANDS. 
 
 Fig. 1 N.W. elevation. Fig. 2. S.'E. elevation. Fig. 3. S. W. elevation. Fig. 4. N. E elevation. 
 
 N.B. — The Dotted line shows how we suppose the first platform was attained by a double flight 
 of steps ; and how the second elevation, to court n, leading through the passage chamber to 
 court N, and thence to the principal chambers and courts of the palace. 
 
 with seven holes, through which water of the greatest freshness 
 gushes forth in abundance ; this water, according to the inhabitants, 
 is much more healthy than that in the neighbourhood. It has a taste 
 slightly sidphiirous. The fact of the above-mentioned stone at the 
 bottom of the well induces the belief in its antiquity, for it is a trouble 
 that no one in these countries would take now-a-days. It is possible 
 that the ancient inhabitants, like the present ones, believing in the 
 salubrity of this water, thought of bringing it by a subterranean 
 conduit from the adjacent mountain. 
 
86 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 The summit of the mound oifers nothing worthy of attention ; the 
 village, placed upon the highest portion, and embracing the large 
 cutting of the north-west side, covered most of the ruins ; the largest 
 level part of it, which gently slopes down towards the interior of the 
 enclosure, was cultivated, and differed in nothing from the soil of the 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 Besides the mound of Khorsabad, Botta distinctly traced the walls of 
 an enclosure forming nearly a perfect square, two sides of which are 
 5750 feet, the other 5400, or rather more than an English mile each 
 way, all the four angles being right angles, which face the cardinal 
 points (see page 79). One of its sides extended in a line 
 drawn from the north to the west corners of the large mound, so that 
 it would have cut off the smaller mound, had it not been broken into, 
 so as to allow the small mound, with its palace, to rise in the gap. 
 It is probable that at the points where the line seems to be interrupted, 
 the city wall was turned, so as to run round the little mound, as it is 
 impossible to suppose that the palace was left the most exposed part 
 of the city. 
 
 The fortified enclosure of the mound of Khorsabad forms a large 
 and very regular rectangle ; the waU surrounding it, and which looks 
 like a long tumulus of a rounded shape, is surmounted, at irregular 
 intervals, by elevations which jut out beyond it, inside as well as 
 outside, and mdicate the existence of small towers. (See page 79.) 
 
 Erom the northern angle the waU stretches very regularly to the 
 south-east, becoming more elevated and distinct ; as we advance it 
 assumes the aspect of a large causeway, a great number of fragments 
 of bricks and gypsum being observable on the soil. At 490 feet from 
 the angle a wall springs out into the interior, runs to the north-east 
 and terminates in a rounded eminence, which seems to point out the 
 place of a tower ; there is a similar, but more considerable, eminence 
 on the boundary wad itself. And lastly, farther on, a cutting is 
 visible, through which a lazy stream, which here and there expands 
 into a marsh, penetrates into the interior of the enclosure. The waU 
 then continues in a straight line to the eastern angle, and is 
 remarkable for nothing besides another tower. The north-eastern 
 side has, therefore, three towers, if we include that which terminates 
 the accessory waU. Beyond the cutting that affords a passage for the 
 streamlet, the exterior ditch begins to be distinguished. On this base 
 rises a brick wall. As many as twelve regular layers of it were 
 counted in a total height of six feet and a-half. The size of these 
 bricks is similar to that of those composing the mass of the mound, 
 and they are not, any more than these latter, separated from each 
 
ENCLOSURE OF THE MOUND. 87 
 
 otlier by strata of reeds, nor united with bitumen or any other kind 
 of cement. 
 
 The wall and ditch which form the south-eastern side are very 
 distinct ; but there is nothing else remarkable, except an external 
 enlargement of the wall and two towers. 
 
 The southern angle, on coming up with the ditch, ceases to be 
 distinct, so that it appears to bound only two sides of the enclosure. 
 At a short distance from the southern angle, the south-western side 
 shows traces of some rather remarkable accessory constructions. A wall 
 springs out from it into the interior, and forms a square. One of the 
 sides of this square, in which no signs of any opening are visible, is 
 formed by the wall of the enclosm^e itself, which is considerably 
 widened at this point, and assumes the aspect of a mound, jutting out 
 on the exterior, sending into the plain two long prolongations or 
 counterforts. This plan is very similar to that of the mound at 
 Khorsabad itself ; and the resemblance would be complete, if the 
 internal square, formed by the accessory wall, w'ere filled up instead 
 of containing an empty space. Several excavations were made but 
 without success : all that was found were some stones without any 
 inscriptions or sculpture, and some fragments of bricks. In its actual 
 condition, it is impossible to say what this kind of enclosure, without - 
 any outlet, and itself shut up in the gveat enclosure, could have been. 
 The south-western side of the latter contains nothing else remarkable 
 except two towers, placed so as to divide it into three pretty equal 
 portions. There is also here another cutting, through which the 
 streamlet which enters the enclosure through the north-eastern side 
 escapes. It is through this cutting that the road passes which leads 
 from Mosul to Khorsabad. 
 
 Setting out from the western angle, the wall returns to the north- 
 east, and forms a part of the north-west side; it gradually sinks 
 towards its termination, leaving an opening between the mound and 
 itself. Near its termination a small eminence points out the place of 
 one more tower ; and, lastly, there is a cutting. Through this a 
 stream, which detaches itself from the small river, passes, and unites 
 itself with the stream that traverses the enclosiue. This same river 
 runs parallel to the whole north-western side of the enclosure, 
 gradually flowing nearer to it, so as to pass very close to the western 
 angle, round which it tiuns by making a shght bend ; it is a branch of 
 the Na’our, and employed in watering the coimtry, so that it is often 
 dried up when its waters have been diverted upon the siurounding 
 fields. 
 
 It is evident, from the description just given, that the outward waE 
 
88 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEHERS. 
 
 of Khorsabad exhibits traces of eight towers. Besides these there are 
 several similar mounds scattered here and there in the plain. Among 
 others, one of considerable dimensions. The isolation and conical 
 shape of these little elevations do not allow a donbt of their artificial 
 origin. They probably contain remains of ancient buildings. 
 
 The openings which give access to the enclosure are five in number, 
 and they are ah. situated in the north-western portion. Three of them 
 seem to have been intended to afi*ord the water a free passage, but 
 it is at present difficult to say whether they date from ancient times, 
 and consequently part of the primitive plan, or no. If, as M. Botta 
 supposes, this vast enclosure was destined to contain the gardens of 
 the palace constructed upon the mound, we are justified in supposing 
 that some of these cuttings were made in order to give passage to the 
 water necessary for horticultural purposes, and without which, in this 
 country, vegetation is out of the question. 
 
 The ground comprised within this vast enclosure is generally 
 horizontal ; at some points, however, it is rather depressed, and the 
 waters collecting there form swamps. The nature of the plants in 
 these swamps indicate the presence of salt, and those portions of 
 them which are dried up by the heat of the sun during summer are 
 covered with white efldorescences. It was this portion of the road 
 comprised within the enclosure which offered the greatest obstacles 
 for the transport of the sculptures ; for, although the ground appeared 
 firm and solid at the surface, at least during the hot season, it formed 
 nothing more than a thin crust, covermg the water or mud, in which 
 the wheels of the waggon sank so deeply, that the most strenuous 
 efforts wnre required to extricate them. 
 
 The sm*rounding plain offers hardly anything Avorth notice, except 
 that, opposite the mound, and on the right shore of the Khauser, there 
 are some undulations, which may indicate the existence of ancient 
 ruins. 
 
 Such is the actual condition of the mound, which serves as a base 
 for the palace of Khorsabad and of the wall intended to enclose its 
 dependencies. Botta, being deceived by external appearances, thought 
 for a long time that the mound was simply an accumulation of earth 
 Avhich had been brought there for that purpose, but excavations made 
 at different places showed that it was a mass of bricks baked in the 
 sun, and placed in regular layers. These bricks, unlike those baked 
 in kilns, bear no inscriptions, nor are there any signs of chopped 
 straw visible in their composition ; the layers are nowhere separated, 
 as at Babylon, by strata of reeds, nor are they united by any cement, 
 either bituminous or calcareous. The bricks seem to be united 
 
CONSTRUCTION OF WALLS SURROUNDING THE MOUND. 
 
 89 
 
 merely with the same clay which was used to make them, so that 
 they can be distinguished from the strata of the soil by the regular 
 and often dilferent-coloured lines, only perceptible on the sides of the 
 opened trenches ; when the sides, however, have been a short time 
 exposed to the action of the atmosphere and of the sun, these lines 
 disappear, and nothing is then left to distinguish these masses of 
 unburnt bricks from the surrounding earth. 
 
 The reader will easily conceive that an earthy mass, composed of 
 brick merely dried, woidd not long have withstood the action of the 
 elements and time. It woidd not have been long before the upper 
 portion sank and fell in. To obviate this result, which would soon 
 have assisted in the ruin of the palace, the mound was surrounded 
 with a very strong supporting wall, which served as a coating to the 
 mass of bricks. This wall was constructed of blocks of a very hard 
 calcareous stone, obtained from the neighbouring mountains. 
 
 During the long succession of ages posterior to the ruin of the 
 Assyrian Empire, and the destruction of the Palace of Khorsabad, 
 the stone coating, in spite of its solidity, fell necessarily into ruin, or 
 was perhaps demolished, in order that the remains of it might be em- 
 ployed for other purposes. Is’othing, then, any longer supporting the 
 mass of bricks, the upper portions, as a natural consequence, sank in, 
 and in this manner, doubtlessly, the slopes were formed. 
 
 The surrounding wall, 46 feet thick, consisted of a mass of unburnt 
 bricks, supported on a base of stone rubbish, covered externally with a 
 coating of calcareous stone. This basement was not high ; the internal 
 stone rubbish being composed of irregularly shaped stones, piled 
 together without cement. The blocks of the outward coating are cut 
 only on their external surface, and on the sides which touch each 
 other ; the internal extremity next to the rubbish is rough. 
 
 The trench opened outside the wall laid bare the ruins of another 
 structure, which must have occupied the bottom or the external bank 
 of the ditch. Perhaps there was a door at this spot, and the structiu’e 
 in question was the remains of a causeway intended to serve as a 
 means of passage across the ditch. 
 
 This mass of unburnt brick wall was not buried suddenly ; before 
 being so, it must have remained during several ages exposed to the 
 action of the atmosphere and the rain ; and must therefore have fallen 
 to decay and sunk down gradually, as must have been the case, 
 also, with the great enclosure of Nineveh itself. To the gradual 
 sinking of this earthern wall, which in some degree shifted its base, 
 must be attributed its present eugulphment, and the great breadtli 
 of the tumulus which marks its place. In proportion as the summit 
 
90 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 was decomposed, the detritus grew up at the base, until the summit 
 was reduced to the level of the heaps of earth produced by the decom- 
 position of the wall, and piled up on every side. This natural dila- 
 pidation must have then ceased, and the last rows of bricks, being 
 protected by the rubbish, have been preserved up to our day. 
 
 On beholding these vast structures of brick, we naturally ask our- 
 selves whence the earth employed to form them could have been 
 procured? The swamps in the enclosure, and those in the neigh- 
 bourhood, indicating, as they necessarily do, depressions on the sur- 
 face of the soil, appear to furnish us with an answer to this question. 
 These swamps, it is true, are now-a-days far from deep ; but it is 
 easy to conceive that they have been gradually filled up by the 
 detritus of plants, and the accumulation of mud brought down by 
 the various streams ; an explanation which the extreme antiquity of 
 these monuments renders highly plausible. Besides this, the ditch, 
 although hardly visible now, may formerly have been very deep, 
 and the earth which was taken out of it was, doubtless, enough to 
 build the wall. It may be added that, at a little distance to the north 
 of Khorsabad, there are vast moving bogs which, in all probability, 
 also owe their origin to the extraction of the earth necessary to have 
 made these bricks. 
 
 We set out by stating that the mound of Khorsabad might be 
 regarded as a general type of the artificial platforms of the Assyrian 
 plains. Having described that eminence in fuU, we will now give 
 some account of the mound of Kimroud, the mine whence the 
 Assyrian treasures of our National Museum have been dug. 
 
 Fig. 21.— EASTERN SIDE OF MOUNDS OF KHORSABAD. 
 
\ 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 NIMROUD— KOUYUXJIK.— KAEAMLES. 
 
 EETYRYi^fa from Kliorsabad, we embark on a raft, to visit tbe great 
 monnd of Nimroiid, and soon reach tbe monnd of Tarnmjeb, on tbe 
 left bank of tbe river, wbicb we cannot, however, stay to notice. Tbe 
 flood-current of tbe Tigris has made havoc vitb this mass, and cut it 
 dovm to a precipice, exposing its artificial construction. AYliere the 
 soil has been removed by tbe waters, remains of buildings are 
 exhibited, such as layers of large stones, some with bitiunen on them, 
 Avitb a few burnt brick and tiles. 
 
 At about twenty-eight miles by tbe river, and twenty miles in 
 direct distance, south, 12 E, below Xineveb, is tbe celebrated dyke 
 of solid masomy, called Zikrn-l-awaz, or iSTimrud, which crosses tbe 
 bed of tbe river. Tbe stream, when full, rushes over this obstruction 
 with great impetuosity, and its roar may be beard for several miles. 
 At seven miles lower, there is another dyke, called Zikr Ismad, 
 similar to tbe former, but in a more dilapidated state. At tbe 
 
92 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 distance of about two miles and three-quarters S. E. from Zikrn- 
 1-awaz, are the ruins of Nimroud or Athur : they are about four miles 
 in circumference, and are terminated at the N. W. angle by a great 
 pyramidal mound, 144|^ feet high, and 777 in circumference, which 
 was once coated with bricks. Some of these were found by Mr. Eich, 
 who states that they are about the same size as those of Babylon, and 
 are inscribed with arrow-headed characters. Here, also, Mr. Brands 
 William Ainsworth discovered the foundations of some massive walls, 
 which may possibly be the great city of Eesen,^ placed between 
 Nineveh and Calah, and which are still called after “ the mighty 
 huntsman.” ^ As the country is in complete cultivation, these ruins 
 have been nearly obliterated by the plough, and by the villages of the 
 cultivators, so that it would be difficult to ascertain the extent of 
 the city. There are fair grounds for supposing that Eesen was 
 identical with the Larissa mentioned by Xenophon ; ^ the name, how- 
 ever, is Greek, and as there were no Greek settlements beyond the 
 Tigris before the time of Alexander, Bochart judiciously conjectures, 
 that when the Greeks asked the people of the country, “ What city 
 are these the ruins of?” they answered IDlb Larissa, that is, of Resen, 
 a word that might easily be softened by a Greek termination, and 
 made Larissa. Xenophon describes the walls to have been “ twenty- 
 five feet in breadth, one hundred in height, and two parasangas in 
 circuit ; all built with bricks, except the plinth, which was of stone, 
 and twenty feet high. Close to the city stood a pyramid of stone, 
 one hundred feet square, and two hundred feet high.” Thence they 
 made, in one day’s march, six parasangas, to a large uninhabited 
 castle, standing near a town called Mespila, formerly inhabited also by 
 Modes. The plinth of the wall was built with polished stone full of 
 shells, being fifty feet in breadth, and as many in height. Upon this 
 stood a brick wall, fifty feet also in breadth, one hundred in height, 
 and six parasangas in circuit.” Ainsworth observes, that the “con- 
 glomerate on which the walls of Nineveh are built, is like that of the 
 Zab, a deposit of roUed pebbles of limestone, duallage rock, serpentine, 
 hornblende rock, quartzes, jaspers, and Lydian stone.” He surmises 
 that, from the elevation of this deposit, it probably owes its origin to 
 the breaking down of a dyke, or of some natural resistance in the 
 Kurdistan mountains. 
 
 The mound of Nimroud is not less clearly defined than that of 
 Khorsabad, which it resembles in the quadrangular form of its line of 
 
 1 Gen., X. 12. 
 
 ^ Chesney, “ Survey of Euphrates.” Koyal Geog. Journ. vol, ix. p. 35, and Sequel of 
 Eawliuson’s notes. 3 Xenophon, “ Anab.” bk. iii. 
 
NIMUOUD. KOUYUNJIK. KAEAMLES. 
 
 93 
 
 consecutive mounds. In tlie middle of the west side of the mound, is 
 the celebrated north-west palace, whence Layard drew his stores of 
 treasure. Behind this, in the south-west angle, is the most recent 
 palace hitherto laid open. It is principally built of slabs taken from 
 previously existing edifices. In the next angle, and diagonally 
 opposite to the pyramid at the north-west corner, is an unintelligible 
 building, usually called, after the angle in which it was found, the 
 south-east edifice. A fourth building lies deep in the centre of the 
 mound. Of these, the north-west is the only one which has been 
 explored to any extent, and of this no plan can as yet be dravn. The 
 shape of the platform is modified by three ravines which run into it — ■ 
 one between the south-west and south-east edifices, a second to the 
 north of the latter building, and the third immediately to the north of 
 the old palace, a part of which has fallen into it. 
 
 The construction of the mounds of Kouyunjik and JSTebbi Tunis, 
 in general, does not differ from those of Khorsabad and Timroud. 
 The former also locally styled the Kalah, or Castle of Ninawe, rises 
 steeply from the plain to the height of forty-three feet, and has a level 
 summit, on which here and there an Arab cottage may be seen. 
 This is one of the largest of the Assyrian mounds, having an extent 
 of 7,800 feet circumference. When first seen it appears to be a 
 natural eminence ; but on nearer examination traces of building are 
 observable, and the whole surface is strewed with fragments of 
 pottery, covered with beautiful cuneatic writing, bricks, pieces of 
 pavement, and here and there a remnant of a bas-relief. The 
 southern mound, Tebbi Tunis, or that of the Tomb of Jonah, is 
 about fifty feet in height, and extends 430 feet from east to west, 
 by 355 feet from north to south. Here stands a building once a 
 Christian church, dedicated to the divine messenger sent to Tineveh, 
 now a Mohammedan mosque, and reverenced as containing the tomb 
 of the prophet. 
 
 Bich states, that “ Bekir Efiendi, when digging for stones to build 
 the bridge of Mosul, found, on digging into Kouyunjik, a sepulchral 
 chamber, in which was an inscription ; and in the chambers, among 
 rubbish and fragments of bone, the following articles ; — A woman’s 
 khalkhal, or ankle bracelet, of silver, covered Avith a turquoise covered 
 with rust ; a higil (another sort of anklet) of gold; ditto, a child’s ; a 
 bracelet of gold beads, quite perfect ; some pieces of engraved agate.” 
 The gold and silver were immediately melted dovm, the agates thrown 
 away, and the chamber broken up by the stones being taken out, and 
 then buried in the rubbish.^ 
 
 Kicli’s “ Residence in Koordistan,” vol. i. p. 136. 
 
NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEEEHS. 
 
 94 
 
 The fourth locality, remarkable for its mound within the supposed 
 boundary of ancient Nineveh, is Karamles. No extensive excavations, 
 however, have been as yet carried on in this mound ; but a platform 
 of brickwork has been uncovered, and its Assyrian character 
 completely established by the inscriptions discovered. 
 
 Mr. Layard’s researches have satisfied him that a very considerable 
 period elapsed between the earliest and latest buildings discovered 
 among the mounds of Nimroud. We incline to this opinion, but 
 difier from the surmise, that the ruins of Nimroud and the site of 
 Nineveh itself are identical. The dimensions of Nineveh, as given by 
 Diodorus Siculus, were 150 stadia on the two longest sides of the 
 quadrangle, and 90 on the opposite ; the square being 480 stadia, 60 
 miles ; or, according to some, 74 miles. Mr. Layard thinks, that by 
 taking the four great mounds of Nimroud, Kouyunjik, Khorsabad, 
 and Karamles, as the corners of a square, the four sides wiU correspond 
 pretty accurately with the 60 miles of the geographer, and the three 
 days’ journey of the prophet Jonah. It is worthy of remark, that just 
 outside Mr. Layard’s boundary is a straight line of mounds, or hills, 
 extending from Khorsabad to three or four miles beyond Mar Daniel, 
 the last conspicuous elevation of the line. The words “ Gebel Mek- 
 loub,” by which the range is designated by the Arabs, means the 
 “overturned mountain,” and is the same epithet which distinguishes a 
 remarkable ruin in the plains of Babylon, called El Mugelebeh, in con- 
 sequence of its presenting the appearance of being overturned. The 
 range of hills we are now speaking of, bears every appearance of the hand 
 of man, such as walls constructed, as Kich describes, of an artificial con- 
 crete, and buildings thrown down by an earthquake, or by some be- 
 sieging army ; and apart from the extraordinary feature in this level 
 country of an elevation extending more than fifteen miles in length, it 
 is not a little singular that these coincidences of name and artificial 
 structure should have hitherto escaped the observation of travellers. So 
 full of meaning is the phraseology of aU eastern people that such coinci- 
 dences are never accidental; and it would, therefore, be highly desirable 
 to make an examination of these mounds, as weU as of aU places called 
 “Tel,” a word signifying hiU. both in Arabic and Hebrew.^ The Wadi 
 Jehennem, which signifies the “Valley of Hell,” and the Wadi Jennen, 
 “the Bewildering Valley,” should also be examined, not only because 
 they are in the vicinity of ruins, but because also such epithets are never 
 given by the Arabs without some reason. In the meantime, as we 
 
 ' Tel-abib, “bill of corn-ears,” Ezek. iii. 15. I 
 
 Tel-harsa, “ hill of the forest.” Ezra, ii, 59. > Cities in Babylonia. 
 
 Tel-melah, “ hill of salt.” Ezra, ii. 59. J 
 
BOUNDAUY OF NINEVEH. 
 
 95 
 
 have no difficulty in accepting the concurrent testimony of so many 
 writers regarding the extent of Nineveh, we should he willing, in the 
 absence of other data, to adopt the area set forth by Mr. Layard, but 
 for some objections that appear so unanswerable, as to induce us to 
 offer our ovm speculations on the subject. A reference to the 
 following diagram, fig. 23, will most clearly illustrate our ideas. 
 Having already premised that the extreme boundary wall of Nineveh 
 is stated to have been a parallelogram, of which the sum of the four 
 sides was about 60 miles, we will now direct attention to the dotted 
 line upon the map. 
 
 Fig. 23. — PRESUMED BOUNDARY OF ANCIENT NINEVEH. 
 
 1. Khorsabad. 
 
 2. Bazani. 
 
 3. Bashika. 
 
 4. Ain Es-Sufra. 
 
 5. Mar Daniel. 
 
 6. Tergilla. 
 
 7. Sheikh Emeer. 
 
 8. Karamles. 
 
 9. Kara Kush. 
 
 10. Yarumjeh. 
 
 11. Mosul. 
 
 12. Reshidi. 
 
 13. Tel Kaif. 
 
 14. Kiz Fukra. 
 
 15. Convent of St. 
 
 George. 
 
 16. Baaweiza. 
 
 17. Darawish. 
 
 18. Ras El-ain. 
 
 19. Imam Fadlha. 
 
 20. Terowa. 
 
 21. Ghor Tgarahan, 
 
 22. Tel Billa. 
 
 23. Bartella. 
 
 24. Nebbi Yunis. 
 
 25. Kouyunjik. 
 
 26. Mar Elias. 
 
 N.B. The L in the Arabic article takes the sound of the letter of words beginning with o, d, n, 
 E, s, SH, T, as “ Es-Sufra,” instead of “ El-Sufra.” 
 
 Assuming Khorsabad to be the northern angle of the wall, we 
 proceed to run the boimdary to the length of 18f mdes in the 
 direction of Gebel Mekloub, which extends 16 miles to the eastern 
 angle ; we then turn at a right angle, and run the boundaiy to the 
 
96 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 lengtli of Hi miles to the southern angle ; whence we turn again to 
 run the boundary of 18f miles to the western angle ; and from thence 
 we run the last line of boundary until we reach our starting point at 
 Khorsabad. 
 
 The parallelogram, or line of boundary, being thus completed, we 
 have now to ascertain how far it accords with the localities of the_ 
 researches ; and we find that it not only comprehends the principal 
 mounds which have already been examined, but many others, in which 
 ruins are either actually, or almost certainly, known to exist. ]Mo. 1 is 
 Khorsabad. [Following the line of the Glebel Mekloub, we find within 
 the enclosure, [N^os. 2 and 3, Bazani and Bashika, in close proximity 
 to a village called Tel Billa, the designation Tel, hill, being, we 
 think, a sure indication of an ancient site in level country where 
 every elevation is artificial. No. 4 is Ain Es-sufra, so called from 
 its being the source of a yellow stream. No. 5, Mar Daniel 
 (Saint Daniel), a village or convent built on the Gebel Mekloub. 
 No. 6, Tergdla — probably Tel Grilla — from the easy mutation of s, into 
 L in the Arabic as well as in other languages — it would then possess 
 the epithet which marks ruins — Tel, hill, Tel Grilla. No. 7, Sheikh 
 Emeer. No. 8, Karamles, a known ruin, the largest mound within the 
 enclosure, second in importance to the great mound of Kouyunjik ; 
 and here we should propose a mutation of the h in Karamles into 
 the strong aspirate hh, which would indicate the site of some sacred 
 structures. No. 9, Kara Kush, also a known ruin. Kara in the 
 Turkish means hlach, and seems in some way connected with ruins ; 
 for in other places, where the word kara is used, there are known to be 
 ruins. No. 10, Yaroumjeh, ruins known to exist; but without this 
 evidence the mound and name together would suggest the fact, the 
 word roum among the Turks signifying the “ territory or inhabitants 
 of the Eoman Empire,” Eoman and ancient being synonymous terms. 
 We now cross the river, and our line conducts us to No. 11, a mound 
 in the city of Mosul itself, where a search would probably be 
 rewarded, as in other examples of mounds, by the discovery of 
 antiquities. No. 13, Tel Kaif, “ the hill or mound of delight and here 
 we again recognise in the name an ancient site, though no description 
 of the place has as yet appeared. Tel Kaif completes the circuit to 
 Khorsabad, whence so many sculptures have been extracted. Imme- 
 diately within the enclosure, and opposite the city of Mosul, are the 
 well-known mounds of Kouyunjik and Nebbi Tunis. It may here 
 be noticed, that by the mutation of the n into m in the name of this 
 mound, (one which commonly takes place,) we should have the word 
 Kowjoumjik, the Turkish word for “ silversmith,” a meaning more in 
 
WALLS OF ANCIENT NINEVEH = 
 
 97 
 
 harmony with the fact of silver ornaments having been dug out of it, 
 than the word as it now stands which signifies “little sheep.” 
 These two conspicuous mounds are surrounded by a chain of 
 smaller elevations, forming the irregular enclosure vdiich Eich 
 considered to be the walls of the palace. Although the fore- 
 going description contains many names of places that have not the 
 significative affix, Tel, or Koum, we have included them from a 
 persuasion that they all mark the sites of ancient buildings. In a 
 country like that bordering the Tigris, any elevation above the 
 ordinary level of the plain woidd, for ob\ious reasons, be sought 
 in forming a settlement ; and every height being manifestly artificial, 
 it follows, almost beyond dispute, that all the hills, whether inhabited 
 or otherwise, are likely to contain ruins. In confirmation of our specu- 
 lation that the Gebel Makloub is of artificial construction, and 
 probably the remains of the north-eastern wall of Xineveh, we have 
 the testimony of a recent observant traveller, Mr. Barker, who has no 
 doubt that the so-called “ mountain ” is entirely the work of man. 
 Another important object of remark, connected with this subject, 
 is the thickness of the wall surrounding the palace of Khorsabad, 
 which Botta states to be 15 metres, i. e., 48 feet 9 inches, a very close 
 approximation to the width of the wall of the city itself, which was “ so 
 broad, as three chariots might be driven together upon it abreast.”^ 
 This is about half the thickness of the wall of Babylon, upon which 
 “ six chariots could be driven together and which Herodotus’^ tells us 
 
 were 87 feet broad, or nearly double that of the palace at Khorsabad. 
 The extraordinary dimensions of the walls of cities is supported by 
 these remains at Khorsabad. The Median wall (see page 57) still 
 existing, in part nearly entire, and which crosses obliquely the plain 
 of Mesopotamia from the Tigris, to the banks of the Euphrates 
 (see map, page 38), a distance of 40 miles. The great wall of 
 China, also, of like antiquity, we are told, “ traverses high mountains, 
 deep valleys, and, by means of arches, wide rivers, extending from the 
 province of Shen Si to Wanghay, or the Yellow Sea, a distance of 
 1500 miles. In some places, to protect exposed passages, it is 
 double and treble. The foundation and corner stones are of granite, 
 but the principal part is of blue bricks, cemented with pm^e white 
 mortar. At distances of about 200 paces are distributed square 
 towers, or strong bulwarks.”^ And in less ancient times the Eoman 
 walls in our ovui country aU show the universality of this mode 
 of inclosing a district or guarding a boundary in ancient times. 
 
 Diod. Sic., bk. ii. cb. 1. ® Idem, s Herod, bk, i. 
 
 ^ Popular Encyclopaedia, vol. iL p. 185, edit. 1818. 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 It maybe objected against the foregoing speculations on the boundary 
 of Nineveh, that the river runs within the walls instead of on the 
 outside. In reply, we submit that when the walls were destroyed, as 
 described by the historian, the flooded river would force for itself 
 another channel, which in process of time would become more and 
 more devious from the obstructions oflered by the accumulated ruins 
 until it eventually took the channel in which it now flows. If our 
 theory is admitted on the whole to be feasible, and to agree with the 
 accounts of ancient writers, it necessarily follows that Mr. Layard’s 
 view is erroneous ; and we think that a reference to the situation and 
 distances of the four mounds, Khorsabad, Kouyunjik, Nimroud, and 
 Karamles, will satisfy all that his boundary is impracticable. To say 
 nothing of the figure described being widely different from a parallel- 
 ogram, the distance from the extreme angles, Khorsabad and Nimroud, 
 according to the data supplied by Botta and Chesney, is not less than 
 84 miles, so that either one extremity or the other must have beenbeyond 
 the boundary; besides which, even Kouyunjik itself, which is 23 miles 
 from Nimroud, could not have come within the boundary of a parallelo- 
 gram of the dimensions stated by Diodorus. On the other hand, the 
 area we have indicated is of the recorded figure, and many important 
 mounds are situated upon, or in the direction of the lines of wall, while 
 the enclosure itself is full of known or inferential ruins. Again : 
 Nimroud is an isolated mound, not of sufficient extent to intimate the 
 site of a large city like Nineveh. A consideration of the arguments 
 on both sides leads us to the conclusion that the concurring facts 
 strongly support the supposition that, instead of being a part of 
 Nineveh, Nimroud is really the Kesen of Genesis. The close proxi- 
 mity of the two cities does not present itself as an objection to us, 
 because it was obviously essential for men to congregate together for 
 security, in early stages of society. Every settlement doubtless 
 became the nucleus of a city, which was ultimately enclosed by walls 
 sufficiently extensive to include not only dwellings for man, but land 
 for flocks and herds, and for the produce of grain ; hence we see no 
 reason why the sites of Calah, Kesen, and Nineveh may not still be 
 recognised under the modern names of Kalah Sherghat, Nimroud, and 
 Niniouah. 
 
 Fig. 24. — WALLS OF NINEVEH, 
 
Fig. 25. — STATUE AT KALAH SHERGHAT. 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 KALAH SHERGHAT. 
 
 A LITTLE more tlian forty miles in a direct line to the southward 
 of Nimrond, but on the right bank of the Tigris, there exists another 
 mound, covering the ruins of Assyrian palaces. The place is now 
 called Kalah Sherghat, and probably marks the southern lunits of the 
 early Assyrian empire. But, apart from the interest attached to its 
 position, and the character of its remains, there is every reason to 
 believe that it marks the site of the ancient Calah, one of the cities 
 founded by Nimroud, and alluded to in Holy Writ. 
 
 We follow with pleasure Mr. E. W. Ainsworth’s graphic account 
 of the journey to Kalah Shergat and Al-Hadhr, pubhshed in Trans- 
 actions of London Greographical Society, as it contains much valuable 
 information on the natural characteristics and resources of the country 
 through which he passed. 
 
 “We started on Saturday, April 18th, 1840, travelling at first 
 across the cultivated alluvial plain south of Mosul, named the Kara- 
 kpjah. At this season of the year barley was in ear, and beans in 
 flower ; flg, ahnond, and mulberry trees were in full bloom, but the 
 pistachio as yet only budding. On the sandy deposits of the river 
 the water-melon had put forth its cotyledons. Doves and quails 
 had returned a few days before from their migrations. As the river 
 was high, we were obliged to turn up the rocky uplands west of El 
 Seramum, an old country residence of its Pashas. 
 
 “ The rocky acclivities and stony valleys of the Jubailah were now 
 
 H 2 
 
100 
 
 J^INEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES, 
 
 clad with a beautiful vegetation. Grass was abundant, and tbe green 
 sward was chequered with red ranunculuses and composite plants of a 
 golden-yellow hue, which enliven at this season of the year by their 
 contrast the banks of the Tigris and the Euphrates, wherever they are 
 stony. Crossing the Jubailah, and leading the village of Abu Jawari, 
 ‘ the father of female slaves,’ to our left, we descended upon another 
 alluvial plain, such as, on the Tigris and Euphrates, whether cultivated 
 or covered with jungle, is equally designated Hawi. The present one 
 was cultivated, and contained the two villages, both inhabited by Arabs, 
 now pasturing their flocks. 
 
 “ At the end of this plain the ground rises, and at this point are the 
 baths and a village, the latter inhabited by a few Chaldees, settled here 
 by the Pasha of Mosul to cultivate the land. The thermal spring is 
 covered by a building, only commodious for half savage people, yet 
 the place is much frequented by persons of the better classes, both from 
 Baghdad and Mosul. Close by is a mound about 60 feet high, called 
 ‘ the mound of the victor,’ from a tradition of an engagement having 
 taken place in this neighbourhood. 
 
 “ On the following morning leaving Hammam ’Ali, we crossed an 
 extensive Hawi, near the centre of which is the village of Safatus, in- 
 habited by the Arab tribe of Juhaish, or ‘ of the ass’s colt.’ We then 
 turned off to the right to the ruined village of Jeheinah, or Jehennem, 
 ‘ HeU or the Lower Legions,’ which name excited our expectations, 
 but we only foimd some old houses of a better class. Our road con- 
 tinued for three hours over verdant prairies, on an upland of gypsum, 
 with some tracts of sandstone, when we arrived at Beed- Valley, the 
 banks of a sluggish stream being covered with that plant. We roused 
 an old sow from this cover, and captured a young pig which it was 
 obliged to leave behind. As the animal went grunting down the 
 valley, it stirred up several others with their young ones, which we 
 hunted down, catching two more, one of which we liberated, as two 
 were quite enough for our wauts. We approached the Tigris, a few 
 miles below the tomb of Sultan’ Abdullah, which was the extreme point 
 reached by the Euphrates steamer in 1839, and passing an abundant 
 rivulet of waters which filled the air with the odour of sulphuric 
 acid, we came to a level naked spot, inclosed by rocks of gypsum, 
 on the floor of which were innumerable springs of asphalt or bitumen 
 oozing out of the soil in little circidar fountains, but often buried 
 beneath or suiTounded by a deep crust of indurated bitumen. A httle 
 beyond these pits we found other springs, giving off an equal quantity 
 of bitumen. These are the only cases I know of springs of pm’e 
 asphalt iu Western Asia. 
 
DESCEIPTION OF KALAH SHERGIIAT. 
 
 101 
 
 “ On the succeeding day, starting over a low range of hills of red 
 sandstone, we entered upon an extensive Hawi, over which we travelled 
 two hours to a red cliff. The banks of the Tigris were well wooded 
 and picturesque ; extensive tracts of meadow land were bounded by 
 green hills, and terminated in islands of several miles in length, 
 covered with trees and brushwood, amid which winded the rapid 
 Tigris, in a broad and noble expanse visible as far as the eye could 
 reach. The quantity of large wood near it is greater than on the 
 Euphrates, and the resources for steam navigation are very great. 
 
 “ Passing the cliffs of red sandstone, from which point to the Harmin 
 the Tigris follows a more easterly course, we came to a vaUey with a 
 brackish rivulet, coming from the Wadi-1- A’ hmer. Steep cliffs advanced 
 beyond this to the banks of the river, and obliged us to turn inwards 
 upon the uplands, from which we first gained a view of Kalah Sherghat, 
 situate in the midst of a most beautiful meadow, well wooded, watered 
 by a small tributary to the Tigris, washed by the noble river itseff, 
 and backed by the rocky range of the Jebel Khanukah, now covered 
 mth broad and deep shadows. In three hours’ time we arrived at 
 the foot of this extensive and lofty momid, where we took up our 
 station on the northern side, immediately below the central ruin, and on 
 the banks of a ditch formed by the recoil of the Tigris. 
 
 Although familiar with the great Babylonian and Chaldean mounds 
 of Birs Nimroud, Mujallibah, and Orchoe, the appearance of the mass 
 of construction now before us filled me with wonder. On the plain 
 of Babylonia, to build a hill has a meaning ; but there was a strange 
 adherence to an antique custom, in thus piling brick upon brick, 
 without regard to the cost and value of labour, where hills innumer- 
 able and equally good and elevated sites were easily to be found. 
 Although in places reposing upon solid rock (red and brown sand- 
 stones), still almost the entire depth of the mound, which was in parts 
 upwards of 60 feet high, and at this side 909 yards in extent, was 
 built up of sun-burnt bricks, like the ’Aker Kiif and the Mujallibah, 
 only without intervening layers of reeds. On the sides of these lofty 
 artificial cliffs numerous hawks and crows nestled in security, while at 
 their base was a deep sloping declivity of crumbled materials. On 
 this northern face, which is the most perfect as well as the highest, 
 there occurs at one point the remains of a wall built with large square 
 cut stones, levelled and fitted to one another with the utmost nicety, 
 and bevelled upon the faces, as in many Saracenic structures ; the 
 top stones were also cut away as in steps. Mr. Boss deemed this to 
 be part of the stiU remaining perfect front, which was also the opinion 
 of some of the travellers now present ; but so great is the difference 
 
102 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEKS. 
 
 "between the style of an Assyrian monnd of bnrnt bricks and this 
 partial facing of hewn stone, that it is difficnlt to conceive that it 
 belonged to the same period, and if carried along the whole front of 
 the monnd, some remains of it would be found in the detritus at the 
 base of the cliff, which was not the case. At the same time its position 
 gave to it more the appearance of a facing, whether contemporary with 
 the mound or subsequent to it I shall not attempt to decide, than of 
 a castle, if any castle or other edifice was ever erected here by the 
 Mohammedans, whose style it so greatly resembles. 
 
 “ Our researches were first directed towards the mound itself. We 
 found its form to be that of an irregular triangle, measuring in total 
 circumference 4685 yards ; whereas the Mujalhbah, the supposed 
 tower of Babel, is only 737 yards in circumference ; the great mound 
 of Borsippa, known as the Birs Nimroud, 762 yards; the Kasr, or 
 terraced palace of Nebuchadnezzar, 2100 yards ; and the mound 
 called Kdyunjik, at Nineveh, 2563 yards. But it is to be remarked 
 of this Assyrian ruin on the Tigris, that it is not entirely a raised 
 mound of sun-burnt bricks ; on the contrary, several sections of its 
 central portions displayed the ordinary pebbly deposit of the river, a 
 common alluvium, and were swept by the Tigris ; the mound appeared 
 to be chiefly a mass of rubble and ruins, in which bricks, pottery, and 
 fragments of sepulchral urns lay imbedded in humus, or alternated 
 with blocks of gypsum ; finally, at the southern extremity, the mound 
 sinks down nearly to the level of the plain. The side facing the river 
 displayed to us some curious structures, which, not being noticed by 
 Mr. E-oss,^ have been probably laid bare by floods subsequent to his 
 visit. They consisted of four round towers, built of burnt bricks, 
 which were nine inches deep, and thirteen inches in width outwards, 
 but only ten inches inwards, so as to adapt them for being built in a 
 circle. These towers were four feet ten ruches in diameter, well- 
 built, and as fresh-looking as if of yesterday. Their use is altogether 
 a matter of conjecture ; they were not strong enough to have formed 
 buttresses against the river ; nor were they connected by a wall. 
 The general opinion appeared to be in favour of hydraulic purposes, 
 either as wells or pumps, commimicating with the Tigris. 
 
 “ The south-western rampart displays occasionally the remains of a 
 wall constructed of hewn blocks of gypsum, and it is everywhere 
 bounded by a ditch, which, like the rampart, encircles the whole 
 ruins. 
 
 “All over this great surface we found traces of foundations of stone 
 edifices, with abundance of bricks and pottery, as observed before, 
 
 1 “ Dr, Ross’s Journey from Bagdad to A1 Hadlrr, 1836-7,” Jour. R. Geo. Soc., vol. ix. p. 443. 
 
AL HADim. 
 
 103 
 
 and to wMcb. we may add, bricks vitrified witb bitumen, as are found 
 at Rababah, Babylon, and other ruins of the same epoch ; bricks with 
 impressions of straw, &c., sun-dried, burnt, and vitrified ; and painted 
 pottery with colours still very perfect ; but after two hours’ unsuc- 
 cessful search by Messrs. Mitford, Layard, and myself, Mr. Bassam 
 was the first to pick up a brick close to our station, on which were 
 well-defined and indubitable arrow-headed characters. 
 
 “ On leaving Kalah Sherghat we kept a little to the south. We 
 travelled at a quick pace over a continuous prairie of grasses and 
 flowering plants, till we arrived at a ridge of rocks which rose above 
 the surrounding country, and were constituted of coarse marine lime- 
 stones. From a mound, upon which were a few graves, we obtained 
 a comprehensive view of that part of Mesopotamia, but without being 
 able to distinguish the valley of the Tharthar or the ruins of A1 Hadhr. 
 
 “ Opinions as to the probable position of the latter were in favour of 
 some mounds which were visible in the extreme distance to the south- 
 west, and having great faith in the eyes of our Bedwin, who also took 
 this view of the subject, we started in that direction, although the 
 compass indicated a more northerly course. After two-and-a-quarter 
 hours’ quick travelling, still over prairies and undulating country, we 
 came to the supposed ruins, which turned out to be bare hills of sand- 
 stone, the southern termination of a low ridge. Although pestered 
 by sand-flies, we stopped a few moments and breakfasted on bread 
 and wild leeks, which are abundant everywhere, and frequently enamel 
 vith their roseate and clustered umbels the lichen-clad space that 
 intervened between the dark-green bushes of wormwood. 
 
 “ Changing our route, we started to the north-west, in which direc- 
 tion we arrived, after one and a quarter hours’ ride, at a valley 
 bounded in places by rock terraces of gypsum, which indicated a wadi 
 and a winter torrent, or actual water. To our joy we found the 
 Tharthar flowing along the bottom of this vale, and to oru great 
 comfort the waters were very potable. The stream, though narrow, 
 was deep, and hence with difficulty fordable ; on its banks were a few 
 reeds and scattered bushes of tamarisc. We proceeded up the stream 
 in a direction in search of a ford, which we found after one hour’s 
 slow and irregular journey, and we lost half an hour refreshing our- 
 selves with a bath. We afterwards followed the right bank of the 
 stream, beiag unwilling, as evening was coming on, to separate our- 
 selves, unless we actually saw A1 Hadhr, from the water so necessary 
 for oiuselves and horses. The river soon came from a more westerly 
 direction, flowing through a valley everywhere clad with a luxuriant 
 vegetation of grasses, sometimes nearly half a nnle in width, at others 
 
104 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 only 300 or 400 yards, and again still more narrowed occasionally by 
 terraces of gypsum. 
 
 “ On the following morning rain overtook ns in onr sleep, which 
 was otherwise unbroken even by dreams of Arabs, still less by their 
 presence ; indeed we had been hitherto as quiet as if travelling on 
 the downs of Sussex. After holding a short consultation, we deemed 
 it best to keep on up the river, but to travel a little inwards on the 
 heights. This plan was attended with perfect success ; and we had 
 ridden only one hour and a half, when we perceived through the 
 misty rain mounds, which we felt convinced were the sought-for ruins. 
 Mr. Rassam and myself hurried on, but soon afterwards, perceiving a 
 flock of sheep in the distance, we became aware of the presence of 
 Arabs, who could be no other than the Shammar, so we waited for 
 our friends and rode altogether into the kind of hollow in which 
 A1 Hadhr is situated. Here we perceived the tents of the Bedwins 
 extending far and wide within the ruins and without the walls. The 
 ruins themselves presented a magnificent appearance, and the distance 
 at which the tall bastions appeared to rise, as if by enchantment, out 
 of the wilderness, excited our surprise. We were fllled with a 
 similar sense of wonder and admiration ; no doubt in great part due 
 not only to the splendour of the ruins, but also to the strange place 
 where the traveller meets with them — ‘in media solitudine.’ ” ^ 
 
 On one of the walls at A1 Hadhr is the flnely sculptured figure of a 
 grifiin, with twisted tail, about five feet from the ground, also riliem 
 of busts, birds, grifdns, &c. ; on the southern wall, about 10 feet from 
 the ground, is a line of eight monsters, bulls with human heads, the 
 relief reaching to the shoulders ; they are full-faced, and about the 
 size of life ; a cornice is above ; one hall is 32 paces long, and 
 12 broad, and the height must apparently have been 60 feet. 
 
 The party having made an elaborate examination of the ruins, and 
 Layard having taken copies of various inscriptions, and sketches of 
 some sculptures, they returned to Mosul. 
 
 ^ Ross, Journ. R. Geo. Soc. vol. is. 
 
 Fig. 26. — RUINS AT AL IIADIIB. 
 
'f" 
 
 Fig. 27.— BIUS NIIIEOUP. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 BABYLON, PERSEPOLIS, BESITHUN, NAHR-EL-KELB, AND CYPRUS. 
 
 Howeter imcertain and meagre may be onr general records of tbe 
 History of Assyria, we bave still existing in varions countries several 
 monuments wbicb indisputably indicate the ancient extent of the 
 empire. Cuneiform inscriptions, sculp times, and in some instances, 
 mins, have been disclosed, not merely in Babylonia, but in Persia, 
 Media, Armenia, and Cyprus ; and as some acquaintance with these 
 remains will importantly assist in the investigation of the recent 
 discoveries on the banks of the Tigris, we trust that the following 
 short account of them, and of the localities where they are found, will 
 not be misplaced : — • 
 
 Having already, in the Historical Section, noticed the chief cities 
 of Babylonia, those founded by Nimrod, we shall now limit oimselves 
 simply to a cursory reference to the ruins of Babylon and of the 
 other principal mounds in this part of Mesopotamia. The first and most 
 important is the Birs Nimroud, which, if not originally distinct from 
 Babylon itself, appears to have been the first to be separated from it. 
 The square superficies of the mound is 49,000 feet, and its elevation at 
 the south-east corner is 64 feet. To the south of it is the MujaUibeh, 
 having a square superficies of 120,000 feet, and a height of only 
 28 feet ; beyond these again is the moimd Amram Ibn Ali, having an 
 area of 104,000 feet, and an elevation of 23 feet. The MujaUibeh has 
 been read as if it were Mukalliba, from Kilba, ‘‘ the overturned, or 
 overthrown,” whereas a much nearer affinity exists in MujaUibeh, plural 
 of Jalib, “ a slave or captive, the house of the captives,” and not 
 improbably the residence of the Israelites who remained in Babylon. 
 
106 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 This reading is favoured by the name Harut and Marut given to the 
 mound hy the natives, from a tradition, that near the foot of the ruin, 
 there is an invisible pit, Avhere D’Herbelot relates that the rebellious 
 people are hung with their heels upwards until the Day of Judgment.^ 
 The kasr, or palace, is a mound of about 2100 feet in length and 
 breadth, and from the sculptures, inscribed bricks, and glazed and 
 coloured tiles, found there, it is generally regarded as the site of the 
 large palace celebrated for its hanging gardens. The Amram Ibn All 
 has been plausibly identified with the western palace. These three 
 groups of mounds were all enclosed by ridges and mounds of ramparts 
 forming two lines of defence in the shape of a triangle of which the 
 Mujallibeh was one solid angle ; the other beyond Amram, and the 
 third to the east. The fourth quarter is marked in its central space 
 by the mound Al-Heimar, or Hamur, an isolated eminence having a 
 superficies of 16,000 feet, and an elevation of 44 feet, with a ruin on 
 the summit eight feet high.^ It is said that in the time of Alexander 
 antique monuments abounded in the Lamliim marshes, which are 
 76 miles south of Babylon, and Arian says, that the monuments or 
 tombs of the Assyrian kings were reported to be placed in the 
 marshes ; a report nearly substantiated by the fact that Messrs. 
 Erazer and Boss found glazed earthenware cofiins on some of the 
 existing mounds. Beyond Sariit, and below But Amarah, are the 
 ruins of a bridge of masonry over the Tigris, which bridge was 
 probably on the line of road attributed to Semiramis. At Teib, the 
 road joins a causeway of considerable length, and it possibly termi- 
 nated at or near Tel Heimar.^ It is to be regretted that none of the 
 researches in the mounds of Babylon have hitherto thrown any light 
 on the structural arrangements of the Assyrian palaces ; in the 
 absence, therefore, of the details which might be anticipated, we must 
 content ourselves with the foregoing brief mention of the mounds, 
 and seek elsewhere for information in aid of the immediate purpose of 
 the present chapter. 
 
 As the Persian empire grew out of the ruins of the Assyrian 
 empire, and Persepolis, the capital of that empire, succeeded to those 
 of Assyria, it is to Persepolis we should naturally direct our inquiries 
 respecting the architecture of its predecessors ; and, fortunately for 
 our object, the ruins of Persepolis consist of those parts of the 
 buildings which have entirely disappeared from the remains in 
 Assyria, such as gates, columns and window-frames, besides the stair- 
 cases of the great platform, and those of the lesser elevations. The 
 
 * Ainsworth’s “ Researches in Assyria,” p. 1G9. 2 Ainsvforth. 
 
 ^ Ainsworth’s “Researches.” 
 
PEUSEPOLIS. 
 
 107 
 
 chief features of the ruins, however, are the tall, slender column 
 which stand out prominently to view, from which the place has obtained 
 the descriptive appellative of Tel el Minar, the “ hill of minarets,” the 
 natives considering the columns of the palaces of the kings to resemble 
 the minarets of the mosques. The remains of this magnificent capital 
 lie in north latitude 29° 59' 39", east longitude 84°, and the appear- 
 ance of the ruins, as approached from the south-west, is most 
 imposing. They are situated at the base of a rugged mountain, and 
 the artificial terrace on which they are built commands an immense 
 plain, bounded on all sides by dark cliffs ; the plain of the Merdasht 
 is now, however, only a swampy wilderness, and a few solitary 
 columns and scattered ruins are aU that remain of the splendid city 
 that once gave life and animation to the scene. It is to Sir Eobert 
 Ker Porter we are indebted for the most copious, accurate, and 
 intelligent account of Persian antiquities in general, and to his 
 Travels therefore must we turn for the best description of Persepolis. 
 Sir Eobert conjectures, from the mounds and fragments scattered 
 about in various directions, that the capital originally extended from 
 the pillared ruins along the whole foot of the mountain, connecting 
 itself with Nakshi Eoustam, and thence spreading over the plain to 
 the north-west. The most conspicuous of the existing remains being 
 the Tel-el-Minar, the palace thus described by Diodorus Siculus.^ 
 “ This stately fabric, or citadel, was surrounded with a treble wall ; 
 the first was sixteen cubits high, adorned with many sumptuous 
 buildings and aspiring turrets. The second was like to the first, but 
 as high again as the other. The third was drawn like a quadrant, 
 four square, sixty cubits high, all of the hardest marble, and so 
 cemented as to continue for ever. On the four sides are brazen 
 gates, near to wdiich are gaUows (or crosses of brass) of brass twenty 
 cubits high ; these were raised to terrify the beholders, and the other 
 for the better strengthening and fortifying the place. On the east 
 side of the citadel, about 400 feet distant, stood a moimt called 
 the Eoyal Mount, for here are aU the sepulchres of the kings, many 
 apartments and little cells being cut into the midst of the rock ; into 
 which cells there is no direct passage, but the coffins with the dead 
 bodies are by instruments hoisted up, and so let down into these 
 vaults. In this citadel were many stately lodgings, both for the king 
 and his soldiers, of excellent workmanship, and treasury chambers 
 most commodiously contrived for the laying up of money.” 
 
 Sir Eobert’ s investigations included that part of the mountain 
 situated behind the platform which Diodorus describes, as this division 
 
 ^ Diod. Sic., bk. SYii. c. 7. 
 
108 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 of the hill probably comprises the Eoyal Mount, where the tombs are 
 found ; and likewise on the ground above appear several mounds and 
 stony heaps, marking three distinct lines of walls and towers. The 
 artificial plain on which the ruins stand is of a very irregular shape, 
 the west front being 1425 feet long ; the north, 926 ; and the south, 
 802 feet. The surface has become very uneven from the fallen 
 ruins and accumulated soil ; but to the north-west masses of the 
 native rock show themselves, stiU bearing the marks of the original 
 implements with which the mass has been hevm. In the deeper 
 cavities beyond the face of the artificial plain, a partially worked 
 quarry is visible. Nothing can exceed the strength and beauty with 
 which the rocky terrace has been constructed ; its steep faces 
 are formed of dark grey marble, cut into gigantic square blocks, 
 exquisitely polished, and without mortar, fitted with such precision, 
 that when first executed the platform must have appeared as part of 
 the solid mountain itself. The present height of the platform from 
 the plain is 30 feet ; but Sir Robert’s observations satisfied him that 
 the clearing away of the rubbish would give an additional depth of 
 20 feet, and probably more ; though, on the southern side, it could 
 never have exceeded 30 feet ; while to the north it varies from 16 to 
 26 feet. This artificial plain consists of three terraces, the lowest, 
 embracing the entire length of the southern face, is 183 feet in width ; 
 the second contains the general area, and the most elevated was whoUy 
 covered with magnificent buildings. Along the edge of the lowest 
 terrace appear fragments like a parapet wall, worked with the same 
 colossal strength and gigantic proportions which distinguish the rest 
 of the edifice ; and, on the edge of the highest terrace to the south, 
 are decided marks of a strong range of railing or palisadoes, the signs 
 of which, however, cease at the top of the flight of steps which connect 
 this terrace with the one beneath, two large holes being cut deeply in 
 the stone at the top of the steps to receive the pivots of the gates that 
 anciently closed this entrance. The only ascent from the plain to 
 the summit of the platform is by a magnificent staircase situated on 
 the western side, but not in the centre, for the mean distance is so 
 much as 961 feet from the southern face, and only 208 feet from 
 the northern (see 1 on plan) . This staircase consists of a double flight 
 of steps, rising from the north and south with so gentle an inclina- 
 tion, that Sir Robert Porter invariably rode his horse up and down 
 them during his visits to the summit. Each step is 3i inches high 
 and 22 feet long, and the blocks of marble of which they are 
 composed are so large as to allow 10 or 14 steps to be cut into each 
 solid mass. In aU they number 55, and the space they cover is 
 
PEESEPOLIS. 
 
 109 
 
 67 feet by 22 feet. On ascending the first flight, an irregular landing- 
 place presents itself, of 37 feet by 44 feet, from whence springs a 
 second flight formed of 48 steps, and covering 59 feet by 22 feet. A 
 couple of corresponding staircases on the opposite side meet them, 
 and terminate on the grand level of the platform by a landing-place 
 occupying 64 feet, so that the whole extent of the base from end to 
 end was 388 feet, while a line dropped from the upper landing pro- 
 duced a distance of 29 feet ; but there can be no doubt that the 
 present visible height of the platform is not much more than half its 
 original elevation from the plain, so that the length of the flights 
 must have been abridged in the same manner. On reaching the 
 platform, the lofty front of an immense portal (see 2 on plan) at once 
 presents itself, the interior faces or jambs being sculptured into the 
 forms of two colossal bulls looking towards the west. They are 
 elevated five feet above the level of the platform, and at a con- 
 siderable height over their backs are small compartments filled with 
 arrow-headed inscriptions. The heads of the bulls are entirely 
 gone, and there are no remains of any cornice or roof w^hich 
 may have connected the gateway at the top. The dimensions of 
 each wall forming the side of the portal are, breadth five feet, 
 length 21 feet, and height 30 feet ; the walls are 12 feet apart, 
 and the space between them is flagged with beautifully polished 
 slabs cut from the neighbouring rock. Proceeding through the 
 portal 24 feet in a direct line. Sir Pobert found the remains of 
 foiu’ magnificent columns (see 3 on plan) ; they are placed 22 
 feet apart, and 24 feet beyond them is yet a second portal (see 4 
 on plan), resembling the first, except that the length is only 
 18 feet, and that the bulls have wings, and human heads with 
 cyhndrical caps surmounted witli a coronet and roses, and siuTOunded 
 by three bull’ s-horns, in all respects almost identical with the symbolic 
 images since found at Khorsabad. At the distance of 162 feet to the 
 right of this portal stands the magnificent terrace that supports 
 the multitude of columns from which it takes its name. One object 
 alone arrests attention in our progress, namely, a cistern in dimen- 
 sions 18 feet by 16 feet, hewn out of the solid rock ; it was filled with 
 water by means of subterraneous aqueducts, and as another of 
 these subterranean channels runs in a parallel line to the w'est, a 
 corresponding reservoir probably lay in that direction. Sir Pobert says 
 that “ on drawing near tlie Chehel Minar, or Palace of Porty Pillars, 
 the eye is riveted by the grandeur and beautiful decorations of the 
 flights of steps which lead up to them. This superb approach 
 (see 5 on plan) consists of a double staircase, projecting considerably 
 
110 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 before tbe northern face of the terrace, the whole length being 
 212 feet, and at each extremity, east and west, rises another range 
 of steps ; again about the middle, and projecting from it 18 feet, 
 appear two smaller flights rising from the same points, where the 
 extent of the range, including a landing place of 20 feet, amounts to 
 86 feet. The ascent is extremely gradual, each flight containing 
 only thirty low steps, none exceeding four inches in height, the tread 
 14 inches, and the length 16 feet. The whole front of the advanced range 
 is covered with sculpture,” the space immediately under the landing- 
 place being divided into three compartments. The centre may pro- 
 bably once have contained an iuscription ; in that to the left are four 
 standing figures habited in long robes and buskins ; they wear a fluted 
 flat-topped cap, from their shoulders hang their bow and quiver, and they 
 hold in both hands a short spear. On the right of the centre tablet are 
 three similar figures facing towards the others ; they, however, have 
 neither bows nor quivers, but carry only the spear with the addition 
 
 of a shield resembling a Boeotian buckler on the left arm 
 
 “ As this seems to have been the grand approach to the palace above, 
 doubtless the spearmen just described must have been intended to 
 pourtray the royal guards, the fashion of whose dress perfectly 
 accords with the account given of it by Herodotus (Terpsichore, c. 49.)” 
 Sir Bobert remarks that he did not find anything like what we should 
 call a sword, and that Herodotus makes no mention of a sword, 
 though Xenophon does (Cyrop. viii.) On the side corresponding 
 with the slope of the stairs, runs a line of figures 21 inches high, 
 answering in number to the steps, each one of which appears to 
 form a pedestal for its relative figure. A narrow border of open 
 roses finishes the upper edge of the frieze, while an equal number 
 of figures ornament the interior face of the same staircase. “ Two 
 angular spaces, on each side of the corresponding groups of spearmen 
 described on the surface of the staircase, are filled with duphcate 
 representations of a fight between a lion and a bull.” The objects 
 on the face of the next flight of stairs include, in the triangular 
 space formed by the slope of the stairs, a repetition of the contest 
 between the lion and the bull, occupying a length of 23 feet. It is 
 divided by an almost obliterated inscription, which reaches nearly 
 from top to bottom. Brom this tablet commence the lines of three 
 rows of sculpture, covering an expanse of 68 feet, and terminating at 
 the top of the steps of the outward approach. Of the upper row 
 only the lower extremities remain, the rest having risen above the 
 level of the terrace to form a kind of parapet, which is now entirely 
 broken away, though vestiges of it may be seen scattered over the 
 
PALACE OP TEL EL MINAE. 
 
 Ill 
 
 ground below. A border of roses separates each row of bas-reHefs, 
 which consists of an officer introducing a procession of people bearing 
 implements and tribute (see Xenophon’s 
 description of first grand procession of 
 Cyrus. — Cyrop. viii.) Each figure carries a 
 lotos, the symbol of divinity, purity, and abun- 
 dance, and regarded by the Persians with pecu- 
 liar sanctity. “ On ascending the platform on 
 which the Palace of Chehel Minar once stood, 
 nothing can be more striking than a view of 
 its ruins ; so vast and magnificent, so faUen 
 and mutilated and silent. The immense space 
 of the upper platform stretches to north and 
 south 350 feet, and from east to west 380, 
 the greater part of which is covered with 
 broken capitals, shafts, and pillars, and count- 
 less fragments of buildings ; some of which 
 are richly ornamented with the most exquisite 
 sculpture.” The pillars were distributed in 
 four divisions, a centre of six deep every way, 
 a northern division consisting of a double 
 rank, six in each, equidistant from one another, 
 and falling 20 feet back from the landing- 
 place of the stairs ; and two similar divisions 
 of twelve columns arranged in double ranks 
 flanking each of the sides east and west. “ On 
 the western side (6 on plan), they seem on 
 the brmk of a precipice, for there this upper 
 terrace rises stupendously from the plain 
 beneath ; its perpendicular on that face 
 descending directly to the level earth, whereas 
 the base of the other three sides meets 
 the intervention of the vast table surface 
 of the great platform,” on which this 
 more elevated part is superimposed. Erom 
 the western to the eastern range (Xo. 8), the distance is 268 
 feet. The form of these columns is the same in all, and very beautiful 
 (Eig. 28.) ; the total height of each is 60 fleet, the circumference of the 
 shaft 16, and its length from the base to the capital 44; the shaft is finely 
 fluted, the lower extremity being bound by a cincture, from whence de- 
 volved the pedestal in the form of the cup and leaves of a pendant lotus. 
 
 The capitals which remain show that they were once surmounted 
 
 Fig. 28.— PERSEPOLITAN 
 COLUMN. 
 
112 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 by an upper capital in the form of the head, breast, and bent forelegs 
 of a bull, richly ornamented with collars and other trappings ; which 
 bnst-like portion of the animal is united at the back to a correspond- 
 ing bust of another bull, both joining just behind the shoulders, but 
 leaving a cavity between, sufficient to admit the end of a square beam 
 of wood or stone, to connect the colonnade. The heads of the bulls 
 forming these capitals take the direction of the faces of the respective 
 fronts of the terrace. Sir Eobert observes, that the posts of the 
 tombs at ISTakshi Eoustam afford evidence that the pillars were 
 intended to be so connected, and he likewise suggests that the super- 
 structure was probably of timber, overlaid with a thin covering of 
 stone to protect it from the weather. The centre body of 36 columns 
 (see 7 on plan) stood at a distance of 60 feet from the double colonnades 
 on the three sides ; but the height of the columns is only 55 feet, and 
 the capitals are quite of a different character, resembling those at the 
 portal, where the winged bull is so conspicuous. Another peculiarity 
 attached to the middle group of columns is, that their pedestals rise 
 some feet higher than those by which they are surrounded, the stone- 
 work being rough, and projecting in unshapen blocks, as if to sustain 
 an additionally elevated pavement, whence it may be supposed that the 
 marble pavement was covered with a flooring of some costly wood 
 which enclosed the rough pedestals, and on which might have been 
 erected the throne of the king (See 1 Kings vii. 3 — 7 ; 2 Chron. ix. 
 17, 19). The representations of processions bearing tribute, the 
 faces all turned to the entrance which fronted this group of columns, 
 appeared to mark their approach thither to some important object, 
 which could scarcely be less than the king. The nearest building to 
 the Chehel Minar (Ko. 9), stands upon a terrace elevated about seven or 
 eight feet, and occupying a space of 170 feet by 95. It is approached 
 from the west by a double flight of stairs, the fragments of which 
 show that they also had been decorated with sculptured guards and 
 other figures. The eastern side is so heaped with fallen ruins and 
 earth that no trace of stairs is visible, but to the south the whole face 
 of the terrace which sustains this structure is occupied with a superb 
 flight (No. 10), the landing-place of which embraces nearly 48 feet by 
 10. The front is divided by an inscribed tablet, on each side of which 
 stand spearmen of gigantic height. Upon ascending this terrace we 
 find towards the north an open space 65 feet wide, on which appear 
 the foundations of some narrow walls ; and on each side of this space 
 40 feet towards the south, stand two lofty entrances of four upright 
 solid blocks of marble of a nearly black colour ; within the portals of 
 each, as in aU the portals that seem hke public entrances into haU 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS. 113 
 
 and chamber throughout these ruins, are bas-rehefs of two guards. 
 On the immediate verge of the landing-place from the western flight 
 of steps, we enter a portal of these guards ; and at a very few paces 
 onward pass through a second doorway into a room (No. 9), 48 feet 
 square. I^rom this chamber two doors open to the north, two to the 
 west, one to the south, and formerly two to the east, and all have on 
 their several sides duphcate bas-reliefs of a royal personage, with 
 two attendants, one of whom holds an umbrella ; inscriptions are over 
 the heads of all these groups. On three sides of the room are several 
 niches, each excavated in one solid stone, to a depth of three feet ; 
 flve in height, and six in width ; they have been highly polished, 
 and upright lines of cuneiform run along their edges. Opening to 
 the south in the entire thickness of the wall, five feet, are four 
 windows, ten feet high ; and finally this room contains three bas-reliefs, 
 consisting of single combats between a man and a hon ; a man and a 
 griffin ; and a man and an animal with the head of a wolf, the fore 
 legs and body of a lion, neck scaled or feathered, wings which extend 
 nearly to its tail, which is formed of a series of bones like the 
 vertebrae of the back, hind legs like an eagle, and crooked horn pro- 
 jecting from its head. There is a division (No. 12) of the building open 
 to the south 48 feet by 30 feet, and terminating on each side on the 
 landing of the stairs by two square pillars, of one block of marble, 
 22 feet high, covered in different ranges with a variety of inscriptions, 
 Cuphic, cuneiform, Arabic, and Persian. Traces of a double colonnade 
 are still visible along the open space which lies between the western 
 brink of the great terrace, and the western face of the building. “We 
 have now,” says Sir Eobert, “ mentioned the ascent of three terraces 
 from the natiual ground of the plain, — first, the grand platform 
 which supports all the others ; second, the Chehel Minar terrace ; 
 third, the terrace that sustains the edifice of the double chambers 
 last described. A fourth elevation of the same kind presents itself 
 at 96 feet to the south of the preceding. Its summit is on a level 
 with the last .... and a flight of sadly mutilated steps in two 
 ascents of 15 each, is found at the north-west corner ; on these are 
 the vestiges of much fine bas-relief decoration. On the plane of the 
 terrace is a square of 96 feet ; 38 feet of the western side was occu- 
 pied by the depth of the approaches just described, whence ran along 
 in direct fines (No. 13) the bases of 10 columns, their diameter being 
 three feet three inches, and standing 10 feet equidistant from each other: 
 doubtless there was a continued piazza along every side : 58 feet of 
 this terrace at its south-west angle is surmounted by an additional 
 square elevation, the whole depth of whicli from the summit to the 
 
 I 
 
114 
 
 NINEYEH A-NB ITS DISCOYEEEES. 
 
 base, is G2 feet ; and above its tipper sni’face, are tbe lower parts of 
 12 pillars, divided into three rows, of the same diameter and distance 
 from each other as those in the neighbouring colonnade.” 
 
 Immediately beyond this comparatively smah terrace rises a fifth 
 and much more extensive elevation, of which the plan seems to 
 indicate part of the dwelling quarters of the royal residence, for the 
 different offices were not only divided into courts, but were often 
 distinct buildings. The site of this fifth terrace rises, even now, 
 upwards of 20 feet above the level of the vast foundation ; beginning 
 at the southern side, we find at the eastern and western ends two 
 flights of narrow steps (No. 18) descending to a lower level of 80 feet. 
 Several faces of the building are, at present, only marked by their 
 foundations, with the exception of one window to the west, and three 
 to the east ; which open into a couple of corresponding wings, each 
 subdivided into three spacious apartments, the outer ones alone com- 
 municating with the external pillared courts (No. 16). In the centre of 
 these courts stand the phnths of four small columns, two feet six inches 
 in diameter, but placed at a distance from each other of six feet, and 
 16 feet from the door that leads into a noble haU of 90 feet square, 
 the pavement of which is marked by the sites of 36 pillars, three feet 
 three inches in diameter ; a corresponding door on the opposite side of 
 the hall conducts into the second open court of four pillars (No. 16). 
 Another portal leads to the south, and a fourth and fifth to the north 
 into a large vestibule (No. 15) the whole width of the hall, and supported 
 by eight similar columns. Two doors from the vestibule pointing 
 east and west lead into six smaller rooms, and from similar foundations 
 they probably joined others still more to the north : the windows are 
 each formed of four large blocks of marble, the thickness of the v/alls six 
 feet, in height they are four feet eight inches, and in width three feet six 
 inches ; on the inner faces of those that light the rooms are duphcate 
 bas-reliefs occupying the whole smTace, and consisting of two figures 
 in each. Of other buildings upon the great platform is one 210 feet 
 square (No. 21), entered on each side by doors guarded by colossal 
 statues of buUs (No. 22) on pedestals, 18 feet in length by five feet in 
 height. Two of the doors are adorned vlth scul^^ture, the highest com- 
 partment containing the king seated on a chair of state, with a foot- 
 stool at his feet, and over his head a canopy with borders of Hons and 
 bulls r behind the king stand his fan-bearer, armour-bearer, and a 
 tliird attendant, and beneath him are five successive ranges of guards, 
 each range being separated from that above by a border of rosettes : 
 the whole friezes indicating, according to the surmise of 8ir Eobert, 
 the throne on an elevation of five steps, with the ranks of guards who 
 
PLAN OP RUINS OP PERSEPOLIS. 
 
 115 
 
 stood before it; six of the remaining doors of this edifice are sculptured 
 with colossal double guards ; while on four others are sculptured 
 human figures in combat with hons and other animals. 
 
 Adjoining the terraced platform, and about a quarter of a mile 
 east of the Tel el Minar, are two excavated tombs, 72 feet broad by 
 130 feet high, resembling those at Nakshi Eoustam, which we shall 
 briefly describe. Tor further details of the ruins of Persepohs, we 
 must refer to the accompanying plan. 
 
 Fig. 29. — PLAN OP THE EUIN9 OP PEESEPOLIS 
 
 1. Double stair-case to ascend the great plat- ] 
 
 form. Western side. 
 
 2. Bulls at entrance of portal. 
 
 3. Four columns foi’ming part of ball of 
 
 entrance. 
 
 4. Bulls, with human heads and wings, be- 
 longing to the eastern end of portal. 
 
 6. Double flight of stairs to Tel el Minar. 
 
 6. Westeni colonnade of ditto. 
 
 7. Centre columns of ditto. 
 
 1 2 
 
116 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOYEREES. 
 
 8. Eastern colonnade of ditto. 
 
 9. Building on second platform 7 or 8 feet 
 
 above the level of that of Tel el Minar, 
 and double flight of stairs at sides towards 
 the open coiintry, and leading to a portal, 
 with guards holding spear and shield. 
 
 10. Flight of stairs to landing, 48 feet by 10. 
 
 On the open space at the side, appear 
 foundations of narrow walls : at the side of 
 the building facing this open space are 
 lofty entrances of four solid upright blocks 
 of marble. 
 
 11. Room 48 feet square, entered at the portals 
 
 with guards, as at 9, and on north by door- 
 ways, on which are bas-reliefs of king and 
 two attendants. 
 
 12. Division of building, 48 feet by 30, open to 
 
 the south ; each wall is terminated by 
 square pillars, 22 feet high, inscribed in 
 four languages. 
 
 13. Flight of steps and portal, whence double 
 
 line of columns 3 feet 3 in diameter ; they 
 stand on a terrace 96 feet square, upon 
 which is an elevation 58 ft. by 62, contain- 
 ing twelve columns. 
 
 14. Flight of stairs to fifth terrace. 
 
 15. Vestibule with eight columns. 
 
 16. Pillared courts. 
 
 17. Four strong supports like pedestals to up- 
 
 hold some body of great weight. 
 
 18. Two flights of narrow steps descending to a 
 
 lower level. 
 
 19. Colossal masses of stone forming sides of 
 
 large portals leading into an edifice 96 feet 
 square ; on the interior face of that to the 
 east, are sculptured three figures, 12 feet 
 in height ; in the centre are four pillars. 
 
 20. Quadrangular building 48 feet square, upon 
 
 the level of great platform and adjoining 
 chamber open to the south. This edifice 
 was lighted by a range of lofty windows. 
 
 21. Structure 210 feet square. 
 
 22. Colossal Bulls on pedestals 18 feet in length 
 
 by 5 in height. They are near doors 
 adorned with sculpture, one compartment 
 containing king, seated on a chair of state, 
 with a footstool at his feet. Over his 
 head a canopy, with borders of lions and 
 bulls. 
 
 23. Bulls which have formed sides of great gate- 
 
 way like that at 2. 
 
 24. Enormous insulated column. 
 
 25. Cistern. 
 
 26. Reservoir communicating by subterranean 
 
 channels with cistern. 
 
 27. Excavated Tombs resembling those at 
 
 Naksh-i-Roustam ; they are 72 feet broad 
 by 130 feet high, and divided into two 
 compartments. 
 
 In tlie vaUey of Mourgaub, wbicb lies about 49 miles nortb-east of 
 Persepolis, are numerous ruins, — the first which arrests observation 
 being a platform of hewn stones raised nearly to a level with the rock 
 which it adjoins. The length of the front measures 300 feet ; its sides to 
 where they touch the hill 298 feet ; and the height is 38 feet 6 inches, 
 formed of 14 tiers of blocks of white marble. Every stone of the 
 upper horizontal surface is joined with the utmost nicety, being 
 carefully clamped to its neighbour. There is no trace of columns 
 upon the top of the platform, but this, as Sir Eobert remarks, forms 
 no conclusive reason why a superstructure should not have existed 
 there ; its general appearance is rather that of extending the hori- 
 zontal surface of the rock above, than of forming a base for any 
 heavy bulwark on its summit, and, moreover, there are no vestiges of 
 supporting fortifications ; nevertheless, it is called by Pliny the 
 Castle of PasargadsD, occupied by the Magi, and wherein was the 
 tomb of Cyrus. On the plain, at a quarter of a mile S.W. of this 
 platform, is a square tower-like building, about nine feet each way, 
 and 49 feet high ; it was formed of blocks of marble, each measuring 
 three feet six inches. Another quarter of a mile due south is a 
 square pillar of only two stones one over the other ; the lower one is 
 12 feet high, the other about seven or eight feet ; the whole 
 terminated above with some broken work like a ledge. The faces 
 were each nearly foui’ feet wide, and on that towards the north was 
 
MOrRGAUB. 
 
 117 
 
 an inscription of four lines in the arrow-headed character. Proceeding 
 S.E. for rather more than a quarter of a mile, a low mound is reached, 
 which bore evident marks of having been ascended by steps. From the 
 centre of it rises a perfectly round column finely polished, the base is 
 buried in rubbish, and the capital is gone, but the length of the shaft 
 is not less than 40 or 50 feet, and the circumference measures 
 10 feet. A spacious marble platform supports this immense frag- 
 ment, the square shape of its area being marked by four pillars of 
 similar style and dimensions to that just described. The four are 
 distant from each other 108 feet, and on one side of each was an 
 inscription which labelled several parts of these ruins, there being no 
 difierence between any of them. A third mass of marble, in a yet 
 more mutdated state, stands 30 feet in front of these, dividing 
 exactly the middle of thn surface of the square. The couple of stones 
 remaming are both inscribed. On the south-east is an immense 
 platform elevation belongiug to a former building, now entirely swept 
 away, and which but for one fragment coidd only be marked by the 
 bases on which stood its ancient columns. Its shape is a parallelo- 
 gram, 150 feet by 81, divided by two rows of pedestals of white 
 marble, with the exception of one which is of the dark rock of the 
 country, and six feet square. The sizes of these pedestals varied 
 from thi’ee to foim feet, and they were 15 feet apart ; but in the 
 transverse way towards the centre they left an opening of 21 feet 
 and an equal space from side to side. This inequality in their 
 dimensions. Sir Pobert surmises, might, as in the case of the Tel 
 el Minar, be intended, some to support an elevated fioor, and others 
 to sustain coliunns. At about six feet distant from the X.E. side of 
 the building, and standing out in a parallel point to its centre, is a 
 square pillar perfectly distinct from all others. It is formed of one 
 single block, about 15 feet high, and is sculptmed with a curious 
 bas-relief surmoimted by a compartment containing a repetition 
 of the usual inscription. This bas-relief consists of a profile of a 
 man clothed in a long garment fittins; rather close to the body, and 
 bordered by a wavy fr’inge and small roses; this bordering runs up the 
 side of the dress to the bend of the arm. His right arm is upraised, with 
 his hand open and elevated, and from his shoulders issue four wings ; 
 two, spreading on each side, reach high above his head, and the other 
 two are depressed, nearly touching his feet. His head is covered 
 with a cap, close to the skull, and showing a small portion of hair 
 beneath it, and the hair is short, bushy, and ciuled with great 
 regularity. The most singidar part of the sculptnre, however, is the 
 Egyptian ornament upon his head which we have given in a previous 
 
118 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO YEEEES. 
 
 chapter (see p. 77). The figure from head to foot measures seven 
 feet, and the width of the stone where he stands is five feet two inches.^ 
 At the distance of about a mile S.W. of these remains is found a 
 quadrangle of about 60 or 80 feet on every side, a great gate 
 appearing to have opened from it to the S.E. A continued range of 
 small dark chambers even with the ground runs along the four sides 
 of this square, with each a door scarcely four feet high opening into 
 the quadrangle ; over the fiat lintel of these cell-like entrances lies a 
 huge stone, much larger every way than the doors were in length. 
 About 200 yards further south rises the structure called by the 
 natives the tomb of the mother of Solomon, but which is now 
 generally recognised as the tomb of Cyrus, which our space will not 
 allow us to describe. Before visiting the mountain of sepulchres at 
 Naksh-i-Boustam, Sir Bobert examined what is called in the neigh- 
 bourhood Tacht-e-Taoosht, Hareem of Jamshid, a high piece of 
 ground, on which we see a magnificent and solitary column nearly 
 resembling those at Persepolis, standing pre-eminent over a crowd of 
 ruins which had evidently belonged to some very ancient and stately 
 edifice. Seven similar columns were lying on the ground, and a few 
 yards IS’.E. of them are remains of thick walls, and yet unmutilated 
 marble work of several large door-frames. The entire surface of thi§ 
 terrace is covered with mounds of ruins of apparently two distinct 
 edifices, a palace and a temple, with evidences besides of fortifications. 
 Leaving this platform the next object Sir Bobert investigated was the 
 Naksh-i-Boustam. The face of the mountain is almost a perpendicular 
 cliff scarcely less than 300 yards high ; of a whitish kind of marble, in 
 which have been cut the sculptures and excavations placed very near 
 each other, and within the space of not quite the height of the 
 mountain. Those highest on the rock are four, and evidently intended 
 for tombs, one being supposed to be that of Darius Hystaspes. 
 A they present no exterior differences we may suppose that they 
 vary but little within, so that a description of one may generally 
 describe them all. The one examined by Sir Bobert consists of an 
 excavation of about 14 feet, in a form something resembling the Greek 
 cross, the upright division of which could not be less than 100 feet from 
 end to end. The transverse lines present the front of the tomb, and 
 the highest compartment is thickly sculptured with figures. The 
 entire front occupies a breadth of 53 feet, and it is ornamented by 
 four pilasters about seven feet apart, and the same distance from the 
 caverned side of the excavation. The bases terminate by a plinth 
 projecting about eighteen inches, and the shafts are crowned by the 
 
 ^ Porter’s Travels, vol. i. p. 492. 
 
TOMB OE DARIUS HYSTASPES. 
 
 119 
 
 double bulls before described, the only difference being that a horn 
 issues from the foreheads of these. An additional capital (composed 
 of three square stones piled on each other, the smallest and lowest 
 fitting into the cavity between the bull’s necks, and the largest stone 
 at the top) supports an architrave without any decoration excepting 
 a row of modillons near its upper edge. Between the two centre 
 pilasters is the entrance, of which the door-frame is finely pro- 
 portioned, having a carved and projecting architrave fluted and 
 divided into leaves ; the greater part of the apparent door is only 
 marked like one, the entrance being confined to a square space of four 
 feet six inches high in its lower compartment. The division above the 
 front of the tomb is the excavation which contains the friezes, and is 
 cut into a sort of frame enclosing them. The representation within 
 consists of a double row of 14 figures, each with their hands raised 
 over their heads, supporting two beautiful cornices : they are all 
 habited in short tunics confined at the waist by a belt, some having a 
 dagger hanging from it. Each side of the structure is finnished 
 with a pillar which may be divided into four parts : the base 
 resembles an urn, on which rests the huge paw and limb of a lion, 
 descending from the columnar part of the pillar, which is fluted hori- 
 zontally half way up ; and from its summit issue the head and shoulders 
 of the unicorn bull, but without ornaments. The back of the neck 
 unites it with the highest cornice, so that the head and shoidders rise 
 higher than the top of the structure. On this top stands a figme 
 elevated on a pedestal of three steps. He is dressed in floMTug robes ; 
 in his left hand he holds a bow, and his right arm is stretched half 
 out with his hand quite open ; he wears bracelets ; and his head is 
 bare, and bushily curled behind, while his beard flows upon his breast. 
 Opposite to this figme is an altar charged with the sacred fire, and 
 high over it an aerial personage, called, by Sir Eobert, the Eerouher 
 and resembling the symbols we have so constantly seen at Nimroud. 
 This ornamental elevation, as we have said, is comprised within a 
 square frame ; on the remaining exterior surfaces are figmes three 
 deep, those to the right of the altar being armed with spears, while 
 those on the left have their hands raised to their faces, as if wiping 
 away their tears. The only way to reach the tomb with the purpose 
 of entering it, was to be hauled up by a rope tied round the Avaist ; 
 and Sir Eobert did not hesitate at this expedient. On entering the 
 tomb through the opening in the lower compartment of the door, he 
 found himself in a vaidted chamber, at the further extremity of 
 Avhich were three arched recesses, VAEich occupy the AAdiole length 
 of the chamber, each containing a trough-hke cavity cut doAvn into 
 
120 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 the rock, and covered with a stone of corresponding dimensions. The 
 length of the cave which forms the whole tomb is 34 feet, its height 
 nine ; each catacomb containing the cavity for the body is also nine 
 feet ; length of Sarcophagus cavity eight feet three inches by five feet ; 
 depth four feet four inches ; the rest of the height being contained in 
 the bend of the arch. The open space of the chamber between the 
 catacombs and the door, is about five feet, and the entrance had 
 originally been closed by a block or blocks of stone, the deep holes 
 w'hich received their pivots being visible on each side. Of the three 
 remaining tombs, that which is furthest eastward is cut in a receding 
 angle of the rock and faces the west ; the second from this is the 
 only one whereon marks of inscription can be traced, but over the 
 whole tablet of the upper compartment, arrow-headed letters are 
 visible wherever they could be traced. Strabo mentions and gives 
 part of the inscription upon the tomb of Darius Hystaspes. The 
 sculptures on the higher range belong to early Persian kings, while 
 those of the lower range are attributed to the Arsacedian and Sassanian 
 races ; and it is strange how the taste of the artists degenerated after 
 they had been so long subjected to the Greeks, who were famed as 
 masters in design and execution. As these, however, contain no 
 cuneiform inscription, we do not enter into Sir Eobert’s copious 
 description of them; but at once direct our course to where such 
 inscriptions have been found, in other countries. 
 
 As ancient Media contains the most valuable of the inscribed 
 records of Assyria, the first we shall notice is the mysterious stone in 
 the side of Mount Elwand ; which consists of an immense block of red 
 granite, of the choicest and finest texture, and apparently of many tons 
 weight. At full ten feet from the ground, two square excavations 
 appear in the face of the stone, cut to the depth of a foot, about five feet 
 in breadth, and much the same in height. Each of these imperishable 
 tablets contains three columns of engraved arrow-headed writing in 
 the most excellent preservation. Several deep holes appeared in the 
 stone close to the edge of the excavations, showing where iron fastenings 
 have been inserted to secure cross bars, or some other shield from 
 outward injury. The natives think that these writings are the history 
 of the treasure which is reserved for him who can decipher them.^ 
 Along the slopes of the Elwand, the ancient Orontes, is the elevated 
 district of Hamadan, situated in a cultivated amphitheatre, shaded 
 with elms, poplars, firs, &c., at the foot of the picturesque Elwand. 
 This mountain is covered with verdure almost to the snow-clad peak, 
 and abounds Avith springs, in addition to the fine stream which 
 
 I Porter’s Travels, vol, i. p, 120, 
 
ECBATANA BEIIISTUX. 
 
 121 
 
 traverses the tovTi. Arrovr-headed inscriptions mark the antiquity 
 of a site (the oSTarwend, Morier, p. 264-7), generally considered to be 
 that of Ecbatana, the capital of Media Magna. It boasts the castle 
 of Darius, the sepulchres of Esther and Mordecai, with the tomb of 
 the philosopher and physician, Avicenna} In the castle or palace of 
 Ecbatana was found the original grant or instrimient of Cyrus, allow- 
 ing the Jews to return and settle in their ovtl country.^ Sir Eobert 
 Porter discovered the broken shaft and base of a fluted coliunn at 
 Ecbatana, which satisfled him that the architecture of the city was 
 identical with that of Persepolis ; the flowing leaf of the lotus covered 
 the whole of the pedestal, and its shape resembled the ranges of coliunns 
 on the platform of Tact-e-Jemshid (vol. ii., p. 115). The object of 
 the inscriptions at Hamadan appears to be merely such as induces 
 travellers to cut their names in localities difficult of access. The 
 legends were probably engraved on the occasion of one of the annual 
 journeys which the monarchs made between Babylon and Ecbatana, 
 their chief interest consisting in the indication they afford of the 
 ancient line of communication crossing Mount Orontes. This road 
 was ascribed in antiquity to Semiramis, and Colonel Eawlinson assimed 
 himself, from minute examination, that throughout its whole extent 
 it presents unequivocal marks of havmg been artificially and most 
 laboriously constructed.^ 
 
 We shall now direct oim coimse to Behistim, near Kermanshah, as 
 the tablets found there, being trilingual, have fimnished the key to 
 the interpretation of all other Assyrian inscriptions, and consequently 
 possess higher interest than any others yet discovered. The sacred 
 rock of Behistun, or Besitoon, on the western frontiers of Media, 
 situated on the high road conducting from Babylonia to the eastward, 
 must, in all ages, have attracted the observation of travellers. “ It 
 rises,” says Colonel Eawlinson, ^‘abruptly from the plain, to a per- 
 pendicidar height of I700 feet, and its aptitude for holy piu’poses 
 was not to be neglected by that race which made 
 
 Their altars the high places, and the peaks 
 
 Of earth-o’er-gazing moiuitains. ” 
 
 It was named Bagistan, “the place of Baga,” in reference, as 
 Eawlinson suggests, to Ormazd, the chief of the Bagas, or supreme 
 deit}'. According to Diodorus, “ When Semiramis had finished all 
 her works, she marched with a great army into Media, and encamped 
 near to a mountain called Bagistan ; there she made a garden twelve 
 furlongs in compass ; it was in a plain champaign coimtry, and had a 
 
 * Chesuey. 
 
 2 Ezra, vi., 2, 
 
 3 E. As. Jour. vol. x., p. 320. 
 
122 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 great fountain in it, wliicli watered tlie whole garden. Mount 
 Bagistan is dedicated to Jupiter, and, towards one side of the garden, 
 has steep rocks seventeen furlongs from the top to the bottom. She 
 cut out a piece of the lower part of the rock, and caused her own 
 image to be carved upon it, and a hundred of her gnards that were 
 lanceteers standing round about her. She wrote likewise in Syriac 
 letters upon the rock. That Semiramis ascended from the plain to the 
 top of the mountain hy laying the paclcs and fardels of the heasts that 
 followed her one upon another T ^ “ The precipitous rock,” says 
 
 E-awlinson,^ “ seventeen stadia high, facing the garden, the large spring 
 gushing out from the foot of the precipice, and watering the adjoining 
 plain, and the smoothing of the lower part of the rock, aU convey an 
 accurate idea of the present appearance of Behistun. But what can 
 we say of the sculptures of Semiramis and the inscription in Syriac 
 characters ? There are only two tablets at Behistim ; the one nearly 
 destroyed, which contains a Greek inscription, declaring it to be the 
 v/ork of Gozartes, and the other a Persepolitan sculpture, which is 
 adorned by nearly a thousand lines of cuneiform character.” 
 
 Sir Bobert Ker Porter informs us that the lower part of the rock 
 “has been smoothed to a height of 100 feet and to a breadth of 150 feet; 
 beneath which projects a rocky terrace of great sohdity, embracing 
 the same extent from end to end of the smooth cliff above, and sloping 
 gradually in a shelving direction to the level of the ground below. 
 Its base for some way up is faced with large hewn stones, and vast 
 numbers of the same, some in a finished, and others in a progressive 
 state, lie scattered about in every direction, evidently intended to 
 build up and complete the front to its higher level. . . . About fifty 
 yards from this rocky platform, more towards the bridge and at the 
 foot of the mountain, bursts a beautifully clear stream, and just over 
 its foiuitain head, on a broad protruding mass of the rock, the remains 
 of an immense piece of sculptme are still visible.” . . . The first 
 figure carries a spear, and is in the fuU Median habit, altogether 
 resembling the guards at Persepolis. The second is similarly 
 attired, bnt has, in addition, a quiver slung at his back, bracelets, and 
 holds a bent bow in his right hand ; and the third personage is of much 
 larger stature, a usual distinction of royalty in oriental description, and 
 his costume resembles that seen on the king at Naksh-i-Eoustam and 
 Persepohs. His right hand is elevated, and his left grasps a bow, 
 which, together with his foot, rests on the body of a prostrate man, 
 who lies on his back, with outstretched arms, supphcating for mercy. 
 This unhappy personage is succeeded by nine others, all having their 
 
 1 l)iod. Sic., b. ii. c. 1. 
 
 ^ Jour. n. Geog. Soc., vol. ix. 
 
SCULPTUUES AT BEHISTUN. 
 
 123 
 
 hands tied behind their backs, and they are united together by a cord 
 tied round their necks to the extremity of the hne. Their costume is 
 similar to that seen at Persepolis, consisting sometimes of a short 
 tunic and belt round the waist, sometimes of long robes, in some 
 instances trowser or booted appearance about the legs ; but the ninth 
 is distinguished by wearing a prodigiously high pointed cap, and by more 
 ample hair and beard. “ In the air, over the heads of the centre 
 figm^es, appears the floating intelligence in his circle and car of 
 sunbeams. Above the head of each individual in this bas-relief is a 
 compartment, with an inscription in the arrow-headed VTiting, most 
 probably descriptive of the characters and situation of each person, 
 and immediately below the sculpture are tivo Hues in the same 
 language, running the whole length of the group. Under these again 
 the excavation is continued to a considerable extent, containing eight 
 deep and closely- written columns.” ^ 
 
 That the utmost pains had been taken to ensure the permanency of 
 the record, is evident from its elevated position ; the ascent of the 
 rock being so precipitous, that in its natural state it must have been 
 altogether imapproachable without the aid of a scaffold. Colonel 
 Pawlinson remarks, that “ the laboiu’ bestowed on the whole work 
 must have been enormous. The mere preparation of the smTace of 
 the rock must have occupied many months ; and, on examining the 
 tablets minutely, I observed an elaborateness of workmanship which 
 is not to be found in other places. Wherever, in fact, from the 
 imsoundness of the stone, it was difficidt to give the necessary polish 
 to the surface, other fragments were inlaid, imbedded in molten lead, 
 and the fittings were so nicely managed, that a very carefid scrutiny 
 is required, at present, to detect the artifice. Holes or fissures, which 
 perforated the work, were filled up also with the same material, and 
 the polish which was bestowed on the entire sculpture could only 
 have been accomplished by mechanical means. . . . The inscriptions, 
 for extent, for beauty of execution, for uniformity and correctness, 
 are perhaps unequalled in the world.” Kawlinson assigns the palm 
 of merit to the Median VTiting, and infers from thence the employ- 
 ment of a Median artist ; at the same time, however, the Persian 
 transcript is superior to any he had met with at Persepolis or 
 Hamadan, and the Babylonish legends are hardly below the standard 
 of the usual tablets, He especially noticed “ a very extraordinary 
 device which has been employed apparently to give a finish and 
 dmability to the uHting. It was, that after the engraving of the 
 rock had been accomplished, a coating of siliceous varnish had been 
 
 Porter's Travels, vol. ii., p. 150. 
 
12i 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 laid on, to give a clearness of outline to eacli indmdual letter, and to 
 protect tlie surface against tlie action of the elements. This varnish 
 is of infinitely greater hardness than the limestone rock beneath it. 
 It has been washed down in several places by the trickling of water 
 for three-and-twenty centuries, and it lies in flakes upon the foot-ledge 
 like thin layers of lava. It adheres in other portions of the tablet to 
 the broken surface, and stiU shows mth sufficient distinctness the 
 forms of the characters, although the rock beneath is entirely honey- 
 combed and destroyed. It is only, indeed, in the great fissures caused 
 by the outbursting of natural springs, and in the lower part of the 
 tablet, where I suspect artificial mutilation, that the varnish has 
 entirely disappeared.” ^ 
 
 Among the sites of inscriptions visited by Colonel Eawlinson, is 
 the Pass of Keli Shin, in the Khurdistan mountains, which separate 
 the plains of Mesopotamia from Azerbijan and Lake IJrumiyeh. He 
 says that he “ found, upon a little eminence by the side of the road, 
 and nearly at the highest point of the pass, the famous Keli Shin, 
 the stories of which had long excited his curiosity. . . . The 
 Keli Shin is a pillar of dark blue stone, six feet in height, two feet in 
 breadth, and one foot in depth, rounded off at the top and at the 
 angles, and let into a pediment consisting of one solid block of the 
 same sort of stone, five feet square, and two feet deep.” 
 
 “ On the broad face of the pillar fronting the east, there is a 
 cuneiform inscription of 41 lines, but no other trace of sculpture or 
 device to be seen.” ... “At the distance of five hours from the 
 pass which he ascended, there is a precisely similar pillar, denomi- 
 nated also Keli Shin (in Kurdish, the blue pillar), upon the summit 
 of the second range, which overlooks the town and district of Sidek. 
 This is also engraved with a long cuneiform inscription. . . . The 
 chief value he attaches at present to these two interesting relics of 
 antiquity, is the determination which they afford of a great line of 
 communication existing in ancient days across the mountains. This 
 line could only have been used to connect two great capitals, 
 and these capitals must then necessarily have been Kineveh and 
 Ecbatana.” ^ 
 
 The next inscriptions of importance, of which w'e have record, are 
 those in Armenia, on the shores of Lake Van, near the ruins still 
 called by the natives Shemiramgerd, or City of Semiramis. The 
 tradition runs, that when Semiramis had successfully terminated 
 the war in Armenia, she was so struck with the beautiful scenery 
 of the Sea Akthamar (Lake Van), that she forthwith employed 
 
 Joui’, 11, As. Soc. vol. X., c. iv,, p. 187. 
 
 2 Idem. 
 
MONUME^^TS AT LAKE VAN AND NAHK AL KELB. 125 
 
 12,000 workmen, under 600 overseers or architects, in building a 
 magnificent citj, which subsequently became her summer residence. 
 In Moses Choronenses’ History of Armenia, he describes the caverns, 
 columns, and inscriptions which formed part of the works ; and 
 Professor Schulze, who copied forty-two of these inscriptions, 1827 -8, 
 deciphered the word “ Shemiram,” in several of these, particrdarly in 
 one which is written in the arrow-headed characters so that the 
 dominion of the Assyrian queen of Armenia can no longer be said to 
 rest wholly upon tradition. Most of the inscriptions were found on 
 a kind of platform, w'hich had formed the base of ancient structures : 
 others were foimd in caverns, and one of eighty-eight lines was at 
 such an elevation, as to be difiicult of access. Inscriptions were 
 found altogether in fifteen places, one of which was Khorkhor, on the 
 south-western side of the castle of Van, and another upon a rock on 
 the banks of the stream called Schemiram, which flows into the lake. 
 The most important of these records was engraved on a large square 
 tablet, 60 feet above the plain ; it was divided, by perpendicidar 
 lines, into three columns of cuneiform, each column consisting of 
 27 lines of writing, all in the highest preservation. JMeither statues 
 nor bassi-relievi were discovered, and M. Schulze’s researches led 
 him ultimately to the conclusion, that there are no existing monu- 
 ments in the neighbourhood of Yan, which can date so far back as the 
 time of Semiramis. 
 
 The next inscribed tablets, to which we shall direct attention, are 
 those at the mouth of the Nahr el Kelb, in the vicinity of Beyrout, 
 which possess peculiar interest at the present day, as a cast of the most 
 perfect of these tablets, now in the British Museum, was the first 
 relic of the ancient Assyrian empire brought to this country. The 
 material points of the following short accoimt formed the subject of 
 a paper read at the Boyal Society of Literature, June 25th, 1834 : — ^ 
 
 “ ISTalir AUielb, the ancient Lycus, is situated about two hours 
 north-east of Beyrout. The rocks that sustain the road south of the 
 river, preserve the remains of ten monuments of great interest, and 
 of various epochae. The most ancient, but unfortunately the most 
 corroded, are three Egyptian tablets : on them may be traced the 
 name of Rhamses, to which period any connoisseur in Egyptian art 
 woidd have attributed them, if even the evidence of the name had 
 been wanting, from the beautiful proportion of the tablet, and its 
 cavetto moulding. 
 
 “ The next in antiquity, also of great interest, are five Cliald®an 
 
 1 Memoire sur le Lac cle Van et ses Environs, par M. F. AV. Schulze, Journal Asiatique, vol. ix. 
 
 ^ Trans. II, Soc. Lit. Art. iv., by Joseph Bonomi, vol. iii., p. 105, 1839. 
 
126 
 
 T^INEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 tablets, four of which are not less effaced than their more ancient 
 companions ; but the highest one is as perfect as the least ancient 
 monument this interesting spot affords, owing perhaps to its being 
 more out of the reach of the spray of the sea, and farthest from the 
 road; it represents the figure of a man in the long dress of the 
 eastern nations, with a large beard, curiously plaited, holding in his 
 right hand something like a fan, and in his left a stick. Nearly 
 the whole of the background and dress of the figure is covered with 
 the arrow-headed character, which is in many places perfectly well 
 preserved.” 
 
 “The hieroglyphic tablets have been protected by a kind of folding 
 door, the holes for the hinges of which stiU remain. This circumstance 
 is not at all incompatible with the stupendous works of the Egyptians, 
 which seem to have been designed to resist the ravages of time, and 
 to record to posterity the glorious deeds of their kings and heroes. 
 Another circumstance, which may perhaps throw some light on the 
 nature of these inscriptions, is, that the Egyptian and Chaldsean 
 tablets are always together. From the first group, which is on the 
 present road, you ascend out of the path to the second, which has 
 also its accompanying Chaldsean figure, and, still higher, are two 
 more. These last are far above the modern road, but from the 
 appearance of the rocks, and the wide flat space about them, it may 
 be concluded that the Egyptian conqueror had cut his path over the 
 mountain in this place, which was afterwards traversed by the 
 Chaldaean hero, who took the Jews into captivity.” 
 
 The accompanying illustration may serve “ to show the relative 
 
 situation of the Egyptian and Chaldaean tablets, which is in some 
 
MONUMENT AT CYPEUS. 
 
 127 
 
 measure interesting ; for it wiU be evident that the Chaldaean sculptor 
 has tahen advantage of the rock prepared by the Egyptian, who had 
 already occupied the soundest and best part of it in the execution of 
 his subject.” 
 
 Tlie cast of the Assyrian portion of this monument which we 
 brought to England in 1834, was subsequently presented to the 
 British Museum by his Grrace the Duke of ISTorthumberland. 
 
 The last Assyrian monument we shall describe is one found at 
 Larnaka, the ruins of the ancient Citium in the Island of Cyprus ; 
 and we take occasion to thank orm good friend Dr. Lepsins, for the 
 following particulars concerning it, which he has kindly sent in reply 
 to our queries. The monument which was discovered in 1845 
 exactly resembles that at IMalir al Kalb, consisting of a circular 
 headed stone, which contains within a niche the figure of a man 
 holding up his right hand, and certain emblems engraved on the back 
 ground on a level with his face. The tablet is almost entirely 
 covered with a cuneatic inscription. The dimensions of this tablet 
 are six feet eight inches by two feet two inches wide, and the stone of 
 which it is made, being of a black colour, has been called basaltic, 
 though it appears rather to be a kind of lava. Wlien the rehc was 
 first found, M. Alattei, the Prussian Consul at Cyprus, despatched an 
 account of it, accompanied by a drawing, to his government, and the 
 importance of the discovery being immediately acknowledged, the 
 monument was at once purchased and deposited in the museum at 
 Berlin. Memoirs respecting it have since been published in the 
 Archaeological Archives of S. Boss, Halle, 1846 ; and in the Bevue 
 Archeologiqne, 1846, p. 114 ; and the Erencli Grovernment have 
 sought and obtained a cast which is now in the Louvre. Colonel 
 Bawlinson, in passing through Berlin during his present journey to 
 the East, examined the tablet, and recognised in the figure of the 
 King, that of the founder of Khorsabad, but his brief sojourn did 
 not admit of his then making further investigations. Dr. Lepsins 
 is not aAvare that the inscription on this monument has been studied 
 and decyphered by any one, but as Colonel Bawlinson took an 
 impression in paper away uith him, we turn to bim for further light 
 on this curious and interesting chronicle. In the mean time we may 
 remark that a passage in Alenander of Ephesus is preserved, which is 
 corroborative of Colonel Bawlinson’s surmise. The historian says, 
 that the King of Tyre, Elulceus, “fitted out a fieet against the 
 Cittseans (the people of Citium) who had revolted, and reduced them 
 to obedience. But Salmanasar, the King of the Assyrians, sent them 
 assistance, and overran Phoenicia : and Avhen he had made peace vith 
 
128 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEEERS, 
 
 the Phoenicians he returned with all his forces.” Joseph. Ant. Jnd., 
 lib. ix., c. Id. 
 
 Of other Assyrian remains whose existence is known, w^e were 
 informed some years ago by AI. Linant, that he had seen cuneatic 
 inscriptions in the desert, between the Nile and the E-ed Sea ; there 
 is another at Dash-Tappeh, in the plain of Alirgaudab ; one on the 
 banks of the Euphrates, between the towns of Malatich and 
 Kharput ; some at Mel- Amir ; one on a broken obelisk on the 
 mound of Susa ; and the black stone found among the ruins of 
 Nineveh, and now in the possession of the Earl of Aberdeen. These 
 are, we believe, all which have at present been disclosed. 
 
 In conclusion, we may observe, that though many of the inscrip- 
 tions are the chronicles of Median and Persian Sovereigns, they still 
 mark vdth equal certainty the extent of the preceding Assyrian 
 empire ; for the records being mostly trilingual, induces the natural 
 inference that the dialect pecuhar to Assyria was at that time 
 prevalent, and probably the vulgate of the districts in which the 
 tablets are found. 
 
 Fig. 31.— VIEW ON THE EUPHRATES NEAR BAGHDAD, FROil A SKETCH BY MR. ROMAINE 
 
SECTION IV. 
 
 DISCOVERIES.— THE PALACES OF ASSYRIA. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 KIIORSABAD. 
 
 IiT elucidating the architecture and construction of the Assyrian 
 palaces we have already turned for aid to Persepolis, the capital which 
 immediately succeeded those of Assyria ; and by a singular fatality, 
 many of those parts of the royal residences, which time or local 
 circumstances have entirely removed from the ruins of Khorsabad, 
 such as windoAvs, columns, and the grand flights of stairs by which the 
 summit of the platform was obtained, are preserved in those of 
 Persepolis ; while many of those parts which are wanting at Persepolis, 
 such as sculptured and painted walls, and successive courts and 
 chambers, are found at Khorsabad, and in other Assyrian ruins. 
 The leading features which distinguished the royal and sacred build- 
 ings of Assyria from those of Egypt, are evidently, in the first place, 
 the artificial mounds, by which they w^ere raised 30 or 40 feet above the 
 level of the plain on which they stood ; and secondly, the architectural 
 arrangements by which the summit of these mounds was attained. So 
 far as has hitherto been ascertained from the explorations at Khorsabad 
 and elsewhere, the pedestal or sub-basement of the Assyrian buildings 
 was not a mere accumulation of loose earth incrusted with stone or 
 bricks, but was a regularly constructed elevation, built of layers 
 of sun-dried bricks so solidly united Avith the same clay of which 
 the bricks themselves were made, that Botta was for some time 
 doubtful whether it consisted only of a mass of clay well rammed 
 together, as described by Eich ; or whether it had originally been 
 entirely formed of bricks, as subsequent investigations have satis- 
 factorily proved. It farther appears that the substructure was solid 
 throughout, excepting where drains or water-pipes Avere inserted, or 
 where subterranean channels, like the aqueducts found by Sir 
 
 K 
 
130 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 Eobert Porter at Persepolis, existed : and that tbe mass of brick- 
 work forming the mound was encased round the sides, with well 
 
 squared blocks of lime-stone. In order to 
 effectually secure the soluble material of 
 the mound from the action of the peri- 
 odical rains, not only were the sides encased 
 in stone, but the whole of the upper sur- 
 face, not occupied by buildings, was like- 
 wise protected by two layers of kUn-burnt 
 bricks or tiles, from 11 to 13i inches 
 square by five inches deep, aU inscribed 
 on the under side, and cemented together 
 with a coating of bitumen. The upper layer 
 was separated from the lower by a 
 stratum of sand six inches in thickness. 
 So that if any moisture chanced to pene- 
 trate, it would most likely be dissipated in 
 the sandy stratum, and thence be drained 
 off before it could touch the second layer 
 of tiles. The platform of Khorsabad was 
 not a quadrangle, but presented somewhat 
 a T shape (see plan, page 85), the stem 
 of which was considerably more elevated 
 than the transverse part. The latter, or 
 south-eastern end, was 975 feet wide by 
 422 feet deep, and rose about 20 feet above 
 the level of the plain, while the adjoining 
 portion rose 10 feet higher, and was 650 
 feet deep, by 553 feet wide. The lower 
 terrace projected into the walled inclosure 
 (see page 79), but the upper on which the 
 principal sculpturedmonumentsAvere found 
 advanced about 500 feet beyond the wall, 
 being entirely unprotected, excepting from 
 its perpendicular elevation above the level 
 of the plain, which rendered it nearly 
 inaccessible. The outer boundary of this 
 elevated part of the platform seems to have 
 been irregular, but though the form has 
 not been distinctly ascertained, the angles 
 of brick-work uncovered by Botta at 
 sufiiciently indicative of the actual lines. 
 
 32 . — fomE-fart of bull on 
 
 JAMB OF DOOR. 
 
 ’^'arious points are 
 
KHOESABAD. BOUNDAEY AND STATES. 
 
 131 
 
 and leave little room for doubting Mr. Fergnsson’s suggestions 
 respecting them.^ Having thus far described the general appearance 
 and structiu-e of the mound, we will now proceed to examine tbe 
 buildings and sculptures that were found upon it. We shaU. com- 
 mence our investigations with the lower terrace, because it was here, 
 at about 50 feet from the edge, that Botta discovered the fragments 
 of walls, and the projecting fa 9 ade (figure 33), which apparently 
 
 formed the great, if not the only, entrance to the platform. We 
 have no hesitation in agreeing with Mr. Fergusson that the mode of 
 ascending to this entrance resembled the existing example at 
 Persepolis, and in all probability had Botta excavated down the side 
 of the mound, he would have discovered the staus which must have 
 formed so striking and characteristic a featiue in structures 
 on elevated foundations like those of the Palaces of the Kings of 
 Assyria. The great portal forming the centre of the facade, consisted 
 on each side of three colossal bulls, with human heads and eagle’s 
 wings, and a gigantic figure of a man, (fig. 36. p. 134) each formed 
 of a smgle block of alabaster. The bull which formed the jamb of 
 the gateway was of much larger dimensions than were those forming 
 the facade, which stood back to back, having the figiue of the man 
 between them. We shall not pause to specially describe these 
 sculptures, but will at once pass through the portal, (figure 33) the 
 front of which is here represented without the accompanying figures 
 of the facade. Having passed through the gateway, we turn to the 
 right and arrive at the second platform, which, from its elevation. 
 
 ^ Fergusson’s “ Palaces of Nineveh and Persepolis Eestored,’ 
 
132 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEEEES. 
 
 must have been mounted by means of steps, tbougb, bere again, 
 Botta bas not dug sufficiently in advance of tbe terrace to ascertain 
 tbe existence of this mode of ascent. Upon mounting tbe platform, 
 we find ourselves in court n (see plan, fig. 34), wbicb we shall call tbe 
 Court of Assembly, tbe dimensions of which are 340 feet by 157 feet. 
 
 COURT OF ASSEMBLY. 
 
 Placing ourselves opposite tbe entrance a (fig. 34), wbicb is still 
 standing, we find that it almost exactly resembles tbe portal we have 
 already passed, and tbe repetition is sufficiently remarkable to induce 
 us to describe tbe figures composing it before we proceed farther. 
 The symbolic figures guarding these entrances are combinations of 
 the man, tbe bull, and tbe eagle; tbe countenance is noble and 
 benevolent in expression; tbe features, of true Persian type, pro- 
 bably resemble those of the reigning king ; be wears^ a high cap. 
 
KHOUSABAD. POETALS CHEEUBIM. 
 
 133 
 
 surmounted by a band of rosettes and a row of feathers ; and three 
 bulls’ horns on each side closely surround the base (see fig., head-dress, 
 sec. V.). The hau- at the back of the head has seven ranges of curls ; 
 and the beard is divided into three ranges, with intervals of wavy 
 hair. In the ears, which are those of a bull, are pendant ear-rings. 
 The whole of the dewlap is covered with tiers of curls, and four rows 
 are continued beneath the ribs along the whole flank ; on the back 
 are six rows of curls, and upon the haunch a square bunch, ranged 
 successively, and down the back of the thigh four rows. The hair at 
 the end of the tail is curled, like the beard, with intervals of -vravj 
 hair. The hair at the knee-joints is likevdse curled, terminating in 
 the profile views of the limbs in a single curl, of the kind (if we may 
 use the term) called a-'oclie coeiir. The elaborately- sculptured wings 
 extend over the back of the animal to the very verge of the slab. 
 Being built into the side of the door, one side and a front view only 
 could be seen by the spectator, and the sculptor has accordingly given 
 the animal five legs, the four shown in the side view being in the act of 
 walking, while the right fore-leg is repeated, but standing motionless. 
 
 These symbolical combmations we regard as derived from the 
 traditional descriptions of the cherubim, which were handed down 
 after the deluge by the descendants of Noah ; to Avhich origin, also, 
 we are incHned to attribute their situation as guardians of the prm- 
 cipal entrances of the palaces^ of the Assyrian kings. The cherubim 
 guarded the gates of paradise.^ The cherubic symbols were placed 
 in the adytum of the tabernacle,^ and afterwards in the correspond- 
 ing sanctuary of the temple f and here, in the Assyrian palaces, they 
 are never found excepting as guardians of portals. 
 
 The fore-feet of the bulls forming the jambs of the door are 
 
 Fig. 35. — PORTAL OF PAI.ACE WITH FIGURE OF NIMROD. 
 
 advanced to the line of the wall, the return of which is faced by two 
 figures of the winged bulls with their backs to each other and their 
 heads to the court ; and between them is the gigantic figure (fig. 36) we 
 noticed at the first entrance, the whole occupyuig a width of 39 feet. 
 
 ^ Gen. iii. 24. 
 
 ^ F.xodus, XXVI. 33. 
 
 3 1 Kings, Yi. 23; 2 Chron. iii. 10-12. 
 
Fig. 36. — NIMROD. 
 
KHOESABAD. NIMEOD — BOMMERENG. 
 
 135 
 
 This gigantic figure, which is found between the bulls on each 
 side of the centre aperture of court like that first seen, stands out 
 in bold and in some parts actually in high relief, and has been supposed 
 to be the Assyrian Hercules ; but we hope to show that it is probable 
 he is the great progenitor of the Assyrian nation, the “ mighty hunter,” 
 Nimrod himself. He is represented strangling a young lion, which 
 he presses against his chest with his left arm, and clutching in his 
 hand the forepaw of the animal, which seems convulsed in the agony 
 of his grasp (Tig. 36.) In his right hand he 
 holds an instrument that we infer to be analo- 
 gous to the Bommereng of the Australians, the 
 Himga Munga of South Africa, the Trombash of 
 Central Africa, or the Sellem of the Bishareen. 
 
 It is used by all these dififerent nations in hunt- 
 ing, and by some in war, as described by Denham 
 and Clapperton, in their journey to Timbuktoo. 
 
 The universality of this weapon is sufficiently 
 established by the fact of its being found in such 
 widely separated continents, and in evidence of 
 its antiquity we refer to the woodcut (fig. 37) taken 
 from an ancient basso-relievo at Thebes, where it is commonly seen in 
 the hands of the hunters. There is likewise in the Egyptian Hall of 
 the British Museum, another example of the instrument, exhibited in 
 a picture of a huntsman who is about to throw it at 
 some birds which are taking flight over a papyrus grove. 
 
 The ainiexed engraving (fig. 38) is taken from the one 
 seen in the hand of the figure at the first entrance, 
 because it seems to indicate a flatness and an irregula- 
 rity in the curve differing from that in the hand of the 
 figure at the second entrance, in this particular more 
 nearly resemblmg the modern Australian weapon, and 
 that of iron in use in Central Africa ; but, therefore, 
 less like that used by the inhabitants of the Desert 
 between the Nile and the Bed Sea, which is usually 
 round, and made of the root of the tree which pro- 
 duces the gum-arabic (^Mimosa Nilotica). 'With this 
 instrument partridges are killed, and gazelles and large 
 animals wounded, so that a robust person can easily catch 
 them. "We think this subject so curious that we have given 
 drawino^s of all the different missiles of this kind that we could 
 collect. 
 
 The most curiously curved is that from Southern Africa, the Hunga 
 
 Fig. 38. 
 
 BOMMEKEXG IN’ 
 
 Nimrod’s hand. 
 
136 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEERS. 
 
 Mimga^ (fig. 39) ; it is made of iron and nsed to throw at a retreating 
 enemy (fig. 40). The Tromhash, is from Central 
 Africa, from the neighbourhood of Dar Foor it is 
 like the former, of iron, and chiefly used in war. 
 The two following are made of wood. Figure 41, 
 called Es-seHem, is that used by the pastoral tribes 
 of the Desert, between the Nile and the Fed Sea ; 
 and (fig. 42) is the Australian Bommereng. We 
 have given the sections of these missiles, as we con- 
 ceive that peculiar property of returning towards 
 the thrower, may be in some measure dependent on 
 its flatness, although an ancient Egyptian one in the 
 collection of Dr. Abbott of Cairo, is round, like 
 the Sellem of the Bishareen, and like it also 
 made of the Sunt tree, the Mimosa Nilotica, an excessively 
 hard wood. The one in the hand of the ancient Egyptian 
 of the British Museum may be ebony ; it appears to be carved at 
 
 Fig. 39. 
 
 EUNGA MUNGA. 
 
 the thicker end to represent the head of a bird. The Australian 
 Bommereng is much more curved than either of the specimens 
 we have given, and possesses, in a higher degree, the singrdar 
 property of returning to within a few yards of the thrower. 
 We suggest, then, that this figure may possibly be identified as 
 Nimrod, the celebrated hunter and destroyer of the wild beasts which 
 originally infested the country in which he founded so many cities. 
 Unlike that previously seen, this colossal figure has his hair elaborately 
 curled ; he difiers also from it in dress and minor details, for whereas 
 the former wears only the short tunic, reachmg to the knees, this 
 has, in addition to that covering, a long outer garment or mantle, 
 
 1 Denham and Clapperton’s “ Travels.” 
 
 " Sketch in the collection of the author, N.B. The handles of the iron rims are covered 
 with thongs of leather ; and the Bishareen instrument is frequently hound with brass wire. 
 
KHOESABAD. — ILUS. 
 
 137 
 
 descending from the shoulders to the heels, and fringed aU round its 
 embroidered border ; apparently the front of this robe was cut out 
 to allow of the free action of the legs, for the advanced leg is exposed 
 while that on which the figure stands is covered to the ankle. 
 Another point of difference is, that this figure wears sandals which 
 cover the heels and tie over the instep, being at the same time kept 
 close to the sole of the foot by a strap encircling the great toe. 
 These differences of costume had doubtless an intention, probably in 
 connection with the particular part of the palace they adorned ; thus 
 those on the outer gate may represent the “mighty hunter ” in his 
 hunting or warlike costume — while those of the iimer court may 
 represent him in the sacerdotal robe, or that of deified men. 
 
 Before proceeding to examine the figures on the walls, of this and 
 the succeeding courts and chambers, it may be necessary to observe 
 that all the Bull doorways project from the line of wall even beyond 
 the thickness of the blocks of which they are formed, so that tliere is 
 always a double recess behind the angle at which the front feet of the 
 bulls meet. In the recess beside the bull at the jamb of the door are 
 sculptured two figimes, about three feet high ; and in the recess at 
 the side of the bull on the fa9ade, is a colossal figure of a winged 
 man, the dresses of the three re- 
 sembling that worn by the jSTimrod 
 of the second entrance (fig. 3G). 
 
 In the corresponding recess of the 
 facade is a repetition of the winged 
 figure ; and on the adjoining wall of 
 the court he again appears, his back 
 being turned towards the recess, and 
 his face towards a second and minor 
 entrance to the court. This entrance 
 has a repetition of the bull on each 
 jamb of the door, but instead of the 
 bull on the return, we have another repre- 
 sentation of the winged man, or divinity, 
 as we suppose him to be. This figure 
 has four wings, two upraised and two 
 depressed; he holds in his upraised 
 right hand a pine-cone, while in his left Fig. 43.— divinity ilus. 
 
 he carries a basket (see fig. 43). 
 
 His head-dress is an egg-shaped cap, which terminates at the top 
 in a kind of Jleur-cle-lis, and surrounding the base are four bulls’ 
 horns, two on each side. The hair and beard are arranged in 
 
138 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 clusters of minute curls, too numerous to number, and so elabo- 
 rately executed, that every bair seems to be represented in its exact 
 place. "We presume this beard to be the beau-ideal according 
 to Assyrian notions : for the same care is bestowed on the execution 
 of the beard in all the sculptures of Persepolis — and at this moment 
 in Persia the beard is cherished with peculiar care, its dyeing 
 and dressing constituting the principal operation in the bath. In 
 his ears he wears pendant ear-rings, on his wrists rosette clasp- 
 bracelets, and on his arm a massive armlet. The forms of both the 
 tunic and the outer robe are the same as those already described ; 
 namely, the tassel-fringed tunic above the knee ; long fringed and 
 embroidered mantle, which is apparently open in front, and which, 
 after crossing the chest obliquely from under one arm, hangs over the 
 shoulder, showing the inside of the tasselled border. Besides this 
 Babylonish richness of dress, there are also two cords, each termi- 
 nated by double tassels hanging from the waist. Immediately follow- 
 ing this divinity is an attendant magus, or priest, similarly attired, 
 excepting that, instead of the cap, he wears a band with three rosettes 
 round his head ; his upraised right-hand is open, and in his left he 
 carries a tri-lobed branch. We are disposed to tliink that the four- 
 winged figures here shown are intended to typify the god Cronus, the 
 Ilus of the Phoenicians,^ the Allah of the Arabians, all derived 
 from the Hebrew word El, God. Cronus is thus described by 
 Sanchoniatho : — ^ 
 
 “ But before these things, the god Taautus, having pourtrayed 
 Ouranus, represented also the countenances of the gods Cronus and 
 Dagon, and the sacred characters of the elements. He contrived 
 also for Cronus the ensign of his royal power, having four eyes in 
 the parts before and in the parts behmd, two of them closing as in 
 sleep ; and upon the shoulders four wings, two in the act of fiying, 
 and two reposing as at rest. And the symbol was, that Cronus whilst 
 he slept was watching, and reposed whilst he was awake. And in 
 hke maimer with respect to the wings, that he was fiying whilst he 
 rested, yet he rested whilst he fiew. But for the other gods there 
 were two wings only to each upon his shoulders, to intimate that they 
 fiew under the control of Cronus ; and there were also two wings 
 upon the head, the one as a symbol of the hitellectual part, the mind, 
 and the other for the senses.” Taautus, we conceive, is the Thoth 
 of the Egyptians — the Ibis-headed divinity, who appears as a scribe, 
 with his palette and brush, on so many of the monuments of 
 Egypt. These divinities on each side of the doorway, turn their 
 
 Cory’s “Fragments,” pp. 13, 17. 
 
 ^ Euseb. Preep. Evan,, lib. i. c. 10; Cory, p, 15. 
 
KHOESABAE. EGYPTIAN KING. 
 
 139 
 
 faces to tlie entrance, and present, as it were, the pine-cone to 
 those w^ho enter or come out, affording an example of a remark- 
 able similarity with Egyptian temples, as to the appropriate signi- 
 ficative sculpture for this very place, — namely, the actual passage 
 from one chamber to another. Here in Assyria, he who was 
 privileged to enter by this door was met by the divinity presenting 
 him with the fir-cone ; and there, in Egypt, the king is represented 
 receiving from the divinity, in the same way, the instrument ^ 
 which is understood to signify life (fig. 44), as maybe seen in 
 a cast on the staircase of the British Museum, pourtraying • 
 Pharaoh, Bhameses lY., entering his tomb (fig. 45), at the Fig. 44. 
 threshold of wliich he is met by the divinity Horns. The symbol 
 presence of these divinities and the bulls together in this 
 place, as guardians of the same opening, would lead us to conclude 
 that it forms the entrance to some cliamber of especial importance. 
 The remaining figures on the wall are those of the 
 king and his officers, as they were wont to be 
 assembled in this court, standing in the order of their 
 rank (fig. 46). The king is represented as having just 
 come out of the gate, wdiich is guarded by the 
 divinities. He is distinguished by the richness of his 
 apparel, and the tiara, shaped like a truncated cone, 
 from the centre of which rises a small pine or 
 point. As the tiara appears to take the form 
 of the head, we may suppose that it was made 
 of some flexible material, and the whole exactly re- 
 sembles the caps worn by the Persians of the present 
 day, excepting that the tiara of the Assyrian kings 
 was assuredly not composed of animal’s skins ; for 
 on a companion bas-relief there are bands of red orna- Fig. 45 .— Egyptian 
 ments painted upon it. Two bandelets, which are also rhameses iv. 
 red, and embroidered with rosettes, appear to be the continuation of 
 a wider appendage, which passing round the base of the tiara, and 
 over the shoulders, hangs down behind the back : they are termi- 
 nated by a fringe. 
 
 Although the figure of the king often occurs, it is somewhat diffi- 
 cult to make out clearly tlie form of his garments. Eirst of all, he 
 has a long tunic covered with regular rows of squares, in the middle 
 of which are rosettes : the bottom of this garment is bordered with 
 a fringe terminating in four rows of beads. Over the tunic is thrown 
 a kind of cloak, which must have been composed of two pieces, one 
 in front and one at back. These pieces were rounded off at the 
 
140 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEREES. 
 
 bottom and sewn together, leaving an opening, however, through 
 
 Fig. 46.— THE GREAT KING AND HIS OFFICERS. 
 
 which the head might pass ; each of the upper corners of these pieces 
 is stretched out in the form of a band, the front one being thrown 
 backwards over the right shoulder, and the posterior 
 one being cast forwards over the left shoulder. 
 
 On comparing two sculptures, in which the king 
 is clad in the same dress, the one showing his right 
 and the other his left side, it will be seen that the 
 explanation just given is very satisfactory. In both 
 views the mantle appears to be scooped out at the side 
 as far as the top, while each half is rounded off at the 
 bottom. In one case (fig. 47) we see the corner of the 
 posterior half stretching out and passing over the right 
 shoulder ; but Avhere a more front view of the body is 
 obtained, this half is remarkedfallingforward at the same 
 time that the angle of the anterior half is seen stretching 
 out to pass over the the left shoulder. In the latter 
 Fig. 47. case, the right arm seems as if it passed through a 
 THE GREAT KING- | ^ armlct. Or a hole made in the stuff, and not 
 
 between the two pieces, as it does in the opposite side. 
 
 The embroidery of the royal mantle is as rich as that of the tunic 
 which it covers ; the material is covered with large rosettes, which 
 have smaller ones in their centres ; all the edges are bordered with 
 a series of little rosettes, contained in squares. This is the case, too, 
 with the opening of the arm, as well as that through which the neck 
 passes. Lastly, a long fringe sets off the borders of the two halves, 
 and extends even to the extremity of the appendages, which here 
 appear reduced to the mere border of little rosettes. 
 
 To complete the description of this Assyrian regal costume, it 
 
KHOESABAD. EUNUCHS. 
 
 T41 
 
 must be added that the feet are shod with sandals, having an 
 elevated quarter, painted with red and blue stripes alternately. In 
 the front is a ring through which the great toe passes in order to fix 
 the sole, which is also kept in its place by a cord passing over the 
 the foot and traversing alternately two holes in the inside and three 
 on the outside of the quarter. Sandals precisely similar are still used 
 in Mesopotamia, and particularly on Mount Sinjar. 
 
 The sheath of the sword is very remarkable. To judge by its 
 prismatic form, we may presume the blade resembled those of our 
 own swords, but it is much broader. Near the end there is an 
 ornament composed of two lions, who embrace the sheath with their 
 paws, at the same time throwing their heads back. 
 
 The king carries a long stafi* or wand in his left hand, and his right 
 is elevated in the act of speaking to those in front. 
 
 The costume of the sovereign represented in another sculpture 
 deserves notice. The ear-rings are simple enough : on each side of 
 the ring there are three little globules, and a stem which is nearly 
 spindle-shaped, and ornamented simply with a few knobs. The 
 bracelets for the wrists are, on the contrary, very rich. They are 
 formed of a plate, on which regularly-marked divisions appear to 
 indicate the existence of joints calculated to produce flexibility. This 
 plate bears a number of large rosettes touching each other. They are 
 composed of an external ring, and then a first circle of small leaves, 
 in which is a second ring surrounding a small rosette, in the middle of 
 which rises a projecting globule. The bracelets, which clasp the arm 
 above the elbow, are spiral, formed as usual of wires bound together. 
 
 EoHowing the king are two beardless personages, who, from the 
 roundness of the features and the absence of any beard, were at first 
 sight mistaken by Botta for women, but who are intended, in fact, to 
 represent eunuchs. One of those represented here holds in his right 
 hand a fly-flapper over the head of the king, while in his left he has 
 a bandelet. Behind this eunuch there is another carrying a bow, a 
 quiver, and a sceptre. 
 
 These two eunuchs, like all those we shall subsequently see, are 
 dressed in the same manner. In the first place they wear a long 
 tunic drawn tight round the neck, and falling down to their ancles ; 
 the sleeves terminating above the elbow. The bottom of this tunic is 
 richly ornamented ; it has a border of rosettes contained in squares, 
 while from it hangs a fringe of tassels terminating in three rows of 
 little beads, intended no doubt to represent pearls, or ornaments of 
 that description. On the feet are open sandals, leaving the heel and 
 toes exposed. 
 
NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 lU 
 
 Above the tunic is thrown a broad scarf, from which hangs a long 
 fringe, reaching to the knees, where it terminates in an even line, 
 leaving the remainder of the tunic exposed as far as the lower border. 
 This scarf crosses the back and the breast, passing over the right 
 shoulder and under the left arm. As it is oblique, the fringe which 
 hangs down from it ought, if it were everywhere of equal length, to 
 hang obliquely as well ; and we find this to be the case, for beneath 
 the upper and slanting row of fringe hangs another row, that 
 terminates horizontally about the knees. It must therefore 
 be admitted, that two sets of fringe are attached to the scarf, the 
 upper one being of an equal length all the way, and the lower 
 one, on the contrary, increasing in width as the scarf rises 
 towards the right shoulder. The latter set of fringe seems to be 
 fastened to the girdle, which appears above the scarf on the loins of 
 the eunuch carrying the fiy-fiapper. This is the simplest manner 
 of explaining these two layers of fringe, one of which terminates 
 obliquely and the other horizontally. Be this as it may, however, 
 this kind of shoulder-belt is always richly embroidered ; that of the 
 eunuch carrying the quiver, has three lines of rosettes in squares ; 
 that of the other eunuch has three rows of concentric squares. 
 
 The hair of these personages, like that of all Assyrian figures, is 
 arranged in a most curious manner: it appears carefully combed 
 down upon the head, but spreads out upon the neck into a mass of 
 curls which rests upon the shoulders. We shall often meet with this 
 style of wearing the hair, which latter, in all cases where the 
 
 colour has been preserved, is always 
 painted black. 
 
 The ornaments of these two 
 eunuchs are alike ; they have each 
 two pairs of bracelets, one pair at 
 the wrist and the other round the 
 arm ; those round the arm are spirals 
 formed of wires and attached to 
 one another by other wires. The 
 bracelets of the wrists also are 
 composed of a parcel of wires, but 
 they are not spirals; they form circles, 
 broken by lions’ heads, the muzzles of which touch. Besides these 
 ornaments for the arms, the eunuchs of the bas-reliefs wear others, 
 which seem to have been very general among the Assyrians — they 
 have ear-rings. They are rather simple, but, like all Assyrian ear- 
 rings, their shape, somewhat resembles a cross. To the ring is fixed 
 
KHORSABAD. — BLY-PLxiPS^ ARMS, AND SCEPTRE. 
 
 14S 
 
 a stem more or less ornamented, while two lateral branches, the 
 form of which varies, emanate from the stem or ring itself. 
 
 The objects which the first ennuch holds are, as before mentioned, 
 a fiy -flapper (figs. 48 and 49) and a kind of bandelet. The fly-flapper, 
 like the parasol, appears to have anciently been one of the insignia 
 of royalty in the East. The handle terminates at the bottom with a 
 lion’s head ; at the upper extremity it spreads out into a flower with 
 numerous sharp petals, like that into which are inserted the feathers 
 of the long fan carried behind the king in the sculptures of Egypt. 
 This flower seems the same that we shall often see, eitlier in the 
 king’s hand or in the hands of others. Erom this flower there 
 springs out a tuft of feathers. The bandelet, which is held by the 
 eunuch in the other hand, grows wider towards the bottom, and 
 terminates in fringe that is painted red ; it is double, or rather 
 folded in two, and the handle thus formed goes roimd the thumb. 
 
 The other eunuch carries weapons : the bow is slung on the left 
 arm, and appears angular rather than curved, its two extremities ter- 
 minating in bu’ds’ heads, emblematic probably of the rapidity of the 
 arrows ; in this bas-relief the bow is painted red. The quiver is himg 
 under the left arm, by a band which passes over the shoulder, and is 
 subsequently fixed to two rings. Judging by a detailed sketch of the 
 ornaments with which the quiver was covered, its form appears to 
 have been square. A series of broken lines borders the lower 
 extremity, while at the opposite one are seen the feathered shafts of 
 the arrows. Along the upper side is a kind of beading, formed of wires 
 bound together at intervals by other wires. The end of this sort of 
 cord extends beyond the feathers of the arrows, and is terminated by 
 a ball siumiounted with a little flower, of which we have a specimen 
 on the handle of the fly-flapper. It is difflcult to say vith cer- 
 tainty what this cord was, but probably it is nothing else than a 
 parcel of bowstrings intended to be at hand in case of need. The 
 ornaments of this quiver and the little tassels which adorn it were 
 pauited red. The sceptre has a cylindrical handle ; the head is 
 formed by a ball surrounded by a crown and the jaws of a lion ; the 
 hilt is thinner than the other part of the handle, and appears to have 
 been encircled with thin cord, in order that it might aflbrd a firmer 
 hold. There is also at this extremity a loop, intended to be passed 
 round the wrist and thus prevent the handle escaping from the grasp, 
 an appendage that has induced the belief, that a mace, and not a 
 sceptre, is intended to be represented. 
 
 Opposite the king there stands a bearded personage, whose right 
 hand is opened and upraised, while his left rests upon his sword-hilt. 
 
144 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 The hair and beard are precisely similar to those of the king, but the 
 head is bare, excepting that it was surrounded by a band from which 
 two red fillets, terminated by fringes, descended. His dress in other 
 respects is exactly similar to that of the eunuchs ; but the sandals 
 resemble those worn by the king, only they are painted blue. His 
 sword-hilt is exceedingly rich ; at the top of it is a hemisphere, and 
 then a ball between two flat discs ; lastly, the jaws of a lion embrace the 
 blade, and terminate the hilt at the point where it passes against the 
 opening of the sheath. Behind this personage is a eunuch who, as 
 we may judge from the position of his figure, is also in conversation 
 with the king ; and next in succession another eunuch and two 
 bearded officers of the court, all standing with their hands folded one 
 over the other, in the prescribed attitude of respect in the East to 
 this day. Then appears a eunuch, who is distinguished from all the 
 other persons of the court by the insignia of office, which consists of 
 a double wand. These last three figures were found in situ, the 
 others were more or less injured, and all thrown face downwards upon 
 the ground. (See Plate 40 — Botta’s large work.) Then follow two 
 more eunuchs, the last of whom is in the attitude of marshalling 
 a train bearing vessels, arms, and furniture. This person has his left 
 hand elevated, and is introducing a bearded military officer, who is 
 immediately followed by a eunuch carrying two lion-headed drinking- 
 cups ; then two bearded officers with spears ; and after them two 
 eunuchs carrying a table. Behind these is another beardless attendant 
 with his hand upraised, followed by three in the attitude of respect ; 
 and lastly, three more eunuchs, one bearing a lion-headed drinking- 
 cup, the next a basin, and the third a covered dish. The position of 
 the person who heads this last group, leads us to suggest that he 
 represents 'Tii’bD-n, the “ Melzar,” or the steward, or dispenser. This 
 officer of the household of Nebuchadnezzar was set over Daniel and 
 his companions by Ashpenaz, ^ the prince of the eunuchs, to see that 
 the food they had chosen to eat instead of the daily provision of the 
 king’s meat, ” did not render them less weU favoured than the other 
 young persons who were being brought up to fill offices in the court 
 of Babylon ; or who had “ ability in them to stand in the king’s 
 palace.” “And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear 
 my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink : for 
 why should he see your faces worse likmg than the children which 
 are of your sort ? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the 
 king.” 
 
 The custom is still prevalent in Turkey, where a number of young 
 men are educated within the walls of the seraglio at Constantinople 
 
 1 I)an. i. 3, 5, 8, 10. 
 
KHOUSABAD. — HOLES FOR SPEARS. 
 
 145 
 
 to wait upon tlie Sultan and to fill offices in the government of the 
 Turkish empire, according to the ability they show in the course of 
 training ; and their governor would be held equally responsible for 
 the discharge of the duties of his situation. 
 
 This completes the series of figures on one-half of the south-western 
 wall of court n. We will now turn to examine the adjoining north- 
 western side, the centre portion of which advances beyond the general 
 line of wall, forming a recess on each side. Stationing ourselves opposite 
 the entrance which is guarded by a single pair of bidls looking into 
 the court, we see on our left the king, with his back to the door-way, 
 and attended by a eunuch, in conversation with a bearded dignitary 
 and chief eunuch, followed by one beardless and two bearded persons, 
 in the attitude which, as we have already intimated, is always 
 assumed by inferiors when in the presence of superiors. The last of 
 these is scidptured on the side of the recess, and is therefore not seen 
 in the front view ; behind these officers is a eunuch marshalling the 
 procession that follows. 
 
 There first appear two persons wearing a costume that we have not 
 yet seen. The head is covered by a closely folded turban or cap, from 
 under which at the back falls a row of short spiral curls ; the dress 
 consists of a long tunic, terminating in a tasselled border, an outer 
 garment with short sleeves, and upon the feet boots that lace 
 up in front. They carry in their hands small models of turreted 
 walls (fig. 56). Immediately following are four others in the same 
 costume, the two foremost of whom bear cups of a simple shape, and 
 the others sealed bags (see fig. 79. Botta, plate 38). The procession is 
 closed by two of the king’s grooms leading two richly caparisoned 
 horses. Here ends the wall in the west corner, meeting that first 
 described. In the pavement at the recess, and close to the wall, are 
 inserted two alabaster slabs, one containing four small holes, and the 
 other contiguous to it having nine holes. The use of these holes 
 cannot be well explained, unless, as M. Botta has suggested, they 
 were for the guards to insert the end of their spears. 
 
 Still maintaining our position opposite the entrance, we see on 
 our right a repetition of the king and his court as just described, 
 the same order being observed so far as the projection extends ; the 
 side of the recess, however, is occupied by a figure of a priest, 
 instead of a bearded officer in the answering side on our left. The 
 slabs on the wall of the recess are devoted to the representation of 
 the building of a port, or the making of a road from the coast up to 
 some important maritime city situated upon an extremely steep and 
 rocky eminence ; and large pieces of timber for the work are being 
 
 L 
 
146 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 brought by numerous ships and boats manned by a people wearing 
 the same closely folded turban we have noticed among the tribute- 
 bearers ; but in this instance their tunics are short, and adapted to 
 their occupation of landing and hauling on shore logs of wood (fig. 50) . 
 
 Fig. 50.— PREPARATIONS FOR BUILDING ROAD OR PONT. 
 
 The vessels employed are of singular form (see figure 53), closely 
 resembling some on the walls of Medinet Haboo, at Thebes (see 
 figures 51 and 52), from which circumstance we conjecture that they 
 may belong to the people of the coast of the Mediterranean, the sea 
 
 common to both Egypt 
 and Syria. In the Assyrian 
 sculpture the prow of the 
 vessel terminates in the 
 head of a horse, and the 
 stern in the tail of a 
 fish ; whereas in those of 
 Medinet Haboo the prow 
 terminates in the head of 
 a lion ; but as the former 
 are employed in the peace- 
 ful occupation of improv- 
 ing a sea-port or in build- 
 ing a city on the coast, 
 
 Fig. 51.- ASSYRIAN SHIP. aiid thc Mter are ships of 
 
 war engaged in a battle 
 with the Egyptians, the difference of emblems is obviously appropriate. 
 On the top of the masts in both examples is a vase-shaped enlargement, 
 in which in times of contention an archer was stationed. In the slab 
 
KHOESAEAD. MARITIME SUBJECT, 
 
 147 
 
 we are describing, tlie ships that are conveying the timber have the 
 mast removed for the convenience of placing the logs on the deck, but 
 
 those that have landed 
 their cargoes and are 
 returning for fresh sup- 
 plies have their masts 
 erect. Besides the logs 
 within the vessels, there 
 are also other pieces of 
 timber attached to the 
 sterns by means of a 
 Fig. 52.-EGYPTIAN SHIP. Topo passed through a 
 
 hole in one end of each. 
 
 Whence the wood is conveyed we have no means of learning from the 
 sculptures, which unfortunately are very imperfect at this end of the 
 wall, but that it is brought some distance by sea is intimated by its 
 having to pass two considerable places, one built on a projecting piece of 
 
 land, a rocky promontory, or perhaps island (fig. 53. Botta, plate 32), 
 and the second a fort built on the coast. 
 
 L 2 
 
148 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 Among a great variety of marine animals, the Assyrian com- 
 bination of tbe man, bull and eagle, is seen walking with stately 
 gait ; and on tbe same slab 'tbe divinity of tbe Philistines, balf 
 man balf fisb (figure 54), tbe Dagon of Scripture^ is accom- 
 panying tbe expedition and encouraging 
 tbe men in tbe arduous task of bauling 
 tbe logs on shore. According to an 
 ancient fable preserved by Berosus, 
 a creature balf man and balf fish came 
 out of “that part of tbe Erythrasan 
 Sea, which borders upon Babylonia,” 
 where he taught men the arts of life, “ to 
 construct cities, to found temples, to com- 
 pile laws, and in short instructed them 
 in everything which could tend to soften 
 manners and humanise their lives.” ^ Berosus adds that a repre- 
 sentative of this animal Cannes was preserved even in his day. In 
 another part of this frieze we see a winged bull sporting in the 
 waves ; this animal has simply the wings, but not a human head. 
 
 Among the groups of sea monsters and fish we recognise the shell- 
 fish of the Tyrian dye. In none of these castellated buildings do we 
 see men in hostile position on the walls, and we are farther assured of 
 the pacific character of the operations by the presence of the divinity of 
 the coast, and the Assyrian symbolic figures, uniting in countenancing 
 and aiding, at least some project of defence executed by the natives 
 of the coast. This interesting representation occupies four entire 
 slabs ; and, judging from the corresponding space at the other end of 
 the wall behind the recess, four slabs more are wanting to complete 
 the side of the wall. As there are no traces of farther remains in 
 this court, we shall at once pass through the doorway in the north- 
 western side and enter the passage. 
 
 PASSAGE CHAMBER X. 
 
 The doorway we have now passed seems to form the entrance to a 
 passage chamber, communicating between two courts, the clear 
 dimensions, not including the bulls at each end, being 46 feet long 
 by nearly 10 feet wide. At the end of the chamber just behind 
 the first bulls was formerly a strong gate, of one leaf, which was 
 
 J 1 Sam. V. 4, 5. 
 
 2 Syncel. Cliron, 28 ; Euseb. Cbron. 58 ; Cory’s “ Fragments,” pp. 22, 23. 
 
KHOESABAD. TAETAN. 
 
 149 
 
 fastened by a huge wooden lock, like those still used in the East, of 
 which the key is as much as a man can conveniently carry, ^ and by a 
 bar which moved into a square hole in the wad. The pavement of 
 this passage, unlike that in the court which we have just left, was 
 made of slabs of gypsum ; and in the floor between the two bulls, at 
 each end, was a slab engraved with a long cuneiform inscription : there 
 were likewise inscriptions between the fore and hind legs of all 
 these bulls. Earther on were small holes in the pavement, in which 
 might be inserted metal bars to keep the door open at a certain angle. 
 "We will now walk through the passage to the extreme end, before 
 we begin the description of the sculptures, as we shall thus meet 
 the procession engraved upon the walls in the order in which it was 
 marshalled to appear before the king. 
 
 The slabs that encase the waUs are divided into two rows of illus- 
 tration by a band of cuneatic writing, the whole nearly entire, so 
 that we have here, as it were, a perfect tapestry, or illustrated record, 
 of the annual tribute brought by two different people to the Assyrian 
 monarch who inhabited the palace. TYe learn from the illustrations on 
 the walls that the procession moved down this narrow chamber in two 
 lines, headed by the officer we have previously noticed in the Court 
 of Assembly as bearing a double wand. Here we see him (fig. 55) in the 
 exercise of the duties of his office, namely, marshalling and heading the 
 procession of tribute-bearers — an office indicated by the word 
 Tartan (2 Kings, xHii. 17), as surmised by Calmet,w'hose conjecture now 
 acquires a probability almost amounting to 
 certainty. This officer of the court of 
 Assyria was esteemed of such importance 
 that, ui the time of Sennacherib, we find 
 he was sent with the chief of the eunuchs, 
 
 D’’"iD-!n, Eabsaris, and the chief cup-bearer, 
 
 Eabshakeh, on an embassy to 
 Hezekiah, king of Jerusalem. 
 
 The first eight persons on the upper line 
 to the right, who follow Tartan the chief of 
 tribute, wear the close tinbans or caps, 
 and are dressed in long tunics, with short 
 outer garments, rounded at the corners and 
 fringed, sometimes with a clasp at the waist, 
 and boots laced up in front. They are the 
 same short-hearded race of people we saw 
 in the court (n), represented standing among the other officers of the 
 
 I Isaiah, sxii, 22. 
 
150 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOYEEEES. 
 
 king. The first carries the model of a citj, indicative of his office of 
 
 governor or sultan of a province (fig. 56). 
 These officers — apparently native chiefs of 
 the subdued province or city, 
 the Sultani Medinetha, of the court of 
 Nebuchadnezzar in the time of the prophet 
 Daniel — were summoned, among others, 
 to come to the dedication of the image 
 which that monarch had set up in the 
 plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.^ 
 This officer is followed by three persons, 
 the first two each bearing two cups, the 
 produce or manufacture of the province, 
 and the third a sealed bag upon his 
 shoulders, containing the amount of tri- 
 bute, either in gold dust or precious stones, 
 furnished by the province of which the 
 venerable person at the head of the pro- 
 cession was the sultan, or governor. Or 
 the tribute may possibly be pieces of gold, such as Naaman, the 
 captain of the king of Syria brought, as payment for his cure ; ^ or 
 such as Abraham paid for the cave of Machpelah, “ current mon-ey 
 with the merchant.” ^ It was not, however, necessarily coined 
 money, as coined money was probably not then invented, but merely 
 pieces of gold wire, of various thicknesses, such as was current money 
 with the merchants of Senaarand Central Africa not thirty years ago. 
 The fifth in succession is another governor of a province, or city, 
 in the same division of the empire, as may be inferred from his similar 
 attire, and the insignia of office which he carries. He is distinguished 
 by a pointed cap, and is of more venerable appearance than the two 
 who follow him bearing the tribute of the province. The tenth 
 person in the procession wears a short tunic and carries two tazze ; 
 lie is succeeded by a group of she-camels, with one hump, of the 
 Arabian breed (Plate 98, Botta), driven by a herdsman also in a 
 short tunic. Then come four men, the foremost having a long beard 
 and carrying the turreted badge of office, and the others bringing the 
 produce of the district, which like most from this part of the empire, 
 consists of tazze, and the raw material, or most valuable product, 
 contained in sealed bags, which the last person bears on his shoul- 
 ders. This arrangement of one chief to four men bearing tribute 
 continues to the end of the line, making, in all, thirty persons, of 
 
 ^ Dan. iii. 2. 
 
 ^ 2 Kings V. 5. 
 
 3 Genesis xxiii. 16. 
 
KHOESABAD . — TEIBUTE-BEAEEES . 
 
 151 
 
 ■u-liom eight are chiefs. In the last slab on this side of the chamber 
 is an arch-shaped cayity, which received the wooden lock when the 
 valve was completely open. 
 
 [Returning again to the place whence we started, we will examine 
 the upper line of sculpture on the left-hand wall, as the division of 
 the procession there represented evidently accompanied that which 
 has just been described. The line is headed by the deputy of the 
 chief of tribute, possibly the gedaberaiya, of Daniel,^ the 
 
 khaznadar, or treasurer, of modern times. He is in the act of admo- 
 nishing the tribute-bearers to proceed with order. I\^e find him 
 succeeded by six men, five of whom are in the dress before described ; 
 but the upper part of this particidar slab is too defaced to aUow of 
 distinguishing the chiefs from those who follow them. The last 
 person of this group wears a shorter and less-decorated dress ; he is 
 leading two horses, richly caparisoned, and wearing the tasselled 
 ornament in front of the chest, to this day the fasliion in the East. 
 Then follow sixteen other figures in the long di’ess and upper gar- 
 ment. Some are in the act of humble supplication, and others 
 beariug tribute : but the figures on this wall are generally less well 
 preserved than those we have hitherto examined, so that there is a 
 difficidty in ascertainiug their number and the distribution of the 
 chiefs ; but we can make out twenty-seven 
 people, eight beiug chiefs, five of whom 
 bear the insignia of walled cities ; fi’om 
 what we have already seen, however, we 
 infer that the tribute of the part of the 
 Assyrian empire whence this people came 
 consisted chiefly of manufactured articles 
 in the precious metals. 
 
 The lower line of illustration represents 
 the procession which we suppose to have 
 been next introduced to the kmo^. Like 
 the upper on tliis side of the chamber, it 
 is headed by the chief ofiicer of tribute, 
 who is makiag a sign to advance. He is 
 followed by a sultan, or governor of a people 
 we have not before seen (fig. 57. Botta, 
 plate 130). Their hair is arranged in 
 s^unmetrical corkscrew curls, and around „ 
 
 * . ^ . Fig. 0(— OXE OF THE SAGARTII. 
 
 tneir heads they wear a fillet, over winch, in 
 
 front, are generally allowed to hang one or two locks. Their beards 
 
 Dan. iii. 
 
152 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEEEES. 
 
 are short, and except those of the chiefs, never hang lower 
 than the pit of the neck. Their tnnics are scanty, and are 
 confined at the waist by a belt or sash, formed of a collection 
 of cords, from which commonly hangs a button or triangular 
 noose. Over the tunic is a covering generally made of sheepskin, 
 but occasionally of leopard skin, which is partly fashioned into a 
 garment : their boots are high, laced np in front of the leg, and 
 sometimes turned up at the toe. The first person is a chief of the 
 people, as signified by his longer beard, and the model of city : he is 
 followed by a groom, carrying two spears, and leading two horses 
 richly caparisoned, having elegant crested ornaments upon their 
 heads, and tasselled bands across the chests (Botta, plate 29). The 
 next person is also a chief, but not of the venerable aspect of the 
 former ; he carries the insignia of ofiice, and precedes two grooms, 
 each carrying two spears in one hand, and leading a caparisoned horse 
 by the other. Next succeeds a chief wearing a leopard-skin mantle, 
 and followed by a groom, with two spears and two horses, one of which 
 the groom is endeavouring to force back into the line of march. 
 After these comes a chief, also wearing a leopard skin, but not 
 carrying the official insignia. His hands are held up in the attitude 
 of astonishment or awe. This person contributes four horses, led by 
 two grooms, one in sheep-skin, and one in leopard-skin. These chiefs 
 and grooms are repeated until we have nineteen figures of this skin- 
 clad race, including eight chiefs, three of whom are governors of 
 towns. In the last slab occurs the hole in which the bolt of the 
 lock was inserted. 
 
 In the lower line, on the left hand side, occur eight chiefs, ten 
 grooms, and fourteen horses, the tails of the horses being sometimes 
 turned up and tied, and sometimes bound in the middle. AU the 
 chiefs are in the attitude of surprise, but none of them carry the 
 small turreted models ; hence we infer that those who do carry these 
 models are the chiefs of provinces containing walled cities, and that 
 those who are without this insignia, are governors of the rural 
 districts — a conjecture that is borne out by the costume of the people, 
 and the nature of the tribute they bring. 
 
 The other people in the procession, who seem skilful in the arts 
 and manufactured articles, are probably from the coast of Phoenicia. 
 Thus in the chamber of passage, we conceive are exhibited the 
 tribute-bearers from the two extremities of the Assyrian empire — 
 an arrangement somewhat analogous to that in the small temple of 
 Kalabshe in Nubia, the casts of which sculptures are in the mummy- 
 room of the British Museum. On the north wall of the Nubian 
 
KHORSABAD. — RAB SIGNEEX. 
 
 153 
 
 temple is sculptured the conquests of the Eg}q)tian hero Ehamses II. 
 over the nations to the north ; while the sonth wall is occupied by a 
 representation of the conquests of the same hero over the nations 
 to the sonth, and of the tribute which this latter conquest produced. 
 
 The sculpture of the last slab on this line of wall has entirely 
 disappeared, having been destroyed by the conflagration of the door, 
 which we presume was of wood,^ and stood open against the wall at 
 the time of the destruction of the hnilding. Erom the fact of all 
 the remaining slabs being uninjured by fire, Botta has inferred that 
 this passage was originally open to the air, and as it certainly had no 
 communication with the interior of the building, hnt simply con- 
 nected two external open courts, a roof was obviously so unnecessary, 
 that we see no reason to reject his very plansihle conjecture. 
 
 We will now pass, with the train of tribute-bearers, through the 
 passage-chamber into the second court — the king’s court. 
 
 COURT N.— THE KING’S COURT. 
 
 On emerging from the passage-chamber, (x), we find ourselves 
 within a court about 156 feet square, two sides of which were hoimded 
 by the external walls of the palace, while the north-western and 
 north-eastern sides were apparently open to the country, though they 
 may probably have been guarded by a parapet waU. The size and deco- 
 ration of the court we first entered {ii) led ns to assume that it was the 
 place of assembly for those who offered tribute, or who applied for 
 the administration of justice. The direction taken by the people 
 after assembling was inferred from the representations upon the 
 walls of the passage, the processions of tribnte-bearers being highly 
 significative that this formed the line of communication from the 
 court without — and we finally arrive at the conclusion, that the 
 second court in which the passage terminated must have been the 
 Court of Beception — the place where the offerings were presented, 
 and where justice was administered : the King’s Gate — the gate of 
 judgment, the “ porch for the throne where he might judge, even the 
 porch of judgment.”^ It was in a court or gate of this kind, called 
 teragn, gate, in the royal abode of Babylon, that in after 
 times the prophet Daniel sat when Kebnchadnezzar had made him 
 “ the Snltan, or ruler over the whole medinet,) province 
 
 of Babylon, and the Bab Signeen, the chief of the (princes) 
 
 governors over all the '’lO'Dn, Hakims (wise men) of Babylon.”^ And 
 
 1 Kings, vi. 32. 
 
 2 1 Kings, vii. 7. 
 
 3 Daniel, ii. 48, 49. 
 
154 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 it was in a similar court of the king’s house, in Shushan the palace, 
 that Haman waited “to speak unto the king to hang Mordecai.” ^ 
 We have quoted these and other words of the text in the Hebrew 
 character from the peculiar interest that attaches to the relationship 
 between the Chaldee of the ancient race and the language spoken by 
 their living descendants : most of the words we have cited are even 
 now current in the country, so that if we were to write them in 
 Arabic characters an Arab could read and comprehend them. 
 
 In this court were wont to assemble “ the princes, the governors, 
 and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, 
 and all the rulers of the provinces”^ of Assyria, when the king, who 
 inhabited the palace, gave audience to them. The porch, or seat of 
 judgment, was on the south-western or shady side of the court, and 
 communicated immediately, by several entrances, with the interior of 
 the palace. The fagade, which advanced considerably beyond the 
 line of wall, consisted of a central and two minor side entrances, the 
 principal gate being guarded by six symbolic figures, compounded of 
 the man, the bull, and the eagle, differing in no particular from those 
 we have previously noticed. 
 
 The exterior side of each of the piers of this gate, which extended 
 on each side beyond the bay, was covered with two bulls, whose bodies 
 were in profile, but whose heads were turned to the spectator. The 
 bulls of each pier were turned in an opposite direction, so that their 
 breasts formed the angles of the piers, their wings and tails touching 
 each other, and the remaining two bulls forming the jambs of the 
 centre door, following the same arrangement as at the former en- 
 trance, excepting that the figure of Himrod between the bulls is not 
 found here. The width of this advanced portal, including the open- 
 ing, is 47 feet, and it is formed of only four large blocks of gypsum, 
 13 feet square, and 3 feet 11 inches in thickness. We will not 
 here stop to consider the means employed by the Ass 3 rrian architect 
 to quarry such enormous blocks, nor to inquire how they were 
 brought to the top of a mound more than 30 feet above the level of 
 the plain, but simply remark that they are some of the largest blocks 
 in the building. 
 
 The two smaller entrances of this front retire from the general line 
 of fagade, and are both decorated by a figure of a winged man, one 
 on each jamb ; who present the pine-cone with the right hand to 
 those who pass out or in at this door, and hold the square basket in 
 the left hand ; the attitude and dress being precisely like that 
 described in page 137. Behind the winged figure on the jamb to our 
 
 ^ Esther, vi. 4, 
 
 Daniel, iii. 2, 3. 
 
KHOESABAD. DECOEATIOKS JAMBS OF DOOES. 155 
 
 Fig. 58. — PRIEST. 
 
 extreme right, follows an attendant priest, or magus (fig. 58), simi- 
 larly attired, except that he wears a wreath, of which three roses are 
 seen, instead of the horned cap ; and that his right hand is elevated 
 and open, as if in the act of speaking, and in his left he holds the 
 branch of a tree, terminating in three pomegranates. The divinity on 
 the corresponding outer face of the jamb at the other 
 extremity of the fa 9 ade, is likewise followed by an 
 attendant priest (fig. 58), and thus each extremity 
 of this facade is terminated by the figure of a priest. 
 
 The inner side of the jambs of these side doors were 
 entirely calcined by the flames which rushed out 
 through the opening. It is to be observed that all 
 these three entrances were originally closed by 
 wooden valves, or folding doors ; those of the centre 
 being flush with the interior of the chamber, while 
 those belonging to the side openings were half-way 
 between the court and chamber. The sculptures on 
 the sides of the minor openings, belonged as far as 
 the valves to the court, and behind the valves to the 
 chamber ; but the bulls of the centre openings, on the 
 contrary, belonged entirely to the court, so that when the doors were 
 closed, the decorations of both court and chamber were complete and 
 uninterrupted, the openings appearing merely like deep recesses in 
 the wall. On the recesses formed by the projecting part of the 
 fa 9 ade, and the protrusion of the statue of the bulls at the minor 
 entrances, are sculptured two winged men, precisely in 
 the same position and with the usual attributes, the 
 upper one only having the head of an eagle, and 
 wearing the short timic without the long outer garment 
 (tig. 59). AYe will now turn to examine that side of 
 the court by which we entered. 
 
 Commencing with the south corner we have just left, 
 we meet with a small dooiAvay, on each side of which 
 stands the four-winged divinity we have designated 
 Ilus, presenting the pine-cone to those who cross the 
 threshold of the chamber within ; and on both j ambs of the 
 entrance, which had been closed by a door, was the figure 
 of a priest, wearing a wreath and carrying a gazelle, as 
 if stepping out into the court with the sacrificial offering. 
 
 AYe next approach an opening Avhich we recognise as the passage 
 chamber through which we entered, the sides being flanked by 
 bulls, little inferior in dimensions to the smaller ones of the 
 
 Fig. .59.— EAGLE- 
 HEADED 
 DIVIXITV. 
 
156 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREHS. 
 
 principal fa9ade of tliis court. Proceeding onwards, we arrive at 
 another figure of Ilns, with his face turned towards the entrance of 
 the passage-chamber, and follow'ed by a priest wearing the wreath, 
 and carrying the pomegranate branch. We now reach a third doorway, 
 each side of which is guarded by a two-winged divinity. The next 
 figure is Pabsaris ; then the Pab Signeen ; and, lastly, the king in 
 conversation with them. These slabs were all found lying on the 
 ground, and the remaining sculpture of this wall no longer existed, 
 though their subjects may be inferred from those we have seen in the 
 outer court. Of the sculptures on the north-western wall, com- 
 mencing in the western angle, we have first in a shallow recess the 
 armour bearer of the king, the selikdar of the present monarchs of 
 the soil ; then, upon a projecting pier, Pabshakeh ; next, in a second 
 shallow recess, the king himself, addressing the Pab Signeen ; after 
 whom succeeds, on a second pier, the Pabsaris. The wall here ter- 
 minates, but whether it turned, or was continued much farther, we 
 have no means of learning. 
 
 This court, like the one we have left, is paved with square kihi- 
 baked bricks, stamped with a cuneatic inscription, supposed to contain 
 the name of the king who built the palace. Before the three doors 
 of the facade forming the porch, are holes the size of one of the 
 bricks, and about fourteen inches in depth. These holes are lined 
 
 with tiles, and have a ledge round 
 the inside, so that they might be 
 covered by one of the bricks of the 
 pavement, without betraying the exist- 
 ence of the cavity. In these cavities 
 Botta found small images of baked clay 
 of frightful aspect, sometimes with lynx 
 head and human body, and sometimes 
 with human head and lion’s body 
 (see figs. 60 and 61). Some have 
 the mitre encircled at the bottom with a 
 double pair of horns: they have one 
 arm crossed on the breast, and appear 
 to hold a rod or stick, which is now 
 too imperfect to allow of its shape being 
 described. Others have their hair 
 rolled in large curls, and others are human in the upper part, but 
 terminating Avith bulls’ legs and tails. 
 
 Another curious circumstance respecting the pavement is, that the 
 tiles or bricks cease at the threshold of the entrances, their places 
 
 Figs. 60 and 61. — teraphim. 
 
KHOESABAD. — TEEAPHIM. 
 
 157 
 
 being supplied by a single large slab of gypsum covered with cuneatic 
 inscriptions, the slab of the centre opening being the entire length 
 of the jamb, about 15 feet by 9 feet 9 inches wide ; and the inscription 
 is divided into two columns, to obviate, as we suppose, a difficulty 
 which is commonly felt, in reading wide pages of letter-press. And 
 now comes the interesting question, for what purpose were these 
 secret cavities and long inscriptions placed at the threshold ? As we 
 have no analogous contrivances in the temples of Egypt or Grreece, 
 any attempt to account for these peculiarities in the Assyrian 
 structure may, by some, be considered purely speculative ; neverthe- 
 less, we will venture to advance our surmises. In the first place, we 
 may conclude, from the constant occurrence of the emblematic 
 figures at the entrances, that this part of the palace, or temple, in the 
 Assyrian mind was of the greatest importance, and connected with 
 their religious opinions. We find the principal doorways guarded 
 either by the symbolic bulls, or by winged dmnities. We next find 
 upon the bulls themselves, and on the pavement of the recesses of the 
 doors, long inscriptions, always the same, probably incantations or 
 prayers ; and finally, these secret cavities, in which images of a com- 
 pound character were hidden. Thus the sacred or royal precincts 
 were trebly guarded by divinities, inscriptions, and hidden gods, from 
 the approach of any subtle spirit, or more palpable enemy, that 
 might have escaped the vigilance of the king’s body-guard. As 
 regard the inscriptions, Botta found that they were all repetitions 
 one of another, and that they, as well as the bricks, contained the 
 same name, either that of a divinity or of the king. With respect to 
 the clay images, he offers no remarks ; but we would suggest that 
 they are the tD'Din, “ Teraphim,” a name given to certain images which 
 Bachel had stolen from her father Laban, the Syrian, “ and put them 
 in the camel’s furniture, and sat upon them;”^ evidences which 
 favour the conclusion that the teraphim, Laban’s gods, were 
 no larger than the images w^e are speaking of. The root, or 
 original word, from which teraphim is derived, signifies to relax 
 with fear, to strike terror, or “Bepheh,” an appaller — one who 
 makes others faint or fail;^ a signification that singularly accords 
 with the terrifying aspect of the images found by Botta ; and from 
 their being secreted under the pavement near the gates, w^e conclude 
 that they were mtended to protect the entrances of the royal abode, 
 by causing the evil-disposed to stumble, even at the very threshold. 
 Again, the word teraphim being in the plural form, each individual 
 figure is generally understood to have been a compound body, and 
 
 1 Gen. xxxi. 19, 30, 34. 
 
 2 2 Sam. xxi. 16—22. 
 
158 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOYEREES. 
 
 tills affords farther coincident evidence, as the Assyrian images were, 
 likewise, always a compound. Another word, however, occurs to ns 
 to be equally worthy of consideration, as it agrees so remarkably with 
 the places in which these images were found. It is the Arabic word 
 > jjU “ Tarf,” signifying a boundary or margin — a meaning analogous 
 to doorway, the margin or boundary of the chamber. Thus, in both 
 the Hebrew and the Arabic, we have significations immediately con- 
 nected with the gods Teraphim, and finally, we have another ILlnstra- 
 tion furnished by the modern Persians, who call their talismans, 
 “Telefin;^ really the same word, the I and the r being the same in 
 some langnages, and easily interchanging in many. If these analogies 
 in themselves do not amount to actual proof that the teraphim of 
 Scripture are identical with the secreted idols of the Assyrian palace, 
 they are, at all events, curious and plausible ; but when supported by 
 what we know of the existing characteristics and superstitions of 
 Eastern nations ; of the pertinacity with which all Orientals adhere to 
 ancient traditions and practices ; of the strongly implanted prejudices 
 entertained in the court of Persia respecting the goiag out and 
 coming in of the Shah to his palace ; and of the belief in unseen 
 agencies and the influence of the evil eye, which has prevailed in all 
 countries, and still exists in some, more especially in those of Asia 
 and the south of Europe, our conjecture seems to amount almost to 
 a certainty, and we, therefore, have no hesitation in offering it for 
 consideration.^ 
 
 SOUTH-EASTERN SIDE OF COURT N.— HISTORICAL CHAMBER XIV. 
 
 Before proceeding to examine the interior of the palace, we will 
 enter the door of chamber xiv at the south-eastern side of the court, 
 as the remains here are quite isolated, and evidently must originally 
 have been a detached building, the limits of which are defined by the two 
 courts {n andn), the passage chamber (x), and the external boundary 
 of the mound. The doorway we are about to enter is the third on 
 the south-eastern side ; it is guarded on each side by a two-winged 
 divinity and his attendant priest. Like the entrances we have before 
 described, this also is paved with a large slab divided into two 
 columns of inscription, and the door likewise was situated half way 
 between the chamber and the court. A winged divinity on each of 
 the jambs stands before the valves to greet those who enter, while 
 two smaller winged figures behind the valves, and therefore not seen 
 
 1 Chardin, Voy. vol. ii. c. 10. 
 
 2 From a superstition of the same kind, the late Viceroy of Egypt never, during his long 
 reign, left the city of Cairo by the gate called Bah-el-hadeed. 
 
KHOESABAD. — HISTOEICAL CIIAMBEE. 
 
 159 
 
 when the doors were open, speed those who depart. Turning to the 
 right we find the figure of a eunuch in the attitude of respect, and 
 the lower part of whose garment is inscribed : next to him, and in 
 the corner of the room, is sculptured an ornament somewhat 
 resembling that interlacing of the two aquatic plants of Egypt depicted 
 on the thrones of the Pharaohs, and holding among Egyptian emblems 
 the same rank and importance that this emblem does among the 
 Assyrians. The centre stem occupies the corner of the room, its 
 branches extending equally on both sides of the angle. The stem is 
 interrupted at intervals by transverse scroll-like 
 ornaments, and has likewise spikes, or points, all 
 the way up to the top, which fans out something 
 like a palm-tree, and every interweavement 
 of the branches terminates in the Glreek honej^- 
 suckle (see fig. 62). The end of the room is 
 occupied by six figures, three standing before the 
 king, and two behind him, namely, his cup-bearer 
 and his sceptre-bearer, who is also his selikdar. 
 
 The upper part of all these figures is defaced ; 
 but sufficient remain to enable us to say that they 
 are in conversation with his majesty, since they 
 all bear inscriptions on the lower part of their 
 robes. The king carries the trilobed plant (see fig. 58, p. 155). The 
 second corner of the chamber is occupied by the emblematic ornament, 
 and then we see two more officers, each with an inscription. 
 
 "We now arrive at the doorway which leads into the inner 
 chamber, and passing on find that the remainder of the wall still 
 standing, has been covered with friezes of the same dimensions as 
 those in the passage chamber, and like them divided by a band of 
 inscription, but unfortunately only the lower lines of illustration 
 remains, though this is sufficiently perfect to enable us to judge of tlie 
 character of the decorations of the chamber. The sculpture represents 
 the siege of a highly fortified place, belonging to the people who 
 wear the sheep-skin garment, who are most valiantly repelling 
 the onset of some crested warriors, backed by scantily clothed 
 archers, and these again by the regular troops under the command 
 of the Eabsaris or Eabshakeh of the time. The crested warriors 
 we conceive to be Kysians, a colony of Lydians, from Mount 
 Olympus, w'ho wore helmets bke the Greeks, and carried small shields 
 and javelins, hardened in the fire.^ The castle is fortified by a double 
 wall, and built upon an irregular hill, up the sides of which have 
 
 Fig, 62. — SYMBOLIC TEEE. 
 
 Herodotus, Polym, Ixxiv. 
 
160 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 been urged two battering rams, wbicb are playing against tbe gates 
 and towers of tbe city, and the besieged are throwing lighted torches 
 from the battlements to endeavour to set fire to the war-engines. 
 Near the city is a remarkably steep hill, on which grow olive trees, 
 and at the bottom of the hill flows a shallow stream, or a bay or arm 
 of the sea (see fig. 63). 
 
 Numerous cuneatic characters are inscribed upon the walls of 
 the city, but they are too small to be rendered legible in our 
 illustration. Nothing more remains of this interesting chamber, 
 excepting a piece of wall adjoining the entrance from the court, and 
 which contains the last page as it were of the history of this cam- 
 paign of the Assyrian monarch. 
 
 In order to show the interior of a walled enclosure, vast enough 
 to include grazing land for the cattle, a solid structure for the 
 king, and tents for the people, the artist has given a ground plan. 
 This place is situated by the side of a stream, and is surrounded 
 by a wall flanked by towers at irregular intervals. In the upper 
 half of the oval is placed the palace, in front of which are 
 erected the standards and an altar or table, before which are two 
 men. In the lower half are some tents containing people occupied 
 in preparing food, and various implements are suspended to the 
 pole of the tent as is still the custom. In the last paragraph 
 of this historical roll, we read the termination of the campaign. 
 Manacled prisoners of the sheep-skin clad nation are brought under 
 escort to the walls of the fortified enclosure (Botta, plate 146), to 
 be registered by two scribes, who are attended by a soldier holding 
 
KHOES AB AD . — WAE-EN GINES . 
 
 161 
 
 a spear. The beardless scribe holds a pointed stylus in his left hand, 
 and in the other probably a piece of terra cotta on which he is about 
 to engrave. He seems to be addressing the prisoner. The bearded 
 scribe is writing on a roll or volume. The conclusion of the slab 
 represents the same description of country, namely, a hilly coast or 
 shore, on which is situated the last fortified place taken in this 
 campaign (Botta, plate 147). It is built upon a hill, accessible by 
 three roads constructed of hewn stone, and at the base of the hill 
 flows the arm of the lake or river. The city is defended by bow-men 
 on the upper and lower embattled walls. The attack is led by 
 crested spearmen with round shields, followed by nearly naked 
 bow-men, the rear being brought up by the regular troops, and upon 
 the causeways are two war-engines^ or battering-rams (figs. 64 and 65). 
 
 They move upon four wheels, and the machine is covered with a roof, 
 which envelopes it on all sides, and which appears to be regularly 
 ornamented. This roof is very much raised in front, to elevate the 
 point of suspension of the rams, and thus give them more force : the 
 rams are provided with lance-lieaded extremities, and it is plain they 
 have already effected a small breach in the wall. 
 
 The name of the city is written on the upper towers. 
 
 INNER CHAMBER XIII. 
 
 This chamber opens from that we have just examined, the entrance 
 being nearly opposite the doorway leading into the court. In this 
 case the entrance or passage of communication is vdthout valves, and 
 the jambs are occupied by two figures of priests, presenting the 
 
 2 Clu’on, xxxvi. 15. 
 
 M 
 
16 ^ 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 fir-cone to the symbolic ornament or tree, described in tbe preceding 
 apartment, which is placed between them. Between the jambs the 
 pavement consists of the slab, with an inscription divided into two 
 columns. This chamber also contains historical subjects, probably 
 incidents in the same campaign, the termination of which we found 
 recorded in the last chamber. Like that the walls are here divided 
 by the band of cuneatic text into two lines of illustration, but 
 unfortunately only a few slabs, and those exclusively of the lower 
 division, remain. Turning to the right we shall follow the king in 
 his chariot, preceded by a body of foot and followed by a detachment 
 of horse, setting out on a campaign over a hilly country (Botta, 
 plates 142, 143). They are proceeding towards a city of the interior, 
 of which the Assyrian artist has given us some views, and the 
 representation we have selected will be found to contain some highly 
 suggestive details (fig. 66. Botta, pi. 141). 
 
 In the centre, standing in a mound or sub-basement, is a building 
 with a gable roof, showing that this mode of construction was well 
 l^nown at the period of these sculptures. On the piers of the 
 building are suspended shields, seen in front and in profile. At 
 the entrance stand two priests, and upon the plain at the base of 
 the mound on which it is built, are two vases possibly containing 
 the water for purification, from which circumstances we should 
 surmise this structure to be a sacred edifice, but above it is a 
 line of cuneatic, which may some day enlighten us on the subject. 
 Upon the roof are some crested warriors, who are assisting 
 
KHORSABAD. HEWING A FIGERE TO PIECES. 
 
 163 
 
 tlieir companions to scale tlie walls. In one part of the city, built 
 on a rocky eminence ab’eady in tlie occupation of tlie invader, is seen 
 on the top of a bouse a eunucb dictating to bis scribes. To tbe 
 right, some of tbe inhabitants on tbe roofs of tbe bouses extend their 
 bands in supplication towards the king. 
 
 In another part of the city, two eunuchs are engaged in weighing 
 the spoil. Tbe beam of tbe scales is straight and suspended on a 
 support, probably a tripod, the stems of which terminate in Hons’ feet. 
 This apparatus is again placed upon a support resting on legs, carved 
 to represent bulls’ or goats’ feet, which are terminated in their turn by 
 tbe reversed cones which occur so often. Tbe eunuchs are habited in 
 their long robe, but without the fringed scarf. 
 
 In tbe rocky ground beneath tbe eunuchs just described are three 
 individuals, each armed with a hatchet, busy hacking at tbe limbs of 
 a figime, from which they have already separated tlie arms, and which 
 represents either a hving man or a statue (fig. 67), 
 
 The executioners wear the same head-gear as the pillagers ; and the 
 figure itself is clothed in a long robe, with a pointed cap descendmg 
 to the neck. The most probable interpretation of the matter seems 
 to he, that they are breaking up a statue composed of one of the 
 precious metals, and that the eunuchs are employed in weighing the 
 fragments as they are delivered to them. 
 
 Farther off, we see others carrying away the spoil and accompanying 
 a car. ~We have cause to regret that there are no more sculptures 
 extant in this apartment, which, like the last, may he regarded as an 
 historical chamber. It may hkewise he worthy of remark, that this 
 section of the Palace of Khorsahad was not only isolated, hut that it 
 must have consisted of a single floor, as there do not seem to he any 
 places for the steps by which tlie upper stories could have been 
 
164 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEERS. 
 
 reached, niiless indeed they were constructed in the thickness of the 
 waU which is destroyed. Betnrning to the court, we will now enter 
 the small door in the south corner, and to the left of the passage 
 chamber (x). 
 
 SOUTH-EASTERN SIDE OF COURT. CHAMBER IX.— THE DIVINING 
 CHAMBER. 
 
 Entering this chamber from the court we shall meet in the recess, 
 as already described, the figures of two magi, each bearing on his 
 right arm a gazelle, and with his left hand elevated in prayer ; behind 
 the valves on each jamb there are two small figures of priests, part of 
 the decoration belonging to the interior. In the centre of the v^all, on 
 our right hand, is another doorway, of which the jambs are identical. 
 The room measures 30 feet by 27 feet 6 inches, and aU the figures 
 occupying the walls are of colossal dimensions, reaching to the entire 
 height of the slabs. This chamber, unlike the others we have seen, 
 is paved with kiln-baked bricks, and in the corner most remote from 
 the doors there is inserted in the floor a slab of gypsum, 4 feet 
 6 inches by 3 feet 3 inches wide, in which is a circular-headed oblong 
 depression. Erom these evidences, we infer that it was in this 
 chamber that the king was wont to consult the magi who here 
 examined the victims, whose blood was poured into the cavity in the 
 slab ; and, accordingly, the decorations show us the king attended by 
 his officers, but so many slabs are wanting, that we have no repre- 
 sentation of the actual sacrifice to corroborate our surmise. 
 
 The figures of the magi which we have noticed at the entrance of the 
 room differ in nothing from the magi so often described, but in the 
 circumstance of their carrying a goat or gazelle. They are standing 
 with the victim in the entrance of the chamber where the super- 
 stitious rites were performed, and this chamber is situated in the 
 king’s court, contiguous to the gate and passage-chamber. In the 
 second verse of the second chapter of Daniel, four kinds of magicians 
 are mentioned : the , chartumim, the asaphim, the 
 
 tz)'>aty!}D, mecasphim, the casdim. The first word is supposed to 
 
 signify enchanters, according to the LXX. sophists, according to 
 Jerome, diviners, fortune-tellers, casters of nativities. The second 
 word so resembles the Greek ao<pos, sophos, for a wise man, that it 
 lias been doubted which is the original word. Tlie third, mecasphim, 
 by Jerome and the Greeks, is translated “ enchanters,” such as 
 used noxious herbs and drugs — the blood of victims, and the bones 
 of the dead, for their superstitious rites. The fourth word has two 
 
KHOESAB AD . — CH ALDiEAN S . 
 
 165 
 
 significations — first, the Clialdsean people ; and the second, a sort of 
 philosophers, who were exempt from all public offices and employ- 
 ments : their studies being physic, astrology, the foretelling of future 
 events, interpretation of dreams by augury, worship of the gods, &c. 
 The Chaldseans had their origin from Chased, son of jSTahord Jerome 
 says the same thing : — “ Chased, son of JN'ahor, from whom Chasdim, 
 afterwards Chaldsei.” Chased, however, only united the scattered 
 tribes into a nation of the land of Ur, and there is little doubt but 
 that they were a distinct nation, and not merely a tribe of priests ; " 
 Strabo, who had treated of them as philosophers, knew them also as a 
 nation. The greater degree of refinement in the forms and features 
 of the priests pouiTrayed by the Assyrians might lead us to surmise 
 that they are of this Chaldaean race. To which of the four classes 
 the magus we are describing belongs, it would be difiicult to deter- 
 mine, but from his carrying the gazelle, we should be inclined to 
 place him in the third class, and probably of the Chaldaean race. 
 His person is much thinner, and his features more delicate, than are 
 those of the other attendants of the court, indicating sedentary 
 occupations, and an exemption from the more active emplo^mients of 
 life. The beard and hair of the magi are curled with the most 
 extreme care, and they are distinctly blacked. We will now return 
 to the court, and visit the interior of the palace of Khorsabad. 
 
 INTERIOR OF THE PALACE. CHAMBER VIII.— THE HALL OF JUDGMENT. 
 
 A glance at the detailed plan (p. 132) informs us that the chamber we 
 are about to enter has six openings — three fi’om the king’s court (n), 
 one immediately facing it, a lesser one on the same side, but 
 farther to our left, and one to oixr right, at the end of the room. 
 The three openings into the court, as well as the smaller opening on 
 the opposite side, are all furnished with double valves, or folding 
 doors, but neither the central one, nor that at the end, have any such 
 provision, being apparently used merely as passages of communication. 
 All these doorways are paved with inscribed slabs, inserted in the 
 floor, which is formed of bricks, of the same dimensions as those of 
 the courts, but which seem diaed instead of kiln-baked, and they difibr 
 also from them in being without inscriptions. We will also notice 
 that at the extreme end of the room, a large uninscribed slab of 
 gypsum is inserted in the floor ; that in the floor between the 
 
 1 Gen. xxii. 22 ; Cellarius, lib. iii. 16. 
 
 2 Jerom. In Quest, on Gen. xxii. Herodotus, Clio, clxxxi. ; Diod. i. 28 ; Ainsworth's 
 “ Researches in Assyria.” 
 
166 
 
 NINFiVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEB,S. 
 
 two doors, (q and m), there is a second uninscribed slab, with 
 a circular bole in tbe centre, and that at each end of tbis slab there 
 is a square bole in tbe pavement, like those for the terapbim in tbe 
 courts. 
 
 Entering by tbe central openmg or grand portal, and turning to 
 tbe right, we find that tbe conflagration of tbe roof has destroyed all 
 tbe upper part of tbe slabs, so that we have only tbe remains of 
 eight figures, including tbe lower part of a long robed person, with 
 bis feet fettered, brought up for judgment. Passing tbe small door 
 into tbe court, which has lost its jambs, and tbe remains of two 
 figures, we reach tbe corner of tbe room, which we find occupied by 
 one slab, on wliicb is sculptured tbe emblematic floral ornament. 
 Between tbis emblematic ornament and tbe opening (t), which we next 
 approach, nothing is left but tbe lower part of tbe dress of one of 
 tbe officers of tbe king, on which is an inscription. Passing tbe 
 opening and tbe feet of a man, possibly tbe guard of tbe door, 
 we arrive at tbe second corner of the room, with tbe emblematic 
 ornament. On tbe length of wall wffiicb now occurs, is sculptured a 
 group composed of fifteen figures, namely, tbe king, eight of bis 
 officers, and five persons of smaller stature, who are bound hand and 
 foot : tbe fifteenth person does not properly belong to tbis group, for 
 be turns bis face to the central opening (ir), and is the magus or priest. 
 
 Commencing at tbe central door we see tbe king with bis 
 chief cup-bearer ; before them are three prisoners, who wear caps 
 with a tassel depending from the top, a long fringed tunic, and over 
 tbis a cloak with a tassel at tbe corners : their beards are short, and 
 no hair appears from beneath their caps. Tbe foremost is on bis 
 knees supplicating tbe king, while two others stand behind imploring 
 bis mercy. Tbe slabs on which these figures occur are very much 
 defaced, but from what we are able to discern we are inclined to 
 think tbe people represented are some of tbe inhabitants of Palestine, 
 Behind tbe prisoners stand four persons, with inscriptions on tbe 
 lower part of their tunics ; tbe first two are bearded, and seem to be 
 tbe accusers ; tbe remaining two are nearly defaced, but behind tbe 
 last appears tbe ennnch, whose office it seems to be to usher into tbe 
 presence of tbe king those who are permitted to appear before him. 
 He is followed by another person of tbe same race as those under 
 punishment ; but who is taller in stature (Botta, pi. 120) ; bis bands 
 are manacled, and on bis ankles are strong rings, fastened together 
 by a heavy bar : tbe condition we read in which tbe king of Assyria 
 took Manasseb to Babylon ; ^ and probably tbe very fashion of those 
 
 ^ 2 Chron, x?:xiii. 11 , xxxvi, 6, 
 
KHOPtSAB AD. —CHIEF OF THE SLAYERS. 
 
 167 
 
 fetters of brass in wbicb, still later, tbe king of Babylon bound 
 Zedekiah.^ This person is in the attitude of a supplicant, and on the 
 lower part of his ch’ess are several lines of cnneatic. The next group 
 visible (fig, 68) is a naked man, his limbs stretched out, and his wrists 
 and ankles fastened by a chain to pegs or pins inserted in the floor or 
 table ; while a tall bearded man in a short tunic, the 2"; the 
 
 Bab Tabachiya, the chief of the slayers, the captain of the king’s 
 guard, for so this ofiicer was designated in the court of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, in the tune of the prophet Daniel,^ is with a ciuwed knife, 
 beginning to remove the skin from the back of the arm of the 
 prisoner, whose head is turned towards the king imploring pardon, 
 the very words of which petition may possibly be contained in the 
 
 Fig. 68. — FLAYIXG ALIVE. 
 
 cnneatic inscription above him. Of the next figure, only the legs 
 and several lines of cnneatic writing remain. 
 
 Beturning to the central passage, we find, on each side facing the 
 chamber, the figure of a magus ; and on the line of wall succeedmg, 
 a scene representing the punishment of rebellion. 
 
 The prisoners are chiefs of that race or nation (see fig. 57) who are 
 particularly distinguished by the sheep-skin outer garment made with 
 . sleeves, but terminating in the form of the unfashioned fleece, worn over 
 a plain tunic reaching just below the knee. Instead of a belt there seems, 
 as we have before observed, to be a cord wrapped several times round 
 
 * 2 Kings, XXV. 7 ; 
 
 Jer. xxxix. 7. 
 
 2 Dan. ii. II. 
 
168 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOYEKESS. 
 
 the waist, and terminating in a button or loop, Herodotns, in his 
 enumeration of the nations that composed the army of Xerxes,^ men- 
 tions a people called Sagaif ii, who supplied a body of horse. He says, 
 “ These people lead a pastoral life ; they have no offensive weapons, 
 either of iron or brass, except their daggers ; their principal depend- 
 ance in action is upon cords made of twisted leather, which they 
 use in this manner: when they engage an enemy they throw out 
 these cords, having a noose at the extremity.” These people are 
 possibly the same as the Togarmah,^ who traded with Tyre in horses 
 and mules, people of Scythia and Turcomania, children of Homer. 
 The people represented on the slabs are a tall race of men, have short 
 beards terminating in spiral curls, seldom wear bracelets, earrings, 
 nor other effeminate ornaments, and are, as we have seen by the 
 nature of the tribute they bore in the chamber of passage, essentially 
 a pastoral people, their entire characteristics being such as would 
 seem to identify them with the Sagartii of Herodotus, and the 
 Togarmah of Ezekiel. The three prisoners of this race in the centre of 
 the frieze, have their feet and hands bound, and several lines of cuneatic 
 run across the lower part of their dresses ; they are guarded by two 
 bearded officers, the foremost of whom is a sceptre-bearer, and carries 
 likewise a bow ; while the second, who wears a short tunic, has his 
 hand raised ; they are introduced into the presence of the king 
 by two eunuchs. We next arrive at the small doorway (s), which 
 has apparently, like the passage (tj), been guarded on each side by a 
 priest, though only the lower part of one is remaining ; on that part 
 of the two jambs which belong to this chamber, is represented a 
 winged divinity presenting the pine-cone, and followed by his 
 attendant magus : their faces are directed towards the chamber, as 
 in the act of meeting the person who was privileged to pass through 
 the door into the inner apartment. In the floor of the doorway is 
 the inscribed slab. On the space between this door and the angle of 
 the wall was, probably, the figure of the king belonging to the last 
 subject, but the slabs are wanting. This brings us to the emblematic 
 corner ornament, and to the wall at the end of the room, from which 
 we have selected, as a specimen of the significant decoration of the 
 chamber, a most remarkable scene. 
 
 In the annexed representation (fig. 69) we recognise the fate which 
 subsequently befel Zedekiah, king of Judah, as recorded in the Second 
 Book of Kings, in what we presume, from the sculptures in this 
 chamber, was no uncommon punishment for the crime of rebellion. 
 In the centre stands the king, and before him are three persons, the 
 
 ^ Herodotus, Polyhymnia, lxss.v. 
 
 ® Ezek. xsvii. 14. 
 
KHOUSABAD. — PUTTING OUT THE EYES OE A CAPTIVE. 169 
 
 foremost of whom is on his knees, imploring mercy, and the two 
 others are standing in a hnmhle posture. The king is represented 
 
 thrusting the point of his spear into one of the eyes of the supplicant, 
 while he holds in his left hand the end of a cord which proceeds from 
 rings that have been inserted into the lower lip of all three of the 
 captives, who are likewise both manacled and fettered ; and above 
 their head is an inscription, perhaps the very words they uttered. 
 These prisoners wear the long tunic reaching to their ankles, and 
 the two standing have, in addition, a tight fitting cap. The king is 
 attended by his cnp-bearer and two bearded officers bearing sceptres ; 
 and facing the king, and immediately behind the snfibrers, stands the 
 nT Eab Signeen, the chief of the governors, his right hand 
 uplifted, as if in the act of speaking ; behind him are a eunuch and a 
 bearded officer. All three of these persons, as well as those behind 
 the king, have an inscription on the lower part of their dresses. 
 Leaving this scene, w'e pass the symbolic corner ornament, and reach 
 the small doorw'ay (q), wliicli leads into the court (n), on each side 
 of wliich stands a magus, with his face towards the entrance ; but the 
 sculptures on the jambs are gone. On the w'all between this door 
 and the central opening (m), is a similar representation of the king 
 attended as usual, before whom are tliree fettered prisoners ; the fore- 
 most, who is on his knees, being clad in the long fringed timic, and 
 the two behind him in the short tunic ; but the outer garment of 
 sheep-skin is not discernible, owung to the defacement of the upper 
 part of the slab. Trom the foregoing description it mil be foimd that 
 in this chamber we have the record of the pimishments inflicted on 
 the chiefs of five nations, in wdiich that of inserting a ring in the lip, 
 
170 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEHS. 
 
 that of putting out the eyes, and that of flaying alive are aU distinctly 
 presented to us. 
 
 CHAMBER IV.— CHAMBER OF JUDGMENT. 
 
 Passing out of the HaU of Judgment (viii.) by the passage of com- 
 munication (t), we perceive on each side of us the king attended by his 
 cup-bearer also walking out of the chamber, and met at the threshold 
 by the Eab Signeen. (Botta, plate 80.) Turning to our right we 
 find that from the opening to the corner there are eleven figures, the 
 upper part of the whole being very much defaced by the calcination 
 of the slabs, though enough of the frieze remains uninjured to show 
 that the subject is very similar to those we have seen in the preceding 
 chamber. Before the king, who is attended by his cup-bearer, 
 sceptre-bearer, and a third person, are three prisoners, wearing the 
 sheep-skin garment, the foremost of whom is kneeling in supplication; 
 they are all fettered, and have the ring in the lower lip. Behind the 
 captives are the Bab Signeen and three other persons, who, as well 
 as the three officers foUoAving the king, have inscriptions on the lower 
 part of their tunics. In the corner is the symbolic ornament. 
 
 The end of the room, and all the adjoining side, have entirely disap- 
 peared, till we come to a fragment of the lower part of a bull which 
 formed one of the jambs of an entrance, indicating that this chamber was 
 an exterior apartment ; and, therefore, that, although now on the edge 
 of the mound, it must formerly have led out into a court or terrace. 
 From the bull to the next corner both slabs and wall have dis- 
 appeared ; but on the wall at the end of the room we again see the 
 king, executing judgment on some sheep-skin clad prisoners, the 
 Sagartii, two kneeling before him and two standing. Behind them is 
 the accuser, or the king’s chief counsellor, and attending the king is 
 the cup-bearer, the whole group containing seven persons, all of 
 whom, excepting the king and the kneeling prisoners, have more or 
 less inscription on their robes. After this scene we approach a door 
 leading into a small chamber (in.)? passing which we reach the corner, 
 which is again occupied by the symbolic ornament that seems to 
 belong peculiarly to the corners of chambers where scenes of judg- 
 ment and execution are represented. 
 
 Proceeding from the corner we perceive two short-bearded prisoners 
 manacled and fettered ; they have a simple band round their heads 
 instead of the cap, are clad in long tunics, with cords twisted round 
 their waists, have short cloaks and wear boots ; they are ushered into 
 the presence of the king by the eunuch carrying the double rod 
 
KHOHSABAD. ILLBSTEATIOX OF SCEIFTUEE. 
 
 171 
 
 (Botta, pi. 82), the Tartan of Scriptiu’e, who is preceded by two 
 other officers of the court. 
 
 We next arrive at a passage of commimicatiou (e), on each side of 
 which is a magns ; and between this opening and that at which we 
 entered is a scene containing tAvelve figiu’es, including the magns we have 
 jnst passed. We have first three officers of the court, preceded by the 
 Eah Signeen, who is addressing the king, between whom and himself 
 are four prisoners, two standing, and tAvo kneeling to the king. The 
 prisoners are of the race of men AA'hich we have before remarked to be 
 of short stature, wearing short beards, tasselled caps, like the modern 
 fez, and long tunics with the short upper garment. The king has 
 several lines of cuneatic on his robe, and, as usual, is attended by 
 his cup-bearer and selikdar. The countenances of these prisoners 
 (Botta, plate 83) do not exhibit those peculiarities we find in 
 otlier scnlptiues representing the people habited in the same way, 
 but whether this be owing to the artist or to the imperfect condition 
 of the upper part of the slabs, we know not. We have before inti- 
 mated oiu belief, based on the peculiarities delineated, that these 
 people are natives of Palestme, Jews, probably Samaritans. As in 
 former bassi-relicAi, they have rings in their lips, to which are attached 
 a thin cord held by the king. It is not a little remarkable that 
 when Sennacherib, a successor of the founder of this palace, invaded 
 Judea, the prophetic message sent by Isaiah in reply to the prayer of 
 Hezekiah shoidd contain the metaphor here embodied, and probably 
 enacted in these very chambers. “ I know thy abode, and thy going 
 out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. Because thy rage 
 against me, and thy tumult, is come up into mine ears, therefore Avill I 
 put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I AviU. tuim 
 thee back by the way by which thou comest.” ^ 
 
 The first verse, “ I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy 
 coming in,” we surmise alludes to the incantation and idolatrous 
 emblems and figiues, which as Ave have seen, are crowded together at 
 the entrances of the Asspdan palaces, as the means of ensuring the 
 safety and success of the kings of Assyria in their going out and 
 coming in. The second verse is here presented literally before us. 
 
 Before leaving this section of the palace we Avill pass through the 
 opening (e) into 
 
 CHAMBEE AUI. 
 
 This small chamber communicates with the one we are leaving, by 
 
 1 Isaiah, xxxvii. 28, 29 ; Ezek. xxxviii. 4; Deut. xxviii. G, 19 ; 2 Kings, xix. 27; 
 Amos, iv. 2 ; Psl. cxxi. 
 
17 ^ 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 an opening without doors, and the sides of which have disappeared. 
 Upon entering we find that there is no other outlet, and that the 
 significant decorations on the walls are divided into an upper and 
 lower illustration, by a band of cnneatic. The room may be likened 
 to a small volume on the pleasures of the table and the chase, 
 illustrated by highly wrought engravings, the text occupying the 
 middle of the page in twenty lines of cmieatic, and the whole volume 
 presenting a surface of 140 feet in length, and 9 feet in height. 
 
 The first section of the volume is dedicated to the pleasures of the 
 table ; unfortunately it is considerably damaged, but nevertheless, on 
 turning to the right we can still distinguish on the upper part of 
 the wall, the figured of the guests sitting on high seats, and holding 
 up their drinking cups, in the act of pledgmg each other, or drinking 
 the king’s health. Between the tables stand the eunuchs attending 
 on the convivialists, and at the end wall is an elegant folding tray, 
 terminating in the legs of an animal, on which some persons seem to 
 be preparing food ; all the rest of this upper subject is defaced. 
 The lower line of illustration, or the section of the volume which is 
 dedicated to the pleasures of the field, is more legible. Commencing 
 at the entrance, we find in the corner to our right, at the extremity 
 of the hunting- groimd, an artificial piece of water in which are some 
 fish and two pleasiue-boats. On the margin of the lake is a kiosk 
 or pleasure-house, the roof supported by columns resembling those 
 of the Ionic order in Grecian architecture (fig. 70). 
 
 Fig. 70. — KIOSK. 
 
 Surrounding the kiosk are fruit-trees, possibly the fig and others, 
 the branches of which appear to bear leaves and fruit ; the round 
 appendages being painted blue and the others red. Near to 
 
KHOESABAD. — ALTARS IN HIGH PLACES. 
 
 173 
 
 this spot is a hill and grove of fir-trees, abounding with pheasants ; and 
 on the top of the hill is an altar, reminding ns of the groves and altars 
 on high places, so often alluded to in the sacred vuitings, as a heathen 
 custom which the people of Israel were forbidden to imitate. “ They 
 sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, 
 under oaks, and poplars, and elms (fir-trees), because the shadow 
 thereof is good.”^ This little monument is raised upon a square 
 base : the shaft has six flutmgs, and the entablatiue eight ; the whole 
 is crovmed in the middle, and at the angles with step-like battlements. 
 These details are not unimportant, as they tend to show the similarity 
 betAveen this altar and the one engraved on the Babylonian stone 
 known as the Caillou de Michaud^ preserved in the Cabinet of Anti- 
 quities of the JBihliotlie^ue Rationale at Paris. 
 
 To this the king is hastening in his chariot, drawn by two horses at 
 full speed (fig. 71) : he holds the full blown lotus, and two buds 
 
 Fig. 71. — KING FOLLOTV’IXG THE CHASE. 
 
 represented after the Eg^qotian mode of delineating the plant, and is 
 accompanied by his charioteer and umbrella-bearer, clad in the long 
 fringed cloak. The tiara and parasol are painted in red stripes ; the 
 flower in the king’s hand is painted blue. The handle of the driver’s 
 whip is a gazelle’s foot. Immediately preceding the chariot are two 
 spearmen and two sceptre-bearers on foot, and following the chariot 
 are three horsemen (fig. 72), perhaps two of the king’s sons 
 attended by a bearded domestic. JN’ext follows a sceptre-bearer on 
 foot, whom we take to be the keeper of the pleasure-grounds ;2 then 
 a groom holding the liorse of the king’s son in one hand, and in the 
 
 Ilosoa, ir. 13. 
 
 " Nelicmiah, ii. 8. 
 
174 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOYEEEUS. 
 
 otlier his whip and a hare ; and next (fig. 73) we have the king’s son 
 shooting at a target, while over head are several birds upon the wing, 
 
 Fig. 72. — THE king’s sons following the chase, pakt of preceding. 
 
 and one which has been shot by an arrow. Of the fragment that 
 remains there appears also to he a disc, in the middle of which it is 
 
 Fig. 73. — shooting at target. 
 
 easy to distinguish the figure of a lion in which arrows are implanted. 
 This may not have been the representation of a real lion, hut of a 
 target for the archers. The remaining portion of the division of the 
 frieze on this wall, represents two eunuchs hearing game (fig. 74). 
 
 The adjoining side of the chamber is entirely defaced until just 
 before arriving at the entrance. Two horsemen are seen galloping in 
 the midst of trees ; both are clothed in simple tunics fastened with 
 girdles ; they wear stockings made of rings of mail, and boots laced 
 up in front. The first has a lance, the second is flogging his horse 
 with a whip that has three lashes. The harness offers nothing 
 
KIIOHSABAD. — HALL OF HISTORICAL RECORDS. 
 
 175 
 
 remarkable. Some birds are seen flying tbrongb the trees ; and 
 judging from the two long feathers in their tails, they belong to the 
 
 family of ~katas or partridge, so common throughout the East. In 
 front of them we have a continuation of the forest, in the middle of 
 which are two men on foot, one of whom holds a hare and the other 
 a bird (fig. 75). Eurther on is seen a horse without a rider; on its 
 head there is a bird of prey, which seems, by the shortness of its 
 beak, to be a falcon. 
 
 Eeturning through chambers it. aiid Tin., we now visit 
 
 CHAMBER v.— THE HALL OF HISTORICAL RECORDS. 
 
 Entering from the Hall of Judgment (viii.) through the central 
 opening (r) we find each side of the passage of communication is 
 sculptured with a representation of the king followed by his chief 
 cup-bearer, walking into the chamber (v), and met at the threshold 
 by the Eab Signeen, the chief of the governors or one of the tziD'n, 
 
176 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOYEEEES. 
 
 Hakim, or wise men of tke court. On tke floor of tke passage is a 
 slab inscribed witb two columns of cuneatic. The chamber itself has 
 four openings, two with doors and two without, so that when the 
 leaves of the former were closed, the chamber became the sole line 
 of communication to the adjoining apartment (o). The smaller 
 entrance (s) on the left we shall designate the sacred door, because 
 it is guarded by winged divinities and their attendant magi. The 
 decorations on the walls are divided into two lines of illustration by 
 the text in the vernacular of Assyria, a text that we hope may soon 
 be as intelligible as are the accompanying illustrations in the universal 
 language of art. 
 
 Turning to the right so as to read the events in their proper 
 succession, or chronological order, we perceive that a large piece of 
 the historical record is wanting ; nothing in fact being left until we 
 pass the large door-way (e), and then, on the second slab of the 
 upper line (Botta, pi. 89), nought but an indication of some 
 chariots and horses which seem to belong to the king who is receiving 
 a procession of tribute-bearers (Botta, pi. 88) clad in richly em- 
 broidered short tunics, with sleeves terminating above the elbow. 
 They wear massive bracelets, a band round the waist, a short sword, 
 but neither boots nor shoes. Their beards are short, but the head- 
 dress cannot be discovered owing to the calcination of the upper part 
 of the slabs. We may presume that the frieze represents the 
 successful termination of the expedition against this people, and that 
 the former part of the campaign was to have been read on that 
 portion of the wall now defaced. The next slab aflbrds us nothing 
 but the feet of some figures, and then the advance of the regular 
 troops under cover of tall shields to the attack of a city. In advance 
 of these are those warriors who carry the round shield, and wear the 
 crested helmet resembling the Grreek in form, one of whom is, with 
 terrible barbarity, plunging his sword into the throat of a supplicant 
 (Botta, pi. 90). Almost the whole of the adjoining slab has 
 disappeared, excepting a tower of the city seen behind two men in 
 short tunics and oval shields, who seem determined to resist the 
 furious onset of a charioteer (fig. 7 6) . 
 
 The bas-relief being in a bad condition, it is difficult to make out 
 the details ; but it would seem that the vanquished are again difierent 
 from any we have as yet seen. They have a short beard, and no hair 
 visible upon the top of their head ; they are clothed in a tunic descend- 
 ing only to the middle of their thighs ; their legs are encased in short 
 boots ; their shields are of a pointed oval, and their sabres bent so as 
 to resemble a Timkish yatagan. One of these vanquished people is 
 
KHORSABAD. THE CHARGE. 
 
 177 
 
 under the horses’ feet, while another appears up in the air, through 
 faulty perspective ; a third is flying before the car ; lastly, two of 
 
 Fig. 76.— THE CHARGE. Botta, Plate 92. 
 
 them are standing face to face with the enemy, and protecting them 
 bodies with their shields, as if still wishing to defend themselves 
 resolutely with the help of their lances. 
 
 This brings us to the end of the room and to the angle of the 
 passage (o), on the sides of which the subject is continued (Botta, 
 pi. 100), the chariots of the great king being opposed by another body 
 of the same people, who are again seen routed by the regular cavalry 
 (Botta, pi. 99), and also by the chariots of the king, interspersed with 
 small detachments of cavalry (Botta, pi. 94) ; notwithstanding wliich 
 successive disasters, they continue to oppose on foot the progress of 
 the invader. We have now arrived at the small side entrance (s), 
 which w'e have called the “ sacred door ; ” on the jambs belonging to 
 the room is sculptured the figure of a magus, his right hand elevated, 
 as if reciting the incantation inscribed on the slab of the pavement, 
 and his left holding the trilobed plant. Between this small recess 
 and the entrance from the outer hall, the upper part of the slabs is 
 entirely calcined. Here then from the entrance (tj) whence we set 
 out, we begin to read the lower line of illustration. 
 
 On the first slab the representation of a fort upon a hill is indis- 
 tinctly traceable, and we have, then, nothing further till slab 21 at the 
 end of the room, when we have the attack of a city by some of the 
 regular troops, bowmen, under cover of a high curved shield. What is 
 left of the city Avails seems to indicate that they were accessible only 
 by scaling ladders, which some of the crested spearmen Avith round 
 shields are mounting under cover of the arrows of the naked bow- 
 men ; there is noAv an interval of a slab, followed by another fort 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 or city (Botta, pi. 97), situated on a hill, and also only accessible by 
 scaling ladders. This city is defended by men wearing turbans. The 
 subject of the next slab, 25, is misplaced in Botta in consequence of 
 a mistake in the title. It represents the attack of another side of the 
 same city by the crested spearmen. 
 
 Passing the door (e) we find a fortress of one range of towers 
 situated on a rocky hill ; the fort has been approached by a body 
 of the regular archers, who wear a breast-plate (Botta, pi. 86) over 
 a short tunic, and the pointed cap, and carry a round shield, with 
 zigzag decoration round the inner margin. The towers are defended 
 by men who use the spear. It is to be remarked that the 
 Assyrians have not set fire to the gates of this city, as appeared 
 to be their usual practice in attacking a fortified place. Behind 
 the bowmen is the general of the Assyrian army, who heads the 
 attack of the regular troops on this side the city; he wears a 
 breast-plate and long tunic, and is sheltered by a high shield, curving 
 over at the top, borne by a bearded man in a short tunic. Upon the 
 rocks on which the fort is built is a native contending with one of the 
 enemy bearing the round shield. 
 
 We next see that a troop of horse has been detached from the 
 main army to the attack of a very remarkable place built upon a pre- 
 cipitous rocky eminence on the sea coast (Botta, pi. 89),^ and that on 
 their march they encounter a body of the natives, among whom is an 
 African (Botta, pi. 88). The towers of the fort are defended by 
 spearmen, and all the people on the walls wear a hood, or cover their 
 
 heads with a part of their cloak (fig. 77). As usual, the attack is led by 
 
 * Tlie numbers that occur between ( ) refer to the number of the Plates in Botta’s great 
 work. 
 
KHOESABAD. CAPTIVES AXD SPOIL. 
 
 179 
 
 the crested warriors, who carry the spear and round shield, followed by 
 long-haired bowmen, and the military tactics displayed are worthy of 
 remark, the van discharging their arrows kneeling on one knee, while 
 the rear rank stand up so as not to interfere with the free action of the 
 line in advance. Though the place attacked is of small dimensions, it 
 is e’vddently of importance, as it forms the landing-place guarding the 
 pass to the interior of the country, and is besides contiguous to a 
 much larger place, of which the citadel, built on a detached hill behind 
 the tovTi, is of considerable extent. Two battering rams have been 
 propelled against the walls, up an inclined road built of hewn stone, 
 and between the besiegers and the castle are some cuneatic characters. 
 On the other side of the town the attack is conducted by the regular 
 troops, under the command of the eiuiuch, who draws liis bow from 
 behind the shelter of the long curved shield. In advance of the 
 hea^w-armed infantry on this side also of the town, is a troop of crested 
 spearmen. IN'earer the passage of commimication (o) is a group of 
 inhabitants of the last town, carried away captive, and guarded by a 
 bowman with pointed cap, and bearing a sceptre (Botta, pi. 92) . 
 
 Fig, 7S.— CAPTIVES AXD SPOIL. Botta, Plate 92. 
 
 Both men and women are tall, and wear the fringed haram, or blanket, 
 thrown over the head and left shoulder, exactly like that worn by the 
 Arabs at the present day. One of the women is carrying a small 
 girbeh, or water-skin, in her hand, and her feet, like those of the other 
 prisoners, are bound with sandals exactly similar to those seen in 
 Sennaar and Arabia. The sole is maintained in the middle by a band 
 fastened on each side of the foot to a strap that goes round it, passing 
 behind the heel ; another strap secui’es the anterior extremity of the 
 sole by passing between the toes. A second female, clothed in the 
 same manner, is seen carrying a naked child astride on her left 
 
180 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 shoulder, just as Arabian women do now. The child’s body is cer- 
 tainly naked, but it has a small hood : this is one of the reasons which 
 incline us to think that this head-dress did not form part of the robe, 
 but was merely placed above it. Before this woman is a eunuch with 
 a pointed helmet, raising his mace in his right hand. This eunuch 
 does not wear his usual civic attire, but is completely armed : the coat 
 of mail is seen on his shoulders, from one of which his quiver is sus- 
 pended, and he holds his bow in his left hand ; his legs are covered 
 with a tissue of close rings of mail, over which are his half-boots, laced 
 up in front. Three personages walk before the eunuch; they are 
 men belonging to the same nation as the women; their dress is 
 exactly the same, and their sex can only be distinguished by their 
 physiognomy and their beard : the latter is shorter than that of the 
 Assyrians ; the hair cannot be seen, as it is hidden by the hood. 
 ~We shall see these prisoners conducted into the presence of the king. 
 
 In front of this group, which is continued on the walls of the 
 o^Dening (o), is a chief of the same people, manacled and guarded by 
 one of the king’s officers. He is brought before the king, who 
 obviously commands his immediate execution (Botta, plate 100), 
 and the eunuch holds the beard or throat of his prisoner with one 
 hand, while with the other he draws his sword from the scabbard to 
 execute the order. The king is in his chariot, preceded by two 
 grooms, and, as he is not in the act of fighting, accompanied by the 
 servant carrying the parasol. The horses’ trappings offer nothing 
 new ; only as the details are in a good state of preservation, we have 
 a perfect view of the hook at the extremity of the yoke, to which 
 hook is attached the tassel that hangs upon the horses’ fiank ; it is 
 also evident that the bridle passed into a ring inside this hook, and, 
 after traversing it, divided into three thongs. 
 
 The two grooms, who are standing before the car, hold their arms 
 stretched out and lowered before them. Perhaps this attitude was 
 intended to intimate to the prisoner that he was to kneel down and 
 undergo his fate. The dress of these warriors is simple : they appear 
 to have merely a tunic tied by a girdle, but it is evident that, besides 
 this, they wear a piece of cloth wrapped round their loins ; otherwise 
 it would be impossible to account for the appearance of the fringe, 
 which hangs obliquely before and behind. 
 
 The eunuch is in his war costume, every detail of which can be 
 beautifully made out. He has on a pointed helmet ; a tunic fringed 
 at the bottom comes down to his knees, and his breast is covered 
 with a cuirass, formed of a tissue which is covered with regular row^s 
 of scales : both cuirass and tunic have fringe round the bottom. His 
 
KHOESABAD. — CHAMBEIl OF AUDIENCE. 
 
 181 
 
 legs are defended, not by chain-armour, but by a stocking covered 
 with imbricated scales ; over this defensive armour are boots laced in 
 front, and reaching up to the knee-pan. The unhappy prisoner 
 appears to raise his hands in a supplicating manner. Passing the 
 passage, we find the regular troops under the command of two 
 beardless officers, the Rabsaris and Eabshakeh of the king (Botta, 
 plate 99), advancing under cover of tall shields to the attack 
 of a well-fortified, isolated hill (Botta, plate 93), the inhabitants of 
 which wear caps and use the bow. Preceding the regular troops are 
 some of the naked bowmen, their long hair bound up by a fillet, and 
 in advance of them the crested warriors climb the rocks, and contend 
 with the people upon the walls, while on the farther side the fort is 
 attacked by a second party of bovmien. The successful termination 
 of the siege is intimated by some of the chiefs being brought by two 
 of the regular troops to the king, who, as on the former occasion, is 
 in his chariot: these people, however, do not wear the haram or 
 blanket, and their feet and legs are protected by closely fitting boots. 
 Proceeding past the “sacred door,” we come to the siege of a very 
 conspicuous place, assailed on both sides by the regular troops. A 
 battering ram has reached the walls by an inclined place of hewn 
 stones ; and immediately following this subject is the attack of 
 another strongly-built place erected on still higher rocks, but the 
 friezes are too much defaced to allow of any detailed description. 
 
 Quitting this chamber by the passage of communication (o) at the 
 end wall, we enter the Chamber of Audience. 
 
 CHAMBER VI.— THE CHAMBER OF AUDIENCE. 
 
 Walking over the inscribed slab of the passage (o), the sides of 
 which, as we have before seen, are decorated with a continuation of 
 the conquests recorded in the last chamber, we find the apartment we 
 have now entered has four openings, two of which are furnished with 
 doors. Turning to the right, we see upon the wall two short bearded 
 men (Botta, plate 103), each bearing two cups of simple form: they 
 are habited exactly like the one of which we give an engraving at 
 page 182, and are followed by two of the same race bringing sacks. 
 The rest of the wall is defaced until we reach a doorway (ii) ; and 
 then, in the space between the door and the corner of the room, is 
 another of the same people bearing a sack, and with his face directed 
 towards the corner, from which we conjecture that he accompanies 
 the group of five men sculptured on the adjoining wall (Botta, plate 
 106,) at the^ end of the chamber, the two foremost of whom carry 
 
182 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 cups and the three others sacks. The centre sack-hearer (fig. 79), 
 has his outer garment fastened hj a clasp (fig. 80), a peculiarity 
 
 of costume that leads to the surmise that 
 these people are from the coast of Cilicia, 
 and may be the people called Milyse, who 
 Herodotus tells us wore helmets of leather, 
 and who had their vests confined witli 
 clasps d Upon the wall between the 
 
 second corner and the passage of com- 
 munication (x) we have sixteen figures: 
 near the opening the king, attended by 
 his Cup-bearer and Selikdar, and before 
 him seven officers of his court, the first 
 three wanting the upper part of the figure, 
 but the fourth is a governor or «rnr?5, 
 Pachavatha or Pashaw, one who is set over 
 provinces annexed to the kingdom by 
 conquest ; the fifth is a eunuch, and then 
 another pashaw, or one of those called in 
 Daniel," achashdarpenaiya, that is to say, one of those 
 
 who has free access to the palace and is privileged to stand before 
 the king. Next comes a eunuch, and then 
 another governor or Hakim. These high 
 functionaries we suppose to have had the 
 administration of the principal province of the 
 empire, offices which at a subsequent period 
 were held by the three companions of the 
 prophet Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed- 
 nego, who were “ set over the affairs of the 
 province of Babylon,” (Dan. ii., 49,) probably 
 in obedience to an ancient custom. 
 
 After these dignitaries comes the chief 
 officer of tribute, with his insignia of office, the two wands, 
 introducing two Sultans of Medinets followed by two men. Each 
 carry two cups terminating in the head of a lion, and behind 
 them again two other men with the more ordinary form of 
 cup or tazza. Passing the entrance (x) we find the wall from 
 the opening to the corner occupied by nine figures, and from 
 the corner to the small door (v) at the end of the room by five 
 more, which properly belong to the same group. The subject is 
 nearly a duplicate of that we have just left, being the king attended 
 
 Fig. 79.— ONE OF THE MILY^ 
 FROM CILICIA. 
 
 rolyliym. Ixxrii. 
 
 2 Dan. i. 5. 
 
KHOESABAD. INNEE PEESEXCE CHAMBEE. 183 
 
 by his cup-bearer addressing the seven chief ofhcers of his household, 
 who stand before him in the order invariably observed : the remaining 
 figures are the deputy chief of tribute introducing two governors of 
 provmces, followed by two men carrying lion-headed drinking cups. 
 The small door leads into the Divining Chamber (ix) (see page 161 ), 
 and the sculptures on the jambs of the room we are describing are 
 occupied by two figures of sceptre-bearers. On the length of wall 
 between the corner and the central entrance (o) there are twelve 
 figures ; the king, his right hand elevated and his left carrying a full- 
 blown lotus and bud, is followed by his Cup-bearer and Selikdar ; and 
 in front are two persons of whom we are uncertain, owing to the 
 defacement of the slabs ; but following these is a eunuch, then a 
 governor, and then the deputy Tartan, who is introducing four of the 
 same tribute-bearers we have so often seen ; the first one bearing a 
 tray on which are rosette clasps, tw^o others also with trays containing 
 earrings, and the fourth two cups, thus completing the decorations of 
 this chamber. "We would pouit out to observation that the figure of 
 the king is three times repeated on the walls, twice as walking out 
 of the small divining chamber (ix), and once as coming out of the 
 chamber (xi), in each instance to receive tribute from the race of 
 people who wear the turban or cap ; the only exceptions to this head- 
 dress being two of the cup-bearers whose heads are bound with a 
 fillet. 
 
 We now return to the centre passage of communication (x), in 
 order to enter the Inner Chamber of Audience. 
 
 CHAMBER XI.— THE INNER PRESENCE CHAMBER. 
 
 Entering through the passage of communication (x) we are met on 
 each side by the four- winged divinity, Ilus, and his attendant magus ; 
 and turning to the right we meet seven figures between the entrance 
 and the corner. The first is a Sultan Medinet, whose insignia 
 indicate that he is governor of two towns ; then a Sultan, whose 
 badges of office are effaced, preceding two men, each carrying two 
 cups ; and again a governor of two towns, followed by two men 
 bearing sacks. This brings us to the corner, and to the end wall, 
 on which we find four men bearing sacks ; but they are proceeding in 
 a contrary direction to those last described, and evidently belong to 
 the long procession on the adjoining wall, of which little beside the 
 feet remain : of these, we recognise the king with his two attendants, 
 and before him the seven officers of his court. Tartan, and five tribute- 
 bearers. From the third corner to the small door (e) are the figures 
 
184 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 of two sceptre-bearers, and on one side of the recess of the door is 
 another sceptre-bearer, while on the answering recess stands a 
 beardless spearman. 
 
 This person we conceive to be one of the Teraaia^ or 
 
 porters, from his position at this important little doorw^aj, and as the 
 word teraania is derived from a Chaldee word signifying a gate, we 
 have little donbt it was the name by which this officer was designated 
 at the Assyrian court. 
 
 Trom the fourth corner to the entrance (x) are twelve figures ; the 
 king carrying the trilobed plant, followed by his cnp-bearer and an 
 armed spearman, probably the second door-keeper. Before the king 
 are seven of his officers, the last but one being the deputy-Tartan. 
 Having now arrived at the passage by which we entered, before 
 leaving this quarter of the palace we will pass through the small 
 doorway (e) and examine the chamber (xii) within. 
 
 CHAMBER XII.— THE PRIVATE COUNCIL CHAMBER. 
 
 Passing the armed Teraaia or door-keepers, we enter a small 
 apartment, 29 ft. 3 in. by 19 ft. 6 in., which, from the representations 
 upon the walls, we conjecture to have been the chamber where the 
 king held council with his officers before giving audience, and to 
 w^hich he probably retired while the procession of tribute-bearers, or 
 those to whom he gave audience, filed off. Upon the wall faciug the 
 entrance w^e see the king, attended by his cup-bearer, conversing with 
 his chief minister, behind whom, on the adjoming wall, stand seven 
 other officers, and two at the end between the corner and the door. 
 On tlie adjoming wall behind the cup-bearer are six other attendants. 
 It is to be remarked that the whole of the officers and attendants in 
 this room, excepting the Bab Signeen, are unarmed, and that they 
 are uniformly in the attitude of respect. We may suppose that they 
 are ranged on the walls in the order in which they preceded and 
 followed the king into the presence-chamber, where we have already 
 seen them in the same order occupying the entire space between the 
 passage x and the upper end of the room ; the lower end of the room, 
 beyond the opening, being apparently appropriated exclusively to the 
 tribute-bearers. 
 
 Keturning through the presence-chamber (xi) and the chamber of 
 audience (vi) to the hall of passage (v) we enter the next hall (ii), 
 the Banqueting Hall. 
 
 * Ezra, vii. 24. 
 
KHORSABAD. — BANQUETING HALL. 
 
 185 
 
 CHAMBER II.— THE BANQUETING HALL. 
 
 Placing ourselves in the central doorway (e) we find that this must 
 have been the door of entry, as on each side of ns is sculptured a full- 
 length portrait of the king, attended by his cup-bearer, walking into 
 the hall we are about to enter, and met by the Pah Signeen. Upon 
 surveying the hall w^e perceive that it contains six entrances, three 
 large and three small, aU closed by folding doors ; and that the walls 
 are decorated with two lines of illustration, divided by a band of 
 cnneatic. Turning to the right, we discover that the upper illustration, 
 as far as the corner, is a representation of a banqueting scene, the 
 details of which, as weU as the upper part of the slabs at the end of 
 the hall, are almost entirely obliterated until we arrive at the small 
 door (b) on the opposite side, in one recess of which we see the lower 
 jiart of the figures of some soldiers. All the sculptures, however, 
 from this point to the central door (e), are too much injured to 
 admit of description. The next two slabs we meet show the attack 
 of a city (fig. 81) (Botta, plate 70,) on a less elevated promontory on the 
 
 river’s bank than some seen in chamber v, and which is, therefore, 
 more accessible to the infantry who have advanced to the very foot of 
 the walls under cover of their tall shields. On the next three slabs 
 Ave can trace the successful termination of the siege in the circumstance 
 of some of the sheep-skin clad wurriors being brought before the king 
 in his chariot. We have now reached the second small door (g) on 
 
186 
 
 Is'IXEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 this side, in the recess of which, and on the wall beyond, only the 
 indication of figures can be discerned, till we arrive at the end of the 
 hall, when we see some prisoners in the sheep-skin outer garment, 
 short tunic, and hoots, escorted along the hanks of a stream : the 
 foremost is carrying a girhah, or water skin, which had probably been 
 used in crossing the river. Entering the recess of the gate (h) 
 leading into the hall of audience, we find a representation (fig. 82) 
 of the attack of a city built on a very precipitous headland, backed by a 
 
 Fig. 82. — ATTACK OF A CITY OF THE SHEEP-SKIN CLAD RACE. Botta, Plate 77. 
 
 conspicuous hill. The king’s spearmen, who have gained the walls by 
 traversing the rocky promontory, are supported in their onset by the 
 mercenaries who use the bow, wear a short sword, and are naked 
 to the waist, their only habiliment being a short kilt. The opposite 
 w'alls of the city are attacked by the regular troops, and a battering 
 ram, which has been propelled up a well-constructed causeway, up to 
 the very walls where its operations are beginning to take effect. 
 Behind is the king’s general, perhaps his cup-bearer, accompanied by 
 his shield-bearer, both of whom have advanced to within bow-shot of 
 the walls. The inhabitants of both the upper and lower city, people 
 wearing the sheep-skin and armed with spears and square wicker 
 shields, but using neither bows nor sw^ords, are defending themselves 
 manfully from the assault of the king’s forces. 
 
 Placing ourselves upon the cuneatic slab in the doorway (h), in the 
 centre of the end wall of the hall, we see the representation of a large 
 vase standing upon the ground, that evidently, from its dimensions, 
 contained royal wine in abundance, according to the state of the 
 king.” ^ Into this vase two eunuchs are dipping drinking cups 
 terminating in the head of a lion. (See fig. 83.) 
 
 ^ Estlier i. 7. 
 
KHOP.SABAD. WI^'E-VASE AND DPINKING CEPS. 
 
 187 
 
 These cups resemble the terra cotta drinking cups of the Greeks 
 (fig. 85) in so far as they also terminate in the head of an animal, but Ts e 
 
 Fig. 83.— FEAST.— DEixKiNG CEPS AXD -WINE-VASE. Botta, Plate 76. 
 
 infer from the construction of the handle of the Assyrian cups (fig. 86), 
 with a hinge-like articulation to the bowl, which could not be effective 
 except in metal, and from their being used at the king’s table, and 
 likewise from the fact of their being brought as tribute, that they 
 were made of gold, like those used at the royal feast given by King 
 Ahasuerus.^ 
 
 Fig. S4. — ASSYRIAN CUP. Fig. 85.— GREEK CUP. 
 
 Two eunuchs, with replenished cups, advance into the room, 
 preceded by another beardless attendant in the attitude of respect, 
 carrving the muiasha or fan. In advance of these are three short- 
 bearded performers on the lyre ushered into the great chamber by 
 two eunuchs. The musicians are clad in a short tunic held fast by 
 a girdle, and their hair is drawn back and terminates above the 
 shoulders, in a single row of curls. They proceed with measured 
 step, smging and twanging their lyres, which are suspended by a 
 
 1 Esther, i. 7. 
 
188 In’ineveh and its discoverers. 
 
 broad band passing over the right shoulder. The instrument itself 
 (fig. 86) somewhat resembles the Greek lyre : it has a square body 
 and upright sides, the latter being connected by a 
 cross bar, to which are fixed strings that seem to 
 have been rather numerous, for we can count eight 
 at least, and in the part that is corroded away 
 there is room for three or four more. Exactly 
 similar instruments are now seen in JSlubia and 
 Dongola; and the mode of playing is that the 
 right hand holds a short plectrum to strike the 
 intervals, while the left is used to stop and twang the cords. 
 
 Next (fig. 87) are four bearded sceptre-bearers, in short tunics, hold- 
 ing up their drinking cups in the act of responding to the toast, or of 
 pledging each other. Between the sceptre-bearers is one of the dishes 
 with the food in it, placed upon the floor, where it was customary to 
 
 Fig. 87. — GUESTS AT THE TABLE— THE TOAST. Botta, Plates 64 and 65. 
 
 deposit them as they were brought in, or removed from the banqueting 
 hall : then follow seven tables with legs terminating in lions’ claws 
 and apparently furnished with a cloth, on which the viands are placed. 
 Eour guests are at each table, sitting upon high seats richly carved 
 and ornamented with bulls’ heads : the feet are like cones formed of 
 rows of imbricated scales or of gradually decreasing rings. An eunuch 
 stands behind each seat, to fan and wait upon the guests,^ and they, 
 as well as the convivialists, are attired in the long robe and fringed 
 scarf. 
 
 At the feast Ahasuerus made unto all the people that were 
 present in Shushan, the seats were of gold and silver, and it would 
 appear from the word used to express the kind of seat, miOD, matout, 
 
 ^ Esther i. 8. 
 
KHORSABAD. — HIGH SEATS. 
 
 189 
 
 a eoucli, that it was to recline on. Whether such seats were 
 used on that particular occasion oiilj, or whether the custom of 
 reclining at meals, as we see represented in Roman bassi-rilievi, had 
 at that time come into use, is very doubtful ; but it is quite certain, 
 from Egyptian and other sources than the present example, that the 
 more ancient mode was to sit at meals in the way we here see, and on 
 seats without backs. The fate of the prophet Eli also iUustrates this 
 practice of using seats without backs, and “ he fell from off the seat 
 backward by the side of the gate, and his neck brake, and he died.” ^ 
 In the friezes before us the attitude of all the guests is similar, the 
 left hand resting on the knee or on the bull’s head at the end of 
 the bar of the seat, while the right hand is raised in the act of 
 drinking the king’s health or in pledging those on the opposite side 
 of the table. (Botta, plate 165.) Botta found the head of a bull in 
 bronze, which might have belonged to one of tliese seats. The 
 tables of guests terminate the scene, and it seems to us not 
 improbable that every particular delineated upon the walls had been 
 realised within them. Thus it was in this chamber “ the harp and 
 viol were in their feasts” in the days of their prosperity, that the 
 original of the vdne-vase of the king once stood within the very 
 recess upon which we have now but the representation ; that the 
 tables and seats art has presented to view, once in substance occupied 
 the centre of this hall ; and that it was here, in this very chamber of 
 his palace, that the great king was wont to feast the “ nobles and 
 princes of the provinces ” “ on his return from his conquests. 
 
 Having now accompbshed the circuit of the apartment and returned 
 to the doorway (e) whence we started, we will begin tlie examination 
 of the lower line of illustration, as we conceive it was intended to 
 be read so that the events of the campaign should follow each other 
 in chronological succession. 
 
 In the first frieze we see the king, preceded by his standard bearer 
 and accompanied by his other officers in war chariots, pursuing a 
 troop of the cavaby of his determined enemies, the sheep-skin clad 
 race, who had advanced to meet the invader, but who are routed and 
 overthrown before they can gain the protection of a large and 
 important city built on the shore of a lake or on the banks of a 
 stream. The citadel, whicli is built on a fertile hill at the back of the 
 town, is surrounded by a wall, and at one part of the sloping side of 
 the hiU is rendered inaccessible by a high wall from its base : the 
 town itself is fortified by high embattled walls flanived by towers, 
 which are pierced with square windows ; the doors, on the contrary. 
 
 1 Sam. iv. 18. 
 
 2 Esther, i. 3. 
 
190 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 are evidently arched — a fact worthy of attention. There is a short 
 inscription on the bottom of the hill on which stands the citadel. 
 (Eig. 88.) 
 
 Fig. 83.— ASSAULT OF A CITY AND IMPALEMENT OF PEISONEES OUTSIDE THE WALLS. 
 
 Botta, Plate 55. 
 
 Eourteen of the inhabitants, perhaps some of the cavalry which had 
 attempted to arrest the advance of the king, are impaled in front of 
 the city’s walls. Ereqnent allusion is made in the Sacred Books to 
 the enormities and cruelties committed by the Assyrians : we know 
 from these authentic records and from profane history that the 
 dreadful punishment of impalement was no uncommon practice. 
 Darius impaled 3000 of the chief nobility of Babylon,^ and this cruel 
 death is not nnnsnal in Persia and Turkey even in our own time. In 
 the scene before us we find scaling ladders placed at different j^arts of 
 the walls, and some of the bold crested mercenaries have already 
 gained the second wall, seemingly without resistance. To the left, 
 are seen three of them ascending one after the other. In their right 
 hand they hold a lance, and in their left a large round shield, and 
 which appears covered with regidarly-disposed plates. They also wear 
 a sword suspended to a belt, crossed on the breast by another, so 
 as to resemble exactly the belts of modern soldiers. 
 
 The people within the walls have fled to the upper town and 
 citadel, wdiich is in flames, painted red, and the men are seen on 
 the towers in attitudes expressive of the greatest consternation and 
 distress. One man, wounded by an arrow, falls from the walls into 
 the valley below, while others standing on the hill raise their hands 
 in all the agony of despair. On the opposite side of the city the 
 regular troops of the king have advanced under cover of the tall 
 shields. 
 
 ^ Herodotus, Thalia, clix. 
 
KHORSABAD. — REGISTERING THE HEADS OF THE SLAIN. 191 
 
 The next scene, sculptured on the wall at the end of this hall, 
 represents the termination of the first part of the campaign against 
 these people. The king in his chariot, attended by his umbrella- 
 bearer and charioteer, stops to question some prisoners who are 
 brought to him and to command a register to be made of their 
 number, and of the number of the slain whose heads are piled up in 
 a heap before him.^ The custom of cutting off the heads of the 
 slain still prevails in eastern warfare, and rewards are given to the 
 soldier who can bring two heads from the field of battle, the numbers 
 of the killed being ascertained by counting the heaps that are brought. 
 The Mohammedans, who should always be ready to take the field 
 against the enemies of their faith, leave a tuft of hair on the top of 
 their heads in case they should die in battle, and consequently have 
 their heads cut off, in order that the tuft might be used as a handle 
 rather than the beard or mouth, as the touching these by the infidel 
 woidd defile the dead body. This subject brings us to the small door 
 (c) in the end wall, in the recess of which we see the escort of 
 cavalry which accompanies the king. The succeeding friezes are all 
 defaced until we arrive at the small side door (b), where we 
 distinguish, on both sides of the recess, the king’s cavalry following 
 his chariot, which appears on the first slab after passing the door, but 
 we have then nothing legible until the central opening (r) is j>assed. 
 
 "VYe now reach a very interesting piece of sculpture, showing the 
 speaking intelligibility of these representations. The king’s troops, 
 chiefly the light-armed infantry, have arrived at a well-built city on a 
 hill, defended by a double wall flanked by towers. The vicinity of 
 the city is distinguished by a remarkable irregularity of surface : hills 
 of various shapes rise abruptly from the plain ; one excessively steep 
 hill is left unoccupied, but the next, which is more accessible, is 
 occupied by the heavy armed troops of the king, while in advance, in 
 the rocky plain, the crested warriors are attacking the upper wall, 
 which is well defended by the square shield spearmen ; on the 
 lower battlements the inhabitants, seeing the soldiers setting fire to 
 the gates, and the inevitable ruin about to befal the city, are earnestly 
 entreating for mercy. The same hilly country continues on the 
 further side of the city, but in a plain we meet the light-armed 
 crested spearmen, as weU as the naked bo^vmen, some of whom are 
 stationed on a conical hill discharging their arrows at the inhabitants 
 upon the walls. The next two slabs are defaced, but on the third we 
 see the regular troops advancing under cover of both kinds of high 
 shields — those which appear to be made of rushes, the smaller ends of 
 
 1 2 Kings, X. 8. 
 
192 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEUEES. 
 
 whicti are collected together in a sheath and bend over, while the 
 lower are hound together by a similar contrivance. We have now 
 arrived at the recess of the second small side door (n), in which we 
 see some captives of the sheep-skin clad people, among whom is a 
 woman and child, the foremost of the troop carrying a water-skin 
 (Botta, plate 69), and the whole urged forward by one of the regular 
 troop, a bowman wearing a pointed cap. 
 
 The next scene (fig. 89) gives ns the capture of that remarkable city, 
 surrounded by three lines of fortification rising one above the other. 
 On the side that first comes into view, the people are in the utmost 
 distress, for the flames, shaped like stag’s horns, are rising out of the 
 towers of the citadel ; and the light-armed besiegers who have passed 
 the tombs and suburbs of the place, and gained the hill on which the 
 city is built, are setting fire to its gates. 
 
 On the opposite side the crested warriors, guarded by their round 
 shields, are advancing to the attack, and behind them, in the recess 
 of the door (h) at this end of the hall, we see the chariot of the com- 
 mander of the regular forces, who, having alighted, is discharging his 
 arrows under cover of his shield-bearer. Some cuneatic characters 
 are engraved upon the upper walls of the city. 
 
 Passing on, we arrive at a rocky eminence, on which is a fort with 
 eight circular towers, without windows, occupying the whole top of 
 the hill. (Fig. 90.) 
 
 The fort has evidently been set on fire, for the flames are bursting 
 from every tower, and upon the rocks lie, entirely despoiled, both the 
 dying and the dead; while three bearded warriors, wearing the 
 pointed helmet, are furiously driving their chariot in pursuit of the 
 
KHORSABAD. ClllCULAR HEADED TABLET. 
 
 193 
 
 remnant of the inhabitants, who are flying over a rocky plain, strewn 
 with headless bodies ; and farther on the pursuit is continued by a 
 
 detachment of cavalry, who carry both the bow and spear (Bot., pi. 67), 
 the latter weapon only being used in the present pursuit. 
 
 The next slab, (66, Botta) exhibits the king in his chariot, driving 
 furiously, and discharging his arrows under cover of his bearded 
 shield-bearer, and preceded by the regular cavalry. The people, who 
 from the towers of the city descry his furious driving,^ and the terrible 
 slaughter his troops are making among those who are sent to oppose 
 them, are in the greatest consternation ; but, the city being strongly 
 fortified by nature, having on one side a deep ravine which forbids 
 approach, the besieged still hold out, untd in the next scene we have 
 the king in his chariot dictating terms to them by the mouth of a 
 gigantic warrior. 
 
 On the next slab (fig. 91) is seen the continuation of the hiU strewed 
 with dead bodies, and the fortress surmounting it : the fortress has but 
 one row of towers, on which the besieged are beheld in attitudes of 
 despair. In this city the king has at some former period set up one 
 of those circular-headed tablets, such as have been found at Nahr el 
 Kelb (fig. 32, p. 126), Cyprus, and elsewhere, and which were 
 apparently chronicles or records of conquests, like those preserved in 
 the temples of Byzantium.^ From this circumstance we presume the 
 people to have been a rebellious people, and to have more than once 
 troubled the Assyrian monarchy, particularly as we find repeated 
 representations of their chiefs in the haUs of judgment, under- 
 going the severe punishment of rebellion, each representation, as 
 we imagine, recording the punishment of a repetition of the crime. 
 
 Descending into the country, we arrive at an attack made on 
 another considerable place (fig. 92) situated on an eminence, with an 
 
 ^ 2 Kings, ix. 20. 2 Herodotus, Mclp. l:c:xvii. 
 
 O 
 
19i 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEUEllS. 
 
 oblique road up to its gate. The city has, first, one bounding- wall, which 
 is battlemented ; and, next, another, which is fortified with towers, 
 
 Fig. 91.— PART OF BESIEGED CITY, SHOWING CIRCULAR-HEADED TABLET. Botta, Plate 66. 
 
 above whose summit appear two or three flat-roofed houses. A few 
 of the besieged still defend themselves with their lances, and cover 
 
 their bodies with square shields ; the surface of which is reticulated, 
 most probably to represent metallic plates. Others of the besieged, 
 placed upon the lower walls, appear already to despair of the defence. 
 The costume of these individuals appears to consist merely of a simple 
 tunic, scooped out between the clavicles. Their hair is arranged 
 almost in the same manner as that of the Assyrians, but it is simply 
 girt with a red band ; it is also shorter, and does not fall upon the 
 shoulders : the beard is short and curled. A few corpses are stretched 
 on the flanks of the hill on which the place is built. 
 
 Amoug the besiegers there are two archers, all the upper portion 
 
KHOHSABAD. — SIEGE. 
 
 195 
 
 of whose bodies, as well as their legs, is bare ; and they have only 
 their waist covered with a piece of fringed cloth, which is very 
 evidently wrapped round their body, and held in its place by a 
 large girdle ; the sword is attached to a narrow baldric, passing 
 over the right shoulder, and traversing the breast, which is 
 besides crossed by a cord, of which it is impossible to divine the use ; 
 the bow and the wood of the arrows are painted red ; the iron is 
 painted blue. The beard of these two archers is, as we have before 
 observed, shorter than that of the Assyrians, and simply curled ; they 
 no doubt represent auxiliary troops. Before them, on the contrary, 
 is a kneeling warrior, who has a casque with a curved crest, and 
 furnished with a flap which covers the ears. Other soldiers, repre- 
 sented smaller, are kneeling near the gates, and covering themselves 
 ’vvith their shields, while they try to set the place on fire by means of 
 torches ; indeed, the flames, which are painted red, are very plainly 
 perceived beginning to consume the gates. Notwithstanding the 
 vigour of the attack, and the firing of the gates, the besieged oflfer a 
 determined resistance, both from the walls of the city, and of the 
 citadel ; but ’within the lower town the inhabitants manifest the 
 greatest consternation at seeing the gates on fire. 
 
 The king himself does not appear to be present at this siege, which 
 is conducted by his chief eunuch, who advances under cover of the 
 great moveable breast- work (fig. 93). Farther on we perceive the 
 
 Fig. 93. -BOWMEx cuARGixG uxDEK COVER OF MOVEABLE breast-woek. Botta, Plate 99. 
 
 successive ranks or stages of advance which the regular troops have 
 made, under the protection of the tall moveable breast-work, each 
 division being commanded by a beardless officer. 
 
 As this concludes our second circuit of the banqueting-hall, before 
 leaving the main body of the palace, we will enter the small door- 
 way (c), at the lower end of the room. 
 
 o 2 
 
196 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 CHAMBER III.— RETIRING CHAMBER. 
 
 Upon finding ourselves witliin this chamber, we perceive that it has 
 two entrances, both furnished with folding-doors, — one opening con- 
 necting it with the Chamber of Judgment, (iv.,) and the other, by 
 which we entered, connecting it with the banqueting-hall just 
 described. 
 
 This room, like the one we have left, was divided into two lines of 
 illustration, by a band of cuneatic, the remains of which, with the 
 figure of a warrior, are still visible in the recess of the door- way ; and 
 farther within the chamber the only fragment now existing is the 
 subject we have engraved beneath (fig. 94) . 
 
 Fig. 94. — CITY ON A HEIGHT, NEAR A CASTELLATED HILL FROM WHICH FLOWS 
 A STREAM. Botta, Plate 78. 
 
 The sculpture represents a fortified city, built upon a considerable 
 elevation, opposite to which is a still higher craggy hill, surmounted by a 
 castellated tower, from the base of which a narrow stream flows down 
 into the vaUey that separates the two hills. It is especially to be 
 observed that olive trees are growing upon both the hills, but more 
 particularly on the one upon the summit of which is the tower ; and 
 that on the hiU of the city is a walk, or road, about half-way up, below 
 which, and at the side of the stream, is a row of tombs, or inferior 
 houses. The relative situations of these objects exactly resembles the 
 position of similar objects visible in approaching Jerusalem from the 
 east. On our left we have Mount Moriah and the high wall of the 
 Temple ; at our feet the Brook Kedron, and the tombs of the Valley of 
 Jehoshaphat, or some inferior buildings at the base of Mount Moriah; 
 
KHOESi^BAD. THE INNEE COURT. 
 
 197 
 
 and, on onr right, the Mount of Olives. The chief objection to this 
 interpretation of the scene is the circumstance of the stream taking 
 its rise in the Mount of Olives, — a topographical inaccuracy, how- 
 ever, that might easily be pardoned in the Assyrian artist, if time and 
 the Arabs had but spared us the other friezes to assist us in interpret- 
 ing this relievo, and the other significant decorations of the chamber. 
 
 We will now return into the Banquetmg Hall, and proceed through 
 the central door- way (e) into the inner court (l). 
 
 THE INNER COURT (L). 
 
 Passing through the central opening (e) of the banqueting-hall, we 
 find, from the winged bulls at the jambs, that it is an external door- 
 way leading into an open court. In the recess formed at each side 
 by the projection of the bulls, are three small figures, one above the 
 other, probably the figures of priests ; and, on the side of the projec- 
 tion, a representation of the winged man with the eagle’s head, and 
 wearing only the short sacerdotal tunic, his position and attributes 
 being exactly similar to those already described. Upon turning to 
 examine the entire facade, we find that instead of the bulls placed 
 back to back on each side of the central opening, as in the King’s 
 Court (n), their places are supplied by a representation of the king 
 vnlking out of the door, followed by his attendant Kabsaris and 
 Selikdar, and met on the right by the Kab Signeen, with whom, as 
 usual, he is in conversation. The whole of these figures are in high 
 preservation, retaining colour upon the sandals, when found ; and they 
 have been admirably engraved in Plates 13 and II of Botta’s great 
 work. In our collection of the British Museum we have a precisely 
 similar figure of the king and his chief officer, brought by Mr. Hector, 
 from Khorsabad. In each case the king carries in his right hand a 
 stafi*, which was painted red. Herodotus^ and Strabo^ inform us that 
 the Babylonians bore in their hands a staff, ornamented at the head 
 with some particular figmes, as that of an apple, a rose, a lily, an 
 eagle, &c. ; nor v,*as it lawful for them to appear abroad without one 
 of these staves. In the Assyrian sculptures the staff is entirely 
 unadorned, being simply a long stick painted red ; and it is never 
 carried by any one excepting the great king himself. Behind the 
 Bab Signeen are two eunuchs, making in all a group of six figures, 
 like that at page 139, which completes this side on the right as far as 
 the projection of the central entrance extends. On the side of the 
 projection is a beardless attendant, and on the receding wall bej^ond 
 
 Herodotus, Clio, c. cxv. 
 
 ^ Stralx), lib, xYi, 
 
198 
 
 NmEVEH AND ITS DISCOTEEERS. 
 
 are two others, the last of whom holds up his left hand, as if com- 
 manding those who follow him to advance. Continuing our course, 
 round the recess of the small door (o), which, as far as the leaves, 
 belongs to the court, we find on each jamb the figure of a winged man, 
 wdth the eagle’s head, followed by a magus with the tri-lobed plant, 
 advancing to meet those about to enter the saloon, or chamber (ii.) The 
 dress of this and other eagle-headed divinities at Khorsabad is invariably 
 the short tunic, and round the neck a pomegranate attached to a fillet. 
 The remaining piece of wall to the corner of the court contains ten 
 figures : first, two beardless men carrying each two cups, the foremost 
 of simple form, the other the lion-headed vessels ; and immediately 
 following are two others, carrying on their shoulders a car, or rather 
 arm-chair, placed upon two wheels, to be drawn by men, in which the 
 king was wheeled over any difiicult mountain-pass, or about the 
 grounds attached to the palace (fig. 95). The following is the manner in 
 
 which this sort of carriage is constructed : — The back is straight, and 
 rises above the arm, which seems round, and is bent in such a manner 
 as to join the anterior leg, which is square. Between the arm and 
 the seat there are three little bearded figures, wearing a sort of tiara, 
 garnished at the side with double bulls’ horns. Between the seat and 
 a cross-bar w^hich connects the back leg with the front one, is the little 
 figure of a horse richly caparisoned, who seems to push forward with 
 his chest the leg against which he leans. The bar on which he stands 
 is covered with ornaments Te^QmhYmgflew'-de-lis, placed base to base, 
 and thus connected by a ligature ; and lastly, the legs terminate in 
 a conical mass formed of rows of scales, like those of a fir-cone, and 
 becoming smaller as they near the point. 
 
 It is difiicult to say how' this chair is placed upon the carriage. It 
 
KHORSABAD.— SEAT OE JUDGMENT. 
 
 199 
 
 is plain that the hack legs may have been placed upon the axle-tree, 
 but the front leg appears to be borne by the pole ; this, however, is 
 impossible, since the pole was a simple one, and necessarily fixed in 
 the middle of the axle-tree. 
 
 The wheels have eight thin spokes, but the tire is on the contrary, 
 very thick. To judge by the size of the eunuchs who carry them, 
 these seats must have been made to contain only one person. As for 
 the pole, it is at first straight, but afterwards curved and terminated, 
 on a level with the arm of the chair, in a horse’s head, as much 
 ornamented as that of the horse placed under the seat. 
 
 ToUowing these are two others, carrying an arm-chair, or throne, or 
 seat of judgment, in which the king sat at the gate (fig. 96). A high 
 
 seat, called Kursi, exactly like this, (excepting in tlie decorations, any 
 representation of the human form being forbidden by the Koran,) is to 
 be found in the court-yard of all respectable houses in Cairo, where the 
 master sits to give judgment in domestic affairs. These seats are 
 never wanting in the court-yard of the houses of Sheikhs, of heads of 
 tribes, or of persons in authority, wdience judgment is delivered on 
 matters brought by any inhabitants of the district, or by any individuals 
 of the tribe over w^hich the master of the house presides. The seat is 
 placed in some shady part of the court, against a wall or column, exactly 
 as described in Scripture ; ^ and in some houses it is converted into a 
 high sofa, continued the wdiole length of one side of the court.^ In the 
 example before us, the back is not much raised, and is surmounted 
 by a bearded figure, whose costume is similar to that of the personages 
 we shall describe by-and-by. The head of this figure is covered witli 
 a tiara, surmounted by a double pair of bulls’ horns, or crescent, in the 
 middle of wdiich is perceived the usual fleur-de-lis. Tour similar 
 
 ^ 1 Sain. 1. 9. 
 
 * 1 Sam. XX. 25. 
 
2C0 
 
 IS^INEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 figures support on tlieir heads the arm of the throne, which is Yery 
 low ; they seem to walk with their right hands raised. Lastly, two 
 other personages, standing on a thick transversal har, appear to hear 
 the bottom of the throne on their raised arms and open hands. They 
 are clothed like those preceding, hut they have no tiara, and their 
 heads are encircled by a diadem or band, ornamented with rosettes. 
 A little lower, another transverse bar is sculptured with double 
 volutes, united back to back by ligatures. 
 
 The absence of the sword is the only peculiarity in the costume of 
 the eunuchs who carry the throne ; the rings on their arms are simple 
 spiral stems, and the bracelets on their wrists are also simple rings. 
 
 Other eunuchs succeed them, carrying an altar, as we presume, 
 from its basin-shaped top, and from its resemblance to one represented 
 in the sculptures of the isolated chamber (xiv.,) in the king’s 
 court (n). The legs are terminated below by strong lions’ paws, and 
 seem placed on a plate which is itself supported by cones covered 
 with imbricated scales, and resembling fir-apples. A strong bar joins 
 the legs above the terminal lions’ paws. On this bar there are two 
 bearded figures, furnished with tiaras ornamented with horns and 
 surmounted w\t\\ fleurs-de-lis ; they are turned towards one another, 
 and their right hands are raised above their heads, to support the 
 rounded under part of the table. These two figures are separated by 
 a round fluted leg, which is, from time to time, encircled by rings 
 ornamented by a row of scales of the fir-apple. This leg extends from 
 the centre of the upper plate to the lower. 
 
 Next follow two bearded men, carrying a heavy chariot. These 
 athletic muscular men are such as are intended to be represented by 
 the word {gihorm), mighty men,^ who were commanded by 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to 
 cast them into the burning fiery furnace. These men, as we are 
 informed, were selected out of the army, not for this particular occa- 
 sion only, as there could not have been any necessity to employ the 
 strongest and most gigantic men to bind the innocent and helpless ; 
 but, as the sculptures teach us, such gigantic or muscular men 
 were always in attendance on the person of the king, or in the courts 
 of the palace, in readiness to execute his special commands. It is still 
 the custom, not only in the East, but also in Europe, to select men of 
 gigantic proportions, as porters and servants in the palaces of kings 
 and nobles. The dress of these men differs materially from that worn 
 by the other attendants. They appear to have a tunic falling to their 
 knee-pans, with short sleeves ; an ample girdle encompasses their loins ; 
 
 Daniel, iii. 20. 
 
KHORSABAD. BRACELETS^ EARRINGS, ETC. 
 
 201 
 
 and a piece of fringed clotli is perceived hanging between their legs. 
 Such is the appearance presented: but, as it is very difficult to 
 conceive what this fringe can be, if the costume is reduced to so great 
 a degree of simplicity, it would seem that wbat appears to be the 
 bottom of the tunic is, in truth, the fringed end of a piece of cloth 
 twisted round the loins, and retained in this position by the girdle. 
 It can be seen, in fact, that the fringes hang dovTi from a similar 
 edging to that of the bottom of the tunic, — that is to say, one formed 
 of rosettes in squares. It is even possible for us to suppose that this 
 supplementary piece of clothing is placed under the tunic, as is still 
 the case, at the present time, in Yemen, where the inhabitants wear 
 under their shirt a long napkin thrown around their loins ; the legs 
 and feet are bare. 
 
 The bracelets are very simple ; on the arm they consist of a spiral 
 stem ; and on the v^nist, of rings without any ornament. The earrings 
 have a stem terminated by a small cone. The sword, the hilt of which 
 is decorated with lions’ jaws, is hung on a large baldric, ornamented 
 with three rows of pearls, the middle row of Avhich is broken by four 
 plates of similar globules. The hair, as usual, is collected in a mass 
 of curls upon the shoulders. The beard is arranged like that of the 
 king, except that the terminal tresses are shorter, and have only two 
 horizontal rows of curls. 
 
 The car which is carried by these two individuals is, unfortunately, 
 mutilated, and the ornaments which formerly decorated it are no 
 longer distinguishable. The body of the car is square, strengthened 
 in front by a strong piece, from the bottom of which the pole rises 
 obliquely, then forms an angle, and becomes perpendicular fo the 
 body. From the top of the anterior piece there descends a shaft 
 which joins obliquely at the angle made by the pole, which is 
 straight for the rest of its length. 
 
 The yoke, which is very much twisted, is straight in the middle 
 where it joins the pole ; it then presents on each side two semicircles, 
 each separated by a straight portion ; and, lastly, at each extremity 
 there is a hook turned the opposite way to the semicircles. Accord- 
 ing to this arrangement, it is allowable to suppose that there was, 
 under the yoke room for four horses, one under each semicircle ; and 
 this appears the more probable, as the hollows seem to be furnished 
 with a pad ; in this case, the half-rings which appear to close them, 
 would represent the thongs which passed under the neck of the 
 animal to support the yoke. As for the wheels, they have eight thin 
 spokes, very broad tire, and appear larger in proportion than those of 
 the arm-chairs already described. 
 
202 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 The figures upon the adjoining wall, of which we are now about to 
 speak, follow the preceding ones, and like them appear to he bringing 
 presents to the king. 
 
 Eirst (fig. 97) we have a bearded personage leading four horses ; 
 probably the four horses of the quadriga, borne on the shoulders of the 
 Griborin that preceded. He is dressed like the preceding ones, with 
 the exception of his tunic, which is simpler, and without embroidery 
 
 Fig. 97.— SERVANTS OF THE KING WITH HORSES, TABLES, AND VASES. 
 
 Botta, Plates 21, 22, 23. 
 
 on the sleeves. He is evidently one of the royal grooms, now deno- 
 minated Sais, derived from the Hebrew word for a horse. 
 
 The four horses are placed very evenly abreast, their heads and legs 
 being all in a straight line, and in the same position, in the manner 
 seen on ancient medals. By a peculiarity, difficult to account for, 
 on the part of their sculptors, who have not spared their work, the four 
 heads are distinctly seen, but there is only one breast, and the number 
 of the legs is but eight. Eurther, it is impossible to understand the 
 position of the individual who is leading the horses. His right hand 
 holds the bridle on the right side of the neck of the first horse, and yet 
 his body is, at the least, on the left side of the second horse, since his 
 legs are partly hidden by those of the animals. It cannot be supposed 
 this is an error : conseqnently, we must conclude that this manner of 
 representing such subjects was conventional. 
 
 The caparisons of the horses are extremely rich ; over the chest 
 passes a band, fixed to the withers, with a double row of tassels, which 
 appears to be terminated by small beads hanging from it. Another 
 embroidered band comes from the top of the head, and supports 
 under the jaws a tassel formed of three tufts placed one above the 
 other, and terminated also with beads. The head carries a plume, 
 
KHOESABAD. — EUNUCHS^ CUP-BEAEERS, ETC. 
 
 203 
 
 likewise of three tufts, on the top of which is a globule. The bridle 
 appears to be formed of the same pieces as ours. The head-stall is 
 trimmed with rosettes ; a thick band, formed of imbricated scales, 
 passes over the eyes, and, where it joins the head-stall, termi- 
 nates in a small double-tufted tassel. The leather strap which 
 supports the bit, and that which passes over the nose, are orna- 
 mented with rosettes ; as for the bit itself, it is fastened to the 
 bridle by three branches forming the radii of an arc. The tail of the 
 horse, which is very long, is tied up in the middle by a broad strap. 
 
 We then arrive at a small door, the jambs of which are entii’ely 
 ruined, but before it were the two holes for the Teraphim, and on 
 the left side was a strong stone ring let into the ground. Passing 
 the door, we see the figure of one of the king’s cup-bearers, carrying 
 a high vase, which he supports wdth one hand, while with the other 
 he covers up the opening. After him came two eunuchs, in their 
 ordinary dress, carrying a long table. The bracelets on the wrists of 
 these personages are, like those on the arms, formed of wire trans- 
 versely bound together. The table they are carrying is flat at top, 
 and is ornamented with lions’ heads at the angles. Paws of the same 
 animal terminate the legs, which are square, and marked transversely 
 with four row^s of triple grooves. These legs are connected by a bar, 
 on which are sculptured double volutes, placed back to back, and 
 attached to each other by bands with vertical grooves. The whole is 
 supported by imbricated scales. 
 
 Pollowing are seen two eunuchs carrying a small table, and a sixth, 
 bringing in his raised hands a large round vase, with a very simple 
 border and no ornament ; both of them, instead of the scarf and the 
 bottom of the tunic embroidered with a series of rosettes, have bands 
 of rosettes intertwined with concentric squares. 
 
 These are all the figures that remain on this side of the court ; but in 
 the line of wall there are indications of two principal entrances flanked 
 by the wdnged bull ; and of two lesser doors, without bulls, but the 
 passages and chambers into which they led are more dilapidated than 
 any other part of the palace. As, therefore, there is nothing further to 
 be seen in this part of the court, we will place ourselves opposite the 
 central gate of the principal fagade, and describe the sculptures on 
 our left. 
 
 We find that the arrangement from the centre to the small side 
 door (b) is the same as that seen on our right, wdth the exception of 
 the last figure, which is the native chief of some town, bearing the 
 insignia of his office, and wearing the pointed cap and long flowing 
 hair. The jambs of the small door (b) are decorated like that of the 
 
204 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 door (g) witli the eagle-headed divinity, and between the door and 
 the corner of the conrt are the figures of two eunuchs and the 
 governor of a province. In the adjoining wall, and quite in the 
 corner, we arrive at an entrance to a small chamber, analogous in 
 position to the chamber for the consultation of the victim in the 
 king’s court (n) ; that is to say, it is situated on the left hand of 
 those who may be entering the principal apartments of the palace. 
 
 CHAMBER I.— DIVINING-CHAMBER OF INNER COURT. 
 
 In front of the door of this small chamber are the usual holes for 
 the Teraphim, and the entrance is paved with the inscribed slab. The 
 exterior slabs on both sides of the door are wanting, but within the 
 recess we are met by the figure of a magus on each jamb. Upon 
 entering the apartment we find it is furnished with two slabs of 
 gypsum, inserted in the pavement, containing circular-headed 
 cavities like that one in the divining-chamber attached to the king’s 
 court, and also that the rest of the room is paved with kiln-burnt 
 bricks. The walls have originally been adorned with two lines of 
 illustration, but all the friezes above the line of cuneatic are entirely 
 calcined. On the right, behind the valve, is the figure of a soldier, 
 and then w^e have the attack of a town with high walls. In advance 
 of the taU shields are some bowmen wearing corsets and pointed caps 
 contending with people on the battlements wiio use the spear and 
 shield. Passing the angle of the room we see the first rank of some 
 troops on one knee ; and these, unfortunately, are all the sculptures 
 left on this side of the room ; but on the opposite wull we see the 
 residt of the campaign, in a wurrior armed with a spear driving before 
 him some wDinen and a child, preceded by some of the sheep-skui 
 clad people. 
 
 It is singular that this apartment, which resembles the divining- 
 chamber of the king’s court (n) in so many particulars, should differ 
 from that in twm important points, namely, that it should have no 
 communication with any other chamber, and that the decorations 
 should not be in harmony with wPat seems to have been the purpose 
 to which it is so probable this room wus applied. 
 
 On quitting the chamber (i), and directing our course across the court 
 (l), in a line with the central doorway of the principal fa 9 ade, we 
 arrive at some steps wiiich lead to a platform raised six feet above the 
 level of the court itself. The sides of this upper platform are cased 
 with slabs of limestone and finished with the Egyptian curvetto 
 moulding. (Eig. 98.) 
 
KHORSABAD. DIYIXIXG CHAMBER. 
 
 205 
 
 The siuTace of this platform, where there were no walls, is paved 
 with irregularly shaped pieces of limestone, and the walls of the 
 building, as in the other parts of the palace, were of brick. The 
 peculiarity of the structure erected upon this base appears to have 
 been that the walls were cased with slabs of a basaltic stone instead 
 of gypsum, of which surface 
 the only • fragment dis- 
 covered is a representation 
 of the tAvo winged figures 
 making ofierings to the 
 symbolic tree. The number 
 of chambers the building 
 contained has not been 
 ascertained, but M. Botta 
 found traces of one apart- 
 ment 40 ft. by 30 ft., which 
 had in the centre of its 
 south-western side a square 
 block for an altar or statue ; 
 and likeAvise, among the ruins, 
 
 the capital of a small column decorated AAuth palm leaves. 
 
 
 
 
 .IHII'I 
 
 
 
 
 
 |Oi> 
 
 111 
 
 III 
 
 
 , 1 ! 
 
 II 
 
 ill 
 
 m 
 
 
 11 
 
 11, 
 
 
 
 II 
 
 ill 
 
 i 
 
 ■'1 
 
 Fi^. 98.— CUEVETTO 3IOEXDIXG. 
 
 The 
 
 durability of the material of which the edifice was composed, the 
 subject of the sculpture, and the other indications on this upper 
 platform, have induced ]\I. Botta to call it a temple. Tlie almost 
 entire devastation of this building may readily be attributed to its 
 being cased in a hard stone of especial value in a district AA'here such 
 useful material was rare ; and also to the circumstance of its superior 
 elevation and more exposed situation on the edge of the mound. 
 
 It will be seen by the diagram (fig. 98) that the mass of crude bricks, 
 of which the second elevation or base of the basaltic structime was made, 
 was protected by a casing of lime-stone like those of the gveat mounds 
 on which the palaces of Assyria were built. This engraving also 
 shows the contrivance by which the upper surface of the moimds was 
 protected, observable in all the courts and other parts of the mound 
 unoccupied by building. A layer of kiln-baked tiles or bricks was 
 placed on the top of the crude bricks cemented together and to the 
 crude bricks below them, with bitiunen. These tiles or bricks had 
 the inscription upwards, and upon them was placed a stratum of 
 sand five or six inches thick, upon which, again, another layer of 
 kiln-baked bricks, with the inscription tuimed downwards, and, like 
 the former, cemented together Avith bitumen, so that the interior 
 of tiie moimd was most carefully protected from damp, and the 
 
206 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOYEllEIlS. 
 
 buildings erected on these artificial hills raised above the miasma of 
 the plain. 
 
 Before finally leaving this court we must turn to the south-eastern 
 side, and enter the passage gate (v), of which the fragments of the 
 two winged bulls are almost the only indication. This entrance leads 
 into a court about 105 or 106 feet square, with a central major 
 opening and some minor ones on each side ; but all, excepting two or 
 three slabs, so entirely ruined as to preclude 
 any regular description. The only perfect 
 sculpture remaining in this part represents 
 the figure of a priest carrying a gazeUe. 
 (Fig. 99.) 
 
 This person we take to be a diviner or 
 magician, one of the four orders of Chaldacans 
 mentioned in Daniel,^ of whom it was the 
 custom for the kings of Assyria to require 
 the interpretation of dreams, or any events, 
 whether the most important or the most 
 trivial ; all of which they pretended to ascer- 
 tain by various processes, such as by an 
 examination of the blood of the victims, the 
 position of the stars, invocations of the 
 divinities on whom we see them attending, and 
 by other superstitious practices strictly for- 
 bidden by the law of God. These persons are 
 distinguished by a peculiarity of dress, which 
 we have designated the Sacerdotal Dress, for it is worn only by them, the 
 divinities, and deified persons. It is likewise most remarkable that 
 they retain more of the vermilion and of the black pigment in the hair 
 and eyebrows than any other figures on the walls of Khorsabad and 
 ISTimroud, a circumstance which we think is not to be attributed to 
 chance, for the prophet Ezekiel, in speaking of the figures of men 
 sculptured on the walls of the Assyrian palaces, makes particular 
 mention of “ the images of the Chaldaeans pourtrayed with vermilion.”^ 
 Possibly this class of the subjects of the king of Assyria were, as in 
 Egypt, the sculptors and painters, and therefore took especial care of 
 their own portraits. Be that as it may, the fact is incontestable, and, 
 as we conceive, highly illustrative of the passage quoted. 
 
 The countenances of the king, of the eunuchs, and of these persons 
 are all strongly marked by those peculiarities which, in the present 
 day, constitute beauty in the dominions of the Shah, and, indeed, in 
 
 > Daniel ii. 2. 2 Ezek, xxii. 14. 
 
 Fig. 99.— PRIEST WITH 
 GAZELLE — A MAGICIAN. 
 
 Botta, Plate 43. 
 
KIIORSABAD. — THE KlNG^S HOUSE. 
 
 207 
 
 the East generally. They consist of large full black eyes, with thick 
 eyebrows meeting over the nose ; low forehead, that is to say, the 
 space from the eyebrows to the beginning of the hair shorter than 
 the length of the nose ; aquiline nose ; small month ; compressed lips ; 
 prominent chin, and round face : in the last of these characteristics, 
 however, the priests or soothsayers who attend the winged figures do 
 not partake ; on the contrary, they are of a thinner and less muscular 
 form than any other of the attendants of the court. Beyond this 
 figure of the priest and a representation of the king, followed by his 
 cup-bearer and selikdar, there was nothing further discovered here, 
 excepting some feet and the lower portions of slabs, affording indication 
 that the walls of this court were decorated like the other portions of 
 the palace, but few and imperfect as are the remains, they are yet 
 highly interesting and singularly suggestive of the character of 
 this quarter of the royal residence. We have already shown the Courts 
 of Assembly and Judgment, and the public reception and banqneting- 
 rooms of the palace ; we have assumed the correctness of M. Botta’s 
 surmise, that the edifice which occupied the most elevated and 
 prominent position upon the mound, is the Temple ; but we have 
 not, as yet, described any part of the structure that seemed suited for 
 those mysterious precincts of an Assyrian palace — the private dwelling 
 apartments of the sovereigns. It is our purpose, therefore, now to 
 show that this small court belongs to the quarter of the palace which 
 was expressly termed the “ King’s House.” 
 
 It may be remembered that the first two courts we passed through, 
 namely, the Court of Assembly (?^) and the King’s Court (^r), were 
 both described as open to the country on two sides, the remaining 
 sides being occupied by the walls of the palace ; that the third or 
 inner court (l) is enclosed on three sides, that to the north-west 
 alone being open to the country : whereas that the court we are now 
 examining is enclosed on all the four sides, each having a principal 
 and some minor openings. The remains of bulls at these openings 
 are sufficiently indicative that they were external doors, and the 
 whole arrangements show that the quadrangle into which they led 
 was a central enclosed court, surrounded by chambers situated in 
 the ruined spaces between the boundary of the court itself, and the 
 walls of courts (l) on the north-west, and {n) on the north-east ; 
 and on the vacant surface of the upper platform on the sides to the 
 south-west and south-east. The door-way by which we entered from 
 the inner court (l) we consider to be the termination of a passage 
 that we woidd call the king’s private way from his own private 
 apartments to the public quarters of the palace. Our reason for 
 
20S 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 concluding tliat tliis strictly retired enclosure was dedicated exclu- 
 sively to the king, is derived from the walls themselves, evidence all 
 but conclusive where every illustration is so pregnant with meaning. 
 In the present instance, our inference is drawn from the particular 
 place where we found the group of the king and his attendants. In 
 every previous illustration the king is seen in the courts of the palace 
 walking the door; hut in the present case he is walking towards 
 the door of the private way, as if about to leave the interior. As we 
 have no similar example of the king with his face thus directed towards 
 the door in the act of departure, we think it may fairly be concluded 
 that the quarter he is leaving, is his own special dwelling-place, and 
 that the court itself is really that “ inner court of the king’s house,” 
 to enter which was death to all who were not called, “ except such to 
 whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live.”^ 
 
 We have now taken onr readers through every court and room of 
 the Palace of Khorsabad, in the same way that a cicerone at home 
 would have conducted them through the chambers of Windsor 
 Castle or Hampton Court. Our progress has been directed by the 
 architectural arrangements of the rooms as found by Botta, and we 
 have endeavoured to clearly indicate and elucidate our course by the 
 various illustrations of the mode of decorating the apartments, which 
 we have selected from the magnificent French work. It is almost 
 needless to observe upon the extraordinary interest attaching to those 
 illustrations in the historical chambers ; but stiU we cannot leave this 
 section of our subject without noting the varied and systematic 
 care with which the Assyrian artist has described the leading features 
 of the countries subdued and laid waste by the Assyrian conqueror, 
 how carefully the peculiarities of costume of the different people 
 have been pourtrayed, and the attention bestowed on the order of 
 the conquest. The walls of the chambers were thus converted into a 
 highly illustrated historical volume, unrolled and displayed for the 
 benefit of the nations and languages of which the Assyrian empire 
 was composed; where they might read in this systematised and 
 universal language of art, the history of the conquests of their 
 sovereigns ; while to the learned Hinevites historical particulars 
 beyond the reach of the pictorial language, were communicated 
 through the medium of the band of cuneatic writing which is found 
 in all the chambers dedicated to these historical records. 
 
 The animus discoverable in the details, in the execution of the 
 bassi-rilievi, and in the choice of subject, is the same tliat prompted 
 the message and letter which Sennacherib sent by the hand of his 
 
 1 Esther, iii. 1 ; iv. 2 
 
KIIORSABAD. — COA^STBUCTIOX. 
 
 209 
 
 cliief emiiicli Eabsaris, and his chief cup-hearer Eahshakeh, to Heze- 
 kiah, “ Behold thou hast heard what the Kings of Ass^uia have done 
 to all lauds, by destroying them utterly : and shalt thou be delivered':^ 
 Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers 
 have destroyed ; as Gozan, and Haran, and Eezeph, and the children 
 of Eden which were in Thelasar. Where is the king of Hamath, and 
 the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, 
 and Ivah ? 
 
 We have already noticed the Jewish and other nations represented 
 in the sculptures, but the enemies of “ the great king, the king of 
 Assyria,” who we see most frequently represented, and who seem to 
 be most determined in their opposition, are the sheep-skin clad people 
 whom we have designated Sagartii or Togarmah, a race of Scythians 
 from the country Ipng between the Black and the Caspian Seas. 
 They may, however, be the people of Gozan, mentioned in the epistle 
 sent by Sennacherib to Hezekiah,“ whom we take to be a pastoral race 
 inhabiting the hilly and well-watered districts of Asia. The other 
 opponents of the great king, whose tribute consists of manufactured 
 articles, may be the people likewise mentioned by the messengers of 
 Sennacherib, under the name of Hamath,^ a coimtry including a great 
 part of the coast of Phoenicia — a surmise supported by the illustration 
 (fig. 53, page 147), where we find the Assyrian monarch em23loying the 
 people in constructing some port or fortress under the auspices of the 
 dmnity of the coast, conjointly with the winged bull of the Assyrians. 
 That the occupation of the people is peaceful may be assumed from 
 their being entirely unarmed ; besides which we have the evidence of 
 both history and the monuments found at Kahr el Kelb and in Cyprus 
 (see page 126), that the king of Assyria once held quiet possession of 
 the coast of that part of the Mediterranean. Possibly the sculptime 
 may represent the king building Tarsus, and bringing wood for that 
 purpose from the forests of Mount Cassus, or some less distant 
 proGnce. 
 
 Thus far as regards the sculptures and the people represented in 
 them ; but before leaving this chapter we will venture to offer a few 
 conjectures respecting the mode of construction employed in these 
 Assyrian buildings, and likewise give M. Botta’s opinions on the 
 destruction of the Palace at Khorsabad. 
 
 The following section of the wall on which is the keeper of the door 
 of the council chamber (fig. 100), will serve to explain the structure of 
 the walls, as well as our own notion of the construction of the roof oi* 
 
 1 2 Kings, xix. 10, 13 ; 2 Chron., xxxii. 15, 10 ; Isaiali, xxxvii. 10, 14. 
 
 2 2 Kings, xix. 12. . " Idem, xviii. 34 ; xix. 13. 
 
210 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEHEES. 
 
 ceiling of tlie chambers. It would seem from the examination of the 
 existing ruins, that the walls of sun-dried bricks having been raised to 
 the required height, were cased with slabs of gypsum to the height of 
 ten feet ; that from the line of slabs to the top of the wall, the 
 unburnt bricks were cased with kiln-burnt bricks, the lowest course, 
 which rested immediately upon the slab, being provided with a kind 
 of projecting brick moulding or ornament, which curved over and 
 beyond the slabs, so as to form a continuous lock, to prevent their 
 falling forward, the moulding being retained in its position by the 
 weight of the courses above ; and, finally, that the baked bricks 
 
 were painted on the surface 
 presented to the interior of 
 the rooms, in various colours 
 and patterns including figures 
 of men and animals. Thus 
 far we have unequivocal evi- 
 dence of the structure of the 
 walls of the chambers, but 
 for the remainder of the 
 construction we are depend- 
 ent entirely upon speculation 
 and analogies with other 
 ancient buildings. Our own 
 conjecture is that the solid 
 wall having been raised, the 
 top was covered in with a 
 nourse of bricks cemented 
 with bitumen, upon which, 
 as in the instance of the 
 courts, there was a stratum 
 of sand, and then another 
 layer of kiln-burnt bricks, 
 cemented with bitumen. 
 Upon this thick wall we 
 suppose the surface-bricks 
 of the chamber to have been 
 continued for some feet, 
 occasional intervals being 
 left for the admission of 
 light and air; according to 
 the plan exhibited in the centre part of the roof of the hall of columns, in 
 the temple of Karnak, in the Memnonium, and in other Egyptian 
 
 Fig. 100.— SECTION SHOWING CONSTKUCTION 
 OF WALL AND CEILING. 
 
EHOUSABAD. — CONSTBUCTIOE. 
 
 211 
 
 temples. W e conceive that the beams of the roof rested upon the dwarf 
 walls, and reached across the entire width of the chambers — an idea that 
 is sustained by the remarkable narrowness of all the rooms in propor- 
 tion to their length, the extreme width of the largest not exceeding 
 thirty-three feet. That the forests of the mountainous regions north 
 of Nineveh would furnish an abundance of large timber, even of cedar, 
 the approved wood for the purpose,^ there can be no question ; but 
 even if the -width of the chambers had exceeded the ordinary length 
 of beams, it does not seem to us to present any objection, for we 
 cannot admit that a people so conversant with the working of stone 
 and of metals, could be ignorant of some of the most simple principles 
 of carpentry — a science which must have preceded the ornamental 
 arts, in which we observe so much progress had been made. In 
 the larger apartments we cannot have any difficulty in adopting a 
 wooden column, for Strabo tells us that the Eabylonians supported 
 the roofs of their houses by pillars of wood. The beams having been 
 placed upon the dwarf walls, the rafters were next laid over them in 
 the contrary direction, and upon these again the planks of cedar 
 which, as well as the beams, we sliould ornament with vermilion,^ 
 still a common and fashionable combination with green, for the 
 ornamentation of the ceiliugs in the best chambers of the houses 
 in Cairo. Above the planks there was probably a course of burnt 
 bricks, cemented with bitumen, and then a layer of clay and earth, 
 in the way that the roofs of houses in Syria are now made, for Botta 
 found among the rubbish in the interior of some of the chambers, 
 the stone rollers called mahadalet, perfectly resembling our garden 
 roUers, and those used at this day to roll and harden the roofs of 
 the Syrian houses after the winter rains. This implement being 
 always kept on the roof then as now, it is supposed fell into the 
 chamber Avith the rafters at the time of the conflagration, Avhich 
 reduced the palace to a ruinous heap. 
 
 The top of the solid Avails between the dwarf piers afforded ample 
 space for shady passages and sleeping apartments during the hot 
 months of the year, and at the same time gave every facility for 
 reofulatin^ the shutters and other obvious contrivances for excluding 
 the rays of the sun, and for preventing the snoAV or rain from 
 drifting into the chambers below. No staircases, or means of gaining 
 the upper apartments, have been discovered ; but as so much of 
 the building had disappeared before Botta began his investigations, 
 Ave are not surprised at the absence of all indication of such 
 important parts of the edifice, especially as we know from the 
 
 1 1 Kings, Yi, 9, 10 ; vii. 2, 3. ^ Jer., xxii, 14. 
 
212 
 
 NI^’EVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 Egyptian temples, and from tlie sacred text, tliat tlie staircase up to 
 the roof was frequently contained in the thickness of the wall! 
 
 As regard the courts, it is not improhahle that wooden columns were 
 used, particularly in this court and the court of the king’s house, to 
 support an awning which was held down and fastened to certain 
 marble rings inserted in the pavement, and to the ring on the backs of 
 the bronze lions. (See fig. sec. v.) We have an example of this mode 
 of protecting a large assembly from the effects of the sun in southern 
 latitudes, in the description of the feast given by king Ahasuerus, 
 “ both unto great and small, seven days, in the court of the garden of 
 the king’s palace. Where were white, green, and blue hangings, 
 fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rings and pillars 
 of marble.” ^ 
 
 We have repeatedly, in the course of our progress through tlie 
 chambers, had occasion to mention the door which closed some of the 
 more important openings ; we are, however, quite in ignorance as to 
 the contrivance for the upper pivots of these doors, whether they 
 were inserted into a slab which stretched across the opening from 
 jamb to jamb, or whether certain copper rings, which we possess in our 
 national collection, were not fixed into the walls above the slabs, for 
 the purpose of receiving the pivots. 
 
 By reference to the detailed plan, it will be evident that the propor- 
 tion of the voids to the solid of the walls is a remarkable feature, in 
 which the Assyrian structures differ from all other ancient remains. 
 Another leading characteristic of this palace of Khorsabad is the 
 almost scrupulous symmetry of the plan, the chief openings being 
 generally opposite to each other, tliose leading from the King’s 
 Court (n) to the Inner Court (l), forming a continuous line of com- 
 munication ; and, lastly, it will be found that the chambers are 
 invariably rectangular. 
 
 Although in the foregoing description we have assumed that the 
 roof of the Khorsabad palace was flat, we have evidence in the illus- 
 trations upon the walls that pitched roofs were, likewise, used in 
 Assyrian buildings. In page 161, we have given a representation of a 
 structure which we term a sacred edifice, from the symbols and 
 vessels in front, and the shields suspended from the walls. This 
 building is raised upon a platform resembling that of the palace we 
 are describing ; and the roof is pitched, the pediment or gable-end 
 being presented to the spectator. The same illustration affords 
 examples of flat roofs and of numerous windows. 
 
 It will be seen that our restoration of tlie roof is in many respects 
 
 1 Kings, vi. 8. 
 
 2 Esther, i. 5, 6. 
 
KlIOESABAD. — PERGUSSOA'^S llESTOEATIOXS. 213 
 
 analogous to ancient Egyptian temples, and to modern modes of 
 construction in the East. In some points it nearly agrees with 
 Mr. Eergusson’s theory in his ingenious, and in many important 
 parts, indisputable restoration of the palaces of IMineveh and 
 Persepolis.^ Mr. Eergusson has adopted dwarf columns where we 
 introduce walls, making a covered way or terrace upon the top of 
 the solid wall ; and he lights the chambers beneath through the 
 spaces betw-een the columns, instead of through windows. He also 
 supports the roof of the chambers by double lines of columns, and 
 sustains his h)"pothesis by collateral evidence derived from the many 
 existing buildings in India, particularly the mosque of Amedabad, 
 and finally in the columns existing at Persepolis. Our space, 
 however, does not admit of a full exposition of his views ; but a 
 perusal of the book itself vill amply reward the reader. 
 
 We Avill conclude this chapter by a brief statement of M. Botta’s 
 opinion concerning the destruction of the palace of Khorsabad. 
 “ The want of consistence in the materials employed in building the 
 walls of the palace of Khorsabad,” says M. Botta, “rendered tliem 
 insufficient to withstand the strain of an arch ; they were, never- 
 theless, able, through their great thickness, to support any amount of 
 vertical pressure.” There is nothing, then, in the manner in which 
 the supports are constructed which is compatible with any kind of 
 roof, except with one of wood, for which it is particularly suited. 
 The proofs obtained in the interior of the chambers tend to show 
 that tliis was actually the system resorted to at Khorsabad. It is 
 incontestable that, during the excavations, a cousiderable quantity of 
 charcoal and even pieces of wood, either half burnt or in a perfect 
 state of preservation, Avere found in many places. The lining of the 
 chambers also bears certain marks of the action of fire. All these 
 things can be explained only by supposing the fall of a burning roof, 
 Avhich calcined the slabs of gypsum and converted them into dust. It 
 would be absurd to imagine that the burning of a small quantity of 
 fiumiture coidd have left on the walls marks like those which are to 
 be seen through all the chambers, with the exception of one, AAdiich 
 Avas only an open passage? It must have been a violent and prolonged 
 fire to be able to calcine not only a foAV places, but every part of these 
 slabs, which Avere ten feet high and several inches thick. So complete 
 a decomposition can be attributed but to intense lieat, such as would 
 be occasioned by the fall of a burning roof. When Botta began his 
 researches at Khorsabad, he remarked that the inscriptions engraved 
 on the pavement before some of the doors Avere incrusted with a hard 
 
 Fergusson’s “ Palaces of Nineveh, anti Persepolis restored.” 
 
214 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEIIS. 
 
 copper-coloured cement, which filled the characters, and had turned 
 the surface of the stone green. He now states that he had not at 
 that time made sufficient observations to enable him to understand 
 what he saw. In giving an account of his discoveries to M. Mohl, he 
 said that these inscriptions had been incrusted with copper, and that 
 the oxidation of this metal had produced the effect he remarked. 
 This, he admits, was an error, and subsequent observation has shown 
 that the copper-coloured cement was but the result of the fusion of 
 nails and bits of copper. He also found on these engraved flag-stones 
 scoria and half-melted nails, so that there is no doubt that these 
 appearances had been produced by the action of intense and long- 
 sustained heat. He remembers, besides, at Khorsabad, that when he 
 detached some bas-reliefs from the earthy substance wffiich they 
 covered, in order to copy tlie inscriptions that were behind, he 
 found there coals and cinders. These could have entered only by 
 the top, between the wall and the back of the bas-reliefs. This can 
 be easily understood to have been caused by the burning of the 
 roof, but is inexplicable in any other manner. 
 
 But what tends most positively to prove that the traces of fire must 
 be attributed to the burning of a wooden roof is, that these traces are 
 perceptible only in the interior of the building. The gypsum also 
 that covers the walls inside is completely calcined, while the outside 
 of the building is nearly everywdiere untouched. But wherever the 
 fronting appears to have at all suffered from fire, it is at the bottom : 
 thus giving reason to suppose that the damage has been done by 
 some burning matter falling outside. In fact, not a single bas-relief 
 capable of preservation was found in any of the chambers : they were 
 all pulverised. Nearly all those of the outside might, on the contrary, 
 have been detached and sent to Trance ; for though a few w'ere 
 broken, yet the stone on which they were sculptured was in a state 
 of good preservation. Is not this the effect that would be produced 
 on an edifice by the falling in of a burning roof, and can this 
 circumstance be otherwise explained ? 
 
 M. Blandin, the artist who assisted M. Botta in his researches, 
 w^as of opinion that the quantity of coals and cinders did not appear 
 so large as might be expected to remain after the burning of a roof as 
 immense as that of Khorsabad. He also considered that the half- 
 burnt beams which have been found in the chambers belonged to 
 the doors near which they were generally discovered. This assertion, 
 however, M. Botta thinks is far from being supported. Before 
 M. Blandin’ s arrival, M. Botta states that he had found coals, 
 cinders, and the remains of burnt joists ; and in a letter published 
 
KIIORSABAD. BOTTA OX THE DESTRUCTIOX OF THE PALACE. 215 
 
 in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Paris, he had particularly 
 noticed this circumstance, as affording proof that the state in 
 which the palace was found had been occasioned hy the burning of 
 the roof. The place in which burnt joists were first discovered was 
 in the centre of one of the chambers, as far from any of the doors as 
 it was possible to be. The wood found there could not have belonged 
 to the doors. With respect to the quantity, it will be easily seen 
 that, after a fire, it will be more or less great according to circum- 
 stances that it is now impossible to account for. The relative rare- 
 ness of these remains has doubtless been caused by the quality and 
 dryness of the wood, by the influence of combustion — or the greater 
 or less length of time during which the floor of the chambers was 
 exposed to the action of the elements before the palace was ingulfed. 
 What is certain is, that the whole interior of the chambers is calcined, 
 while the outside walls are untouched. It is impossible to attribute 
 this effect to any other cause but the burning of a wooden roof ; and 
 this supposition is corroborated by indications discovered during the 
 excavations. The supposition of an arclied roof, on the contrary, is 
 supported by no evidence, and is incompatible with the nature of the 
 materials employed in the construction of the walls, and with the 
 entire absence of anything solid among the ruins. M. Botta there- 
 fore concludes that there is no cause for doubting that the palace of 
 Khorsabad was roofed with wood. In this opinion he states tliat 
 i\'lr. Layard coincides, for that several of the monuments found by 
 him at Nimroud were covered over with pieces of wood, like those at 
 Khorsabad. 
 
 Fig. 101. — PROCES.sioy showing divi.sioxs of slae.s. (The douhle 
 line indicates a doorway.) 
 
Fig. 102. — VIEW OF PYRAMIDAL MOUND AT NIMROUD. FROM A SKETCH BY MR. ROMAINE. 
 
 CHAPTER IT. 
 
 NlMllOUD AND THE ASSYKIAN SCULPTURES IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 
 
 Those readers who have gone with us through the preceding pages, 
 describing what is left to ns of Assyrian art in the ruins of Khorsahad, 
 will turn with double pleasure towards those chambers of our IN^ational 
 Museum which contain our share of the relics of ancient Assyria. 
 Our friends, the Erench, are proud of the sculptures obtained by 
 Botta, and now in the Louvre ; but we may fairly and successfully 
 challenge a comparison with them, by pointing to the British Aluseum. 
 IN'o one can visit that estabhshment without being reminded of the 
 mportance and interest of our Assyrian acquisitions ; for the great 
 Winged Bull and Lion, which now grace the entrance hall there, 
 attract the immediate notice of all who enter, and by their size, their 
 antiquity, and their strange story, induce those who might otherwise 
 
KIMROUD. LAYAIId’s DISCOVEEIES. 
 
 217 
 
 pass on to other objects, to stop and inquire for the companion 
 antiques, which, once seen, cannot again be forgotten. 
 
 By devoting a chapter to the especial account of the Assyrian relics 
 from Nimroud, we shall at once render our present work more com- 
 plete, and fit it for the companionship of those who may think fit to 
 go in search of the antiquarian treasures acquired by JMr. Layard for 
 the Museum of his country. It may he premised, that while this hook 
 is passing through the press, the authorities of tlie British Museum 
 are yet undecided how the Nimroud marbles are to he ultimately 
 arranged, and that, meanwhile, the larger number of them occupy an 
 apartment underground, the remainder being ranged against the w'alls 
 of a kind of temporary passage-chamber to the left of the entrance. 
 
 In our descriptions we shall avail onrselves of the articles originally 
 contributed to the “ Athenaeum ” and “Illustrated London ISiews,” 
 which, however, will be found to be copiously enlarged. The 
 Assyrian collection in the British Museum was not all contributed by 
 Layard ; a portion of it is due to the exertions of another Englishman, 
 Mr. Hector, of whom more presently. Let us, however, first consider 
 Layard’ s contributions, adopting, as far as practicable, the same 
 system of examination as we have pursued in Botta’s contributions 
 to the Louvre. 
 
 The object of the excavator being rather to obtain sculptures 
 and other relics, than to gain a knowledge of the general plan of 
 the buildings, w^e see less of the structural arrangements at Himroud 
 than we did at Ivhorsabad. Nevertheless, so much of the ruins as 
 have been uncovered at Nimroud disclose a striking peculiarity, that 
 we cannot allow to pass unnoticed, — the absence of that uniformity of 
 plan which so remarkably characterised the Khorsabad Palace. 
 There, most of the doors either faced, or w'ere pendant to each other, 
 and the principal chambers likewise appeared to correspond; wdiile 
 here, on the contrarjq no twm doors are opposite, and, apparently, no 
 t\vo chambers answer to one another. 
 
 The walls of the palace at Nimroud, from which these w^orks of art 
 Avere taken, like those of Ehorsabad, are composed of unburnt brick 
 incrusted with slabs of marble (gypsum) eight inches in thickness, 
 and seA^en feet wide. IJnlike the Palace of Khorsabad, hoAvever, that 
 of Nimroud presents no grand portal to invite our entrance, and 
 serve as a guide to our course. lYe shall therefore, in the first 
 instance, proceed to examine Avhat, on a general survey, appears to be 
 the principal existing chamber of the north-Avest quarter of the 
 palace. Entering through a small door-A\"ay in the Avestern side of 
 the excavation, we are met on each side by a Avinged figure with a 
 
218 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEIIS. 
 
 garland on Ms head, and having a pine-cone in his upraised right 
 hand, while his left holds a basket ; behind each figure is a slab 
 covered with cnneatic inscription. Having passed the entrance, we 
 find ourselves within a small chamber about 40 feet by 20 feet, which 
 has three entrances, — one answering to that at which we entered, and 
 a wider one on the opposite side, leading into a large hall. On the 
 wall between the two lesser entrances w^e have a group of five figures, 
 the centre being the king, holding a cup in his right hand, and 
 his bow in his left, while on each side of him are a eunuch and a 
 winged divinity. The remaining walls are occupied with thirteen 
 slabs, containing colossal winged figures, wearing the horned egg- 
 shaped cap, and carrying the fir-cone and basket, arranged in pairs 
 facing each other, but separated by the symbolic tree described in 
 page 159. 
 
 Proceeding through the central opening we are accompanied 
 on each side by winged human-headed lions, and find ourselves 
 in a large hall, 160 feet long by nearly 40 feet wide. The lions 
 at the entrance are each 9 feet long, and the same in height. 
 The countenance is noble and benevolent in expression ; the features 
 are of true Persian type ; he wears an egg-shaped cap, with three 
 horns, and a cord round the base of it. The ear is human, and 
 not that of a lion. The beard and hair of the head are most elabo- 
 rately curled ; but the hair on 
 the legs and sides of the 
 statue represents that 
 appendage of the animal : 
 round the loins is a succession 
 of numerous cords, which are 
 drawn into four separate knots; 
 and at the extremities are 
 fringes, forming as many dis- 
 tinct tassels. At the end of the 
 tail a claw is distinctly visible. 
 The strength of the animal 
 
 I’ig.io3.-L,ON IN BRITISH MUSEUM. k admirably and character- 
 
 istically conveyed. Upon the 
 flat surface of this slab is a cuneiform inscription ; twenty lines 
 being between the fore legs, twenty-six in the middle, eighteen 
 between the hind legs, and seventy-one at the back. 
 
 “The first was like a lion, and had eagles’ wings.” ^ We have 
 chosen this figure to commence our work, because it is an emble- 
 
 Dan. vii. 4. 
 
NIMROUD. — ^^ISROCH. 
 
 219 
 
 matic symbol of tbe Assyrian empire, as we learn from the book 
 of Daniel, who, in the first year of Belshazzar, had a vision, informing 
 him of the future destiny of the monarchy, which, at that time, had 
 reached the pinnacle of its glory ; and we present it here again as it 
 actually occurs at the entrances of the palaces and of the historical 
 chambers we are about to describe. 
 
 Turning to the right, we perceive an upright slab, 7 feet 10 indies 
 high, and 2 feet 10 inches wide. It represents a winged human 
 figure with the head of a carnivorous bird. This figure occurs very 
 frequently in the Babylonish cylinders, and has been taken, in those 
 less perfect specimens of the divinity, for the figure of a man with 
 the head of a cock, the crest of feathers on the head having been 
 supposed to represent the cock’s comb. This was the opinion of 
 Mr. John Landseer, who first made these works of art known to the 
 world by his beautiful engravings and descriptions of them. The 
 figure is clothed in a short, fringed tunic, reaching only to the knee, 
 and tied at the neck with a tasselled cord ; over whicli is an elaborate 
 necklace with an ornament something like a pomegranate; and another 
 of this favomdte fruit, but quite distinct from the necklace, is hangmg 
 from a cord. Over the short tunic is a longer robe similarly trimmed, 
 some part of which is shown at the back over the left shoulder. The 
 whole is covered by an ample garment fringed and embroidered, which 
 reaches to the ancle (in this respect differing from the eagle-headed 
 figures at Khorsabad, which have not any long outer dress), leaving 
 bare the right leg, which is advanced. The feet of the figure are 
 covered with sandals, in every respect like tliose worn by the king and 
 his attendants ; and the remains of colouring matter are visible upon 
 them. In the right hand, which is elevated, he holds a pine-cone, whicli 
 he is in the act of presenting; and in the left hand, which is advanced 
 across the body, is a basket, or bag with a handle. His Vvrists are 
 decorated with the rosette-shaped bracelet ; and on his right arm, at 
 the insertion of the biceps, is a plain massive ring lapping over. The 
 handles of two daggers appear on his breast, just above his mantle ; 
 and a double cord, knotted and terminating with tassels, is suspended 
 in front of the advanced leg, — there being a similar one behind the 
 leg, both cords apparently issuing from the girdle. The whole figure 
 is less agreeable in its proportions than the divinity whom we shall 
 presently describe ; — and the muscles of the advanced leg are more 
 harsh and globular than in that sculpture. 
 
 Several lines of cuneiform writing are engraved over the lower 
 portion of the figure, entirely regardless of the hand, basket, and 
 embroidered garment. The characters have a clearness and sharpness 
 
220 
 
 KINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 inducing a belief that they are considerably less ancient than the 
 figures ; although the other divinity in this collection, and the Nahr 
 el Kelb figure, as well as that recently discovered on the coast of 
 Cyprus, have inscriptions beginning at about the same part of the 
 figure, and carried all across the work. Whether the figure is much 
 more ancient than the inscription engraved upon it, or whether the 
 whole is altogether more ancient than the historical sculptures of this 
 collection, are questions which a mature investigation of the inscrip- 
 tions themselves may possibly determine. At all events, we are not 
 prepared at present to enter upon their consideration ; but we have no 
 hesitation in asserting our conviction that this sculpture is a repre- 
 sentation of that very Assyrian Divinity in whose house, and before 
 whose altar, Sennacherib was murdered by his sons, Adramelech and 
 Sharezer. Our reasons for entertaining this belief are chiefly derived 
 from the word q~iD:i (Nisroch), the name of that divinity, as recorded 
 in the Second Book of Kings, chapter xix., and 27th verse ; which 
 word is derived from the Chaldee root id:] (nisr or niser), signifying 
 to lacerate and tear, as the birds of this class do their prey ; from 
 which circumstance the same word, by a natural succession of ideas, 
 came also to signify victory or conquest, in Arabic and some of the 
 cognate dialects of the Hebrew. Thus, independently of other consi- 
 derations, we entertain little doubt but that this flgure is the 
 divinity of conquest or victory — the particular god of the victorious 
 Sennacherib, to whom he most frequently sacrificed, and who w^as 
 therefore called, in the sacred text, (Aleioo), his god, and by 
 
 the Hebrews, agreeably to the genius of their language, (Msroch), 
 that is to say “ thy eagle,” repelling, as it were, all participation in 
 the worship of the idol. We take the q (k or ch) at the end of the 
 word to be the pronominal suffix, analogous to the ■> (i) at the end of 
 the word (benoni), son of my pain, and in other words, of 
 
 which the pronominal suffix constitutes a part ; or as the Chaldee 
 masculine plural noun, pID (sarochin), is several times used in the Book 
 of Daniel for overseers, or presidents over inferior governors, the termi- 
 nation, q, may signify chief, and thus the word Hisroch would mean 
 tlie eagle chief, the eagle lord. In either case the argument for the 
 identification of this Ninevite sculpture with the Hisroch of the 
 Bible, the god of Sennacherib, is not weakened.^ 
 
 1 The Garuda of the Hindus, and the Jupiter of the Chinese, united the head of an eagle to 
 the body of a man. — d/oor’s Hind. Fanth., p. 343 ; and Macartney's Embassy to Ch,ma, vol. 
 iii., 8th edit. 
 
 The Nisr of the ancient Arabs is said to have been worshipped under the form of an eagle. 
 
 ■ — Sale's Frelim. Disc., sec. i., p. 19. 
 
 The Nisroch of the Assyrians has been thought to have been also represented by the same 
 
NIMr.OUD. — KING IX HIS CHARIOT. 
 
 22i 
 
 Passing the figure of I^isroch, we arrive at the corner, which is 
 occupied hy a representation of the symbolic tree ; and the adjoining 
 wall is divided into two lines of illustration, between which is a broad 
 band of cuneatic inscription. The first subject on the upper line 
 (fig. 105) represents the king, in the front of the battle, in his chariot 
 
 with his charioteer and shield-bearer, who are both uncovered. The 
 chariot closely resembles the Egyptian. (See fig. 106.) 
 
 To the sides are attached, crossing each other, two quivers full oi 
 arrows. Each quiver contains a small bow, and is likewise furnished 
 with a hatchet. Proceeding from the front of the chariot, over or 
 between the horses, is a richly-embroidered appendage, which seems 
 to be an apparatus like that used in India, for preventing the horses 
 coming together. The bossed shield of the king is placed at the back 
 of the chariot, serving for further security : in front is the brass or 
 iron bar fixed to the pole, as in the chariots of Egypt, and the pole in 
 one example terminates in the head of a swan ; in the other in a ball. 
 The spear is inserted behind the chariot in a place appointed for it, 
 decorated with a human liead. The harness and trappings of tiie 
 horses are precisely like the Egyptian. Pendant at tlie side of the 
 horse is a cmcular ornament terminating in tassels analogous to that 
 divided into thongs at the side of the Eg3q)tian horse, which, we 
 presume, may be intended to accelerate the pace of the animal, as in 
 the case of tlie spiked balls fastened to the trappings of the race liorses 
 of the Corso in Eome. In both examples several bands pass over the 
 
 bird ; and the Xlitbras of the Persians had the wing's of an eagle. — Beyer, Addit. in Seldcn de 
 Diis Syrifc, sjmt. ii., c. 10, p. 325 ; and Montfaucon, A)it., vol. ii., p. 308 ; Xenoph. Cyrop., 
 lib. vii., p, 300. 
 
NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEllEDS. 
 
 chest, and, lapping over the shoulders of the horses, join the ligaments 
 attached to the pole or yoke. A remarkable hand and thong, through the 
 
 upper end of which passes a single rein, is the same in both harnesses. 
 The tails of the Assyrian horses are fancifully compressed in the 
 centre, while the Egyptian horses have a hand round the upper part 
 or root of the tail. Around the necks of the Assyrian horses is a string 
 of alternately large and small heads, wEich appear to have cuneiform 
 characters cut upon them — possibly a series of amulets, according to 
 the custom of the oriental nations of the present day. The shield- 
 hearer extends the bossed shield to protect his sovereign. 
 
 The king’s surcoat is richly embroidered. He has bracelets with 
 rosette-shaped clasps upon his wrists ; and his bow arm is protected, as 
 are those of his officers, from the recoil of the string by a close-fitting 
 shield fastened to the forearm at the elbow and wrist. Above the royal 
 chariot is the winged divinity wearing the double-horned cap. He 
 directs his arrows against the enemies of the king. A broad flat ring 
 encircles this figure, passing just above the feathery termination of his 
 person, and behind and above his shoulders. Directly before the king 
 one of the enemy — perhaps the chief — is falling out behind from his 
 chariot ; while his charioteer, unable to guide the horses, precipitates 
 himself in front. Behind, one of the king’s soldiers has seized a 
 
XINEVEII. COMPAEISOX OF CHAEIOTS. 
 
 223 
 
 flying enemy ; and is about to kill him, notwithstanding the efforts 
 of his companion to drag him off to the security of the city. Another 
 
 of the enemy lies dead; and others are actively flying for refuge 
 towards the outworks of the city — which reach to the shores of a 
 shallow stream rimning throusfh a woodv country. The victorious 
 king has pursued the enemy up to the very confines of tlie city ; 
 which is further protected by a ditch and double wall — and from 
 behind which the enemy are discharging their arrows. The city is 
 represented with embattled towers and arched gateway, Trom the 
 towers the enemy are shooting arrows and throwing stones, under 
 cover of vicker shields. The last figime — as far as the fracture allows 
 us to see — is that of a person endeavouring to obtain a parley. He 
 holds his slackened bow in his left hand ; and his right is upraised in 
 the act of bespeaking attention. 
 
 The next subject (fig. 108) that engages our attention, is a continuation 
 of the last, — as, without other evidence, may be readily perceived from 
 the exactly corresponding parts of the chariot wheel on the two slabs. 
 It represents the standard-bearers of the king, with their respective 
 
2:24 
 
 KINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 charioteers. Each chariot has attached a distinct banner — the 
 foremost being a hull and the second two bulls. The chariots and 
 
 Fig. 107. — STAXDAKD-BEAREES— CON'i’JNUATJON OF FIG. 104. 
 
 trappings of the horses are exactly like those already described, 
 excepting for the addition of plumes upon the horses’ heads. There 
 are three horses to each chariot ; but only six legs are shown. The 
 officers are without caps or other head-gear ; though in other respects 
 their dresses are the same as before detailed. The victorious army is 
 pursuing the enemy through a wood, indicated by bushes and trees ; 
 while the eagle and the outstretched headless bodies are sufficiently 
 suggestive of the defeat and destruction of the enemy. A wounded 
 leader of the adverse party is imjiloring for quarter. The officers of 
 his chariot are represented as falling and struggling ; and their 
 action is in good opposition to the cool, steady array of the king’s 
 body-guard. 
 
 The third subject represents the king proceeding victoriously from 
 the battle field. (Eig. 109.) 
 
 The king, w'ho is in his war-chariot just described, is attended by 
 warriors on horseback and on foot. In front, leading the horses of 
 tlie chariot, is the king’s groom clothed in a short tunic, bordered 
 and fringed ; belt round his waist, sword suspended from the shoulders, 
 sandals upon his feet, and his uncovered hair elaborately curled. In 
 advance is a sceptre-bearer, armed, and wearing a pointed helmet. 
 "Within the chariot is the charioteer, holding the reins, and with a 
 whip in his right hand. His dress is a tunic, with a sash and belt 
 round his waist, and sword by his side ; but he wears no covering on 
 Ids liead, nor bracelets on his arms. The king is in his usual 
 costume ; and behind him stands an emmch holding a parasol above 
 his head. Immediately following the king is a mounted warrior 
 
NIMEOUD. PROCESSIONS AFTER VICTORY. 
 
 225 
 
 leading a richly caparisoned horse. Still further behind, hut in tlie 
 upper part of the slab, are two warriors carrying sceptres in their 
 
 elevated right hands, while the dead and dying are strewed above and 
 around. Preceding the king is the emblem of the Divinity, with his 
 right hand pointing onward, his left hanging down holding the how. 
 
 The fourth scene is a continuation of the last, and shows us the 
 “ Standard-bearers of the king in procession after victory.” (Fig. 109.) 
 
 In this frieze a war-chariot, drawn by three horses, conveys a 
 standard-bearer, his charioteer, and an attendant, who seems holding 
 on by a contrivance for the pm^pose, fixed in front of the car. The 
 standard-bearer has his right hand extended, while his left sustains a 
 standard with two bulls. In advance is another chariot, also drawn 
 by three horses, in processional pace, and guided by a charioteer. It 
 conveys a standard-bearer, whose standard is a Divinity drawing his 
 how, and standing upon a bull : it is especially to he noticed that 
 
226 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 wherever this standard is seen, it invariably precedes that which 
 contains two bulls, from which we infer that it is indicative of 
 superior rank. All these figures are without any head-dress, and 
 have their hair elaborately curled. Hovering over the foremost horse 
 is a bird of prey, a trained falcon, carrying in his claw a human head 
 from the field of battle. The fore part of the frieze is divided into 
 two sections : the upper portion shows three musicians, the two 
 elder of whom are each striking a nine-stringed instrument with a 
 long plectrum, while the third, a beardless youth, is playing with his 
 fingers upon a cylindrical drum, like the Indian tom-tom, which is 
 suspended round his neck. Advancing towards the musicians are 
 two unarmed soldiers, bearing human heads in their hands, the 
 foremost holding one forward, as if in evidence of his prowess in 
 the field. The lower division represents the two grooms belonging to 
 the chariots, in advance of the horses, and before them are some of the 
 king’s soldiers in conical caps, their hands up- 
 raised, as if eagerly relating the occurrences 
 of the day ; between the figures human heads 
 are strewn, indicating that this is a part of the 
 field of battle. The last group on the frieze 
 consists of two unarmed soldiers, one of whom 
 holds human heads in his hands, while the other 
 is addressing him with hands upraised, as in the 
 preceding group. 
 
 The fifth frieze upon this upper portion of 
 the waU is apparently divided into four com- 
 partments, 
 each of 
 which is 
 in itself so 
 curious and 
 interesting 
 that we 
 present the 
 detached, 
 sections on 
 a larger 
 scale than 
 the accom- 
 panying il- 
 lustrations. The first compartment that we shall describe (fig. 110) 
 represents a soldier fuUy armed and holding a scepire, introducing 
 
 Fi". 110. — CHAMBERLAIN RECEIVING rRISONERS. 
 
NIMHOUD. — MUMMERS — TAMBOURA. 
 
 227 
 
 Fig. 111.— MUMMERS DANCING. 
 
 four captives of distinction, all clothed in long robes, and with their 
 arms hound together by the 
 rope which is held by their 
 captor. The king’s cup- 
 bearer, of gigantic stature, 
 receives the prisoners at the 
 entrance of a pavilion, a 
 mark of respect that leads 
 to the conclusion that they 
 are captives of note about to 
 be led into the presence of 
 the king. The entrance of 
 the pavilion is formed of 
 pillars ornamented up their 
 entire shafts, and further enriched by highly decorated capitals, which 
 are surmounted by goats very 
 characteristically represented. A 
 sort of tympanum to this temple- 
 like pavilion is decorated similarly 
 to the pillars, and the cornice be- 
 neath consists of suspended orna- 
 ments like pine-cones, alternating 
 with tassels. The capital of the 
 last column of the pavilion is orna- 
 mented with the heads of animals, 
 but the fracture prevents our learn- 
 ing whether the top was likewise 
 surmounted by an animal. 
 
 Immediately above the prison- 
 ers is the second compartment 
 (fig. Ill), containing two mum- 
 mers clothed in lion skins, the 
 heads forming masks. They are 
 dancing a grotesque dance to the 
 music of a man who accompanies 
 them on a sort of cithern, played 
 with a plectrum : the instrument 
 is like the guitar with the long 
 finger-board, still in use in Persia 
 and Turkey, and played in the 
 same way with a plectrum (figs. 
 
 112 and 113). This instrument. Fig. ii2.-tamboura. Fig. ii3.— side view. 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEKERS. 
 
 called tamboura, is 3 ft. 9 in. long, and its elegantly shaped sounding 
 board is 6|- inches wide ; it has ten strings of small wire, 47 stops, 
 and is invariably highly enriched and inlaid with mother-of 
 pearl. The Tamboura is in common use upon the shores of the 
 Euphrates and Tigris, but in Egypt it has almost totally disappeared, 
 and in all probability ere long there may be no example extant of an 
 instrument that is possibly coeval with the time of David. Our 
 illustration is copied from a Tamboura, belonging to some Syrians 
 recently exhibiting in the Egyptian Hall. 
 
 In the centre of the frieze, and before the pavilion, is the third 
 compartment (fig. 114), showing a servant curry-combing a horse, 
 
 while two other horses are feeding out of a sack of corn, the strings 
 of which hang loosely down, and a forndh behind is admirably designed, 
 turning its head to bite its back. 
 
 The fourth compartment of this frieze (fig. 116) represents the 
 interior of the royal kitchen. It consists of a circle with thirteen 
 turreted towers at irregular intervals, like a walled town. This circle 
 is divided into four compartments, exactly resembling the 
 
 Egyptian hieroglyphic (fig. 115), the determinative of country 
 or district. ^ 
 
 The first compartment contains a brazier and fire-place Fig. 115 , 
 with clawed legs, and within the fire-place are several vases. A 
 eunuch holding a minasha or fiy-fiap in one hand, and in the other 
 a fan such as is used in the East at this day to revive the charcoal, 
 presides over the cooking or preserving operations. 
 
 The second compartment contains a table with crossed legs termi- 
 nated by cloven feet, and upon the table are cups and other vessels. 
 
 Fig. 114. — THE STABLE — CUREY-COMBING A HORSE. 
 
^'IilROUD. — THE royal KITCHEY. 
 
 229 
 
 On one side stands a eunnch holding a long napkin, el marrhamha, 
 over his left shoulder, and a flv-flap in his right hand. A second 
 eunnch is sitting upon a low stool in front of the table, occupied in 
 
 pounding in a mortar with his right hand, while his left holds a flv- 
 hap over a small vessel before him, from which we may suppose that 
 he is compounding sherbet or some sweet beverage. 
 
 Below, m the third compartment, is seen an aged eimuch, assisted 
 bya young one, disjointing an animal which lies upon atable before them. 
 
 The fourth compartment or chamber shows a long-bearded man, 
 evidently a common attendant, superintending the boiling of a large 
 pot with two handles. 
 
 The last frieze (hg. 117) on this upper pari of the wall represents a 
 battle with the kmg in his chariot and the Divinity flying over head. 
 
 The sixth frieze (fig. 118) on this upper line of the wall shows the 
 chief eimuch in battle. The eunuch is in his war-chariot with three 
 horses, which are guided by his charioteer. The usual arms are 
 attached to the chariot, all highly decorated; the breast-plate and 
 tunic of the chief officer are richly ornamented, and his left arm 
 
230 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEEEES. 
 
 is protected by a plate of metal, from tbe vibration of tbe bow-string 
 in discharging an arrow from his bow. Immediately over the horses 
 
 hovers a bird of prey ; and above their heads and beneath their feet 
 are two men falling, pierced by arrows, their arms scattered over the 
 
 battle-field. Behind the chariot, and with their backs turned towards 
 it, are two of the enemy — one standing, the other kneeling — both dis- 
 charging their arrows ; and in front of the horses is one who has 
 already been w’^ounded by two arrows, and who holds his bow in his 
 left hand, while with the right he endeavours to arrest the progress 
 of the chariot. Another, likewise apparently in retreat, has turned 
 to discharge an arrow at the conqueror ; and before him is one of the 
 king’s soldiers deliberately plunging his sword into the breast of an 
 adversary, whom he has driven down on his knees. Behind these is 
 an earthwork or mound, upon which two are contending, both on 
 
NIMROUD. TRAINED BIRDS OE PREY. 
 
 231 
 
 their knees ; but the king’s soldier retains his sword and wicker 
 shield, which he holds between himself and foe, who is quite disarmed, 
 his bow and quiver having fallen below. The king’s soldiers wear the 
 conical cap ; the enemy the simple fillet. 
 
 The seventh frieze (fig. 119) is a continuation of the same battle. 
 
 The conquerors are led by two horsemen — a eunuch, and his companion 
 shield-bearer ; after whom come two bearded warriors, each discharg- 
 ing arrows at the flying infantry of the enemy. The shield-bearers 
 have their shields slung at their backs, and seem to be holding the 
 reins of the horses of tlieir fighting companions and the manes of 
 their own. The bearded intantry Avearing the conical cap and armed 
 with bow, sceptre, and sword, follow in military order in pursuit of the 
 enemy. Under the horse of the foremost is a headless body ; and 
 suspended from the tasselled breast-armour or ornament of the horse 
 (precisely like that worn in the East at this day) is the head of one of 
 the vanquished. In front is a wounded soldier endeavouring to 
 shield himself with his hand. The bows and arrows of the faUen and 
 falling are scattered about the field of battle ; and a bird of prey 
 hovers over head. 
 
 The traveller. Sir John Chardin, when in Persia, was informed, 
 that, dovm to the sixteenth century, fierce falcons from Mount 
 Caucasus were trained to fly at men. We are disposed, therefore, to 
 regard these eagles, hovering over the chiefs, as birds trained to 
 accompany them in battle. In other parts of these scidptures from 
 Kimroud we find these birds contending with the wounded, and 
 chiefly attempting to pick out their eyes, thus exhibiting their natural 
 instinct, as eagles and fidcons, when contending with large and 
 powerfid j)rey, at once attack the eyes of their victims. The custom of 
 
282 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 employing fierce animals, tliat could be trained to aid in war, vcas not 
 confined to tbe A ssyrians, for Herodotus informs ns that Sesostris went 
 to battle with a lion, and we find, in the temple of Abou Simbal, a repre- 
 sentation of EhamsesII., in his war-chariot, actually going to battle with 
 a lion or panther under the chariot (see fig. 105). We have engraved 
 this Egyptian picture for a double purpose ; in the first place, as 
 illustrative of this historical fact ; and in the second, as affording our 
 readers an opportunity of comparing the trappings of the horses and 
 the construction of the chariot with those of Assyria. It is not a 
 little remarkable that these birds of prey are no where seen in the 
 sculptures of Khorsabad. 
 
 The eighth scene (fig. 129) shows the standard-bearers of the king 
 
 in battle. The chariots, and charioteers, and standards, in all respects 
 resemble those shown in fig. 108 ; and the officers are seen discharging 
 their arrows among the enemy, who are falling beneath the feet of the 
 liorses. In front is a foot soldier, and behind him two of the enemy, 
 VvEo are aiming their arrows at the officers of the king. 
 
 As this frieze terminates the upper line of historical subjects, we 
 shall return to the corner whence we started, and commence the 
 reading of the second line. 
 
 The first subject (fig. 121) represents the chariot of the king drawn 
 by three horses. In front of the chariot is the king’s groom ; and in the 
 chariot itself the charioteer holding the reins and having a whip in 
 his right hand. He is clothed in a tunic, with a sash and belt round 
 his waist, and a sword by his side, but has no covering on his head or 
 bracelets on his arms. The head of the groom is likewise uncovered. 
 
NIMEOTJD. SCALE AEMOUU. 
 
 233 
 
 and his hair is elaborately cnrled. He is clothed in a tnnic domi to 
 his knees, bordered and fringed ; has a belt round his waist, a sword 
 
 suspended from his shoulders, and sandals on his feet. The body- 
 guard behind the chariot wear bordered but not fringed surcoats ; and 
 have sluug over their shoulders their shields highly bossed, and with a 
 lion’s head in the centre. Their swords are likewise enriched. Their 
 feet are protected by sandals, and their heads by conical ca])s. They 
 hold bows in their left hands, and in their right the sceptre already 
 described. Before the chariot of the king are two soldiers clad in 
 scale armour, which reaches from the very cap, covering the neck and 
 shoulders, down to the ankles. The back of one is turned towards 
 the spectator, so that the entire sword is seen hanging from the 
 shoulders, and secured by a belt over the sash. He is directing his 
 arrows upwards ; whilst the other, who holds a dagger in his right 
 hand, is protecting his companions with a thickly-bossed shield. It 
 is to be observed that every bowman in all these sculptures appears 
 to be accompanied by a shield-bearer. A third warrior, wearing a 
 sword, but not clad in armour, is kneeling down in front, intiinatiug 
 military discipline and order. A bird of prey is directing its course 
 towards the battle-field ; where another, behind and above the chariot 
 of the king, is already tearing a dying man, who appears to have 
 fallen whilst in the act of flying for refuge to the city. He is clad in 
 the costume of the enemy. 
 
 The next frieze (fig. 122) is a continuation of the foregoing. It 
 represents the siege of a city situated in a plain, and protected on one 
 side by either a marsh or shallow sluggish river. On one side a satrap, 
 or ally of the king, attended by his shield-bearer, is vigorously pursuing 
 the attack. He is habited in the long fringed and embroidered robe. 
 
23i 
 
 J^INEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 sandals, bracelets, circlet on bis bead, and long sword, and is dis- 
 charging arrows under cover of tbe shield held by bis attendant, who 
 wears a helmet, and is partly clothed in mad. Immediately before 
 
 the satrap is the standard of the Divinity upon the bull, like that 
 which we have before observed to always precede the standard with 
 the two bulls. The ensign is fixed to the head of a wicker war- 
 engine and battering-ram, w^hich has succeeded in effecting a breach 
 in the w-alls. To divert the effect of the blows, the besieged are 
 endeavoming to raise the pole of the ram by means of a chain, an 
 effort that the besiegers are again counteracting, with the aid of large 
 hooks, employed in pulling it down. At the side of the war-engine a 
 bow-man on his knees, is discharging arrow^s, wiiile his companion, 
 armed with a dagger, defends him with his shield. Trom the fore- 
 most battlement the besieged are seen pouring some inflammable liquid 
 upon the W'ar-engines of the enemy, who, in their turn, are dis- 
 charging water from the moveable tower, to extinguish the fire. In 
 the highest tower of the war-engine are men clad in mail, discharging 
 arrows and casting stones. On a lofty tower of the gate some 
 women are seen tearing their hair in the agony of despair, while 
 strenuous efforts to defend the citadel are being made by the men 
 stationed on the walls. Beneath the towers of the gate are two men 
 disputing the possession of a treasure which they have accidentally 
 discovered, wdiile engaged in undermining the wall ; and farther on 
 two men, clad in mail, are effecting a breach in the wall by means of 
 celts, or bronze chisels fixed at the end of poles, as Mr. James Tates 
 has satisfactorily shown in a paper read at the Archaeological Society.^ 
 Notwithstanding the efforts of the besieged to defend the place, the 
 
 1 “ Archajological Journal,” December, 1842. 
 
XIMROUD. ORNAMENTS SEEN TN SARACENIC ARCHITECTURE. 235 
 
 outer works seem to be fatally bombarded, and the people are falling 
 in every direction from the inner walls. 
 
 The city is surrounded by four rows of battlemented walls, the 
 battlements, cornices, and gateways being richly decorated. The 
 principal gateway between the two towers is, like the others, bivalved, 
 and surroimded by an ornament commonly found in Saracenic 
 architecture, the very same decoration being observable on the walls 
 of the Alhambra and on various Moorish buildings and mosques in 
 Cairo and Constantinople. It is particidarly to be observed that- on 
 the side of the city which is already sufficiently protected by the 
 river, the artificial fortifications consist of low walls ; whereas on the 
 side where there is no natural defence the walls are high and further 
 fortified by numerous towers. AVhere the walls are high the 
 besiegers are employing war-engines in the shape of moveable 
 towers, and where they, are low mining operations are actively 
 pursued. The next slab (fig. 123) completes the subject. 
 
 Trom a tower of the city the besieged are seen casting stones and 
 discharging arrows upon the besiegers, who, armed with spears and 
 swords, are mounting rapidly by their scaling ladders. One of these, 
 of gigantic stature, protected by his wicker shield, heads the scahng 
 party, while beneath mining operations are carried on under cover of 
 the shields of the infantry. Behind the scaling party stands the king 
 in his long embroidered robe : he is discharging arrows at the castle 
 while his sliield-bearer protects him with his square wicker shield, 
 which he holds in his left hand. The shield-bearer is clad in a long 
 coat of mail, and holds m his left hand a javehn with two streamers. 
 A bird of prey hovers over head. “ And I will give thee to the 
 ravenous birds of every sort.” ^ Immediately following the king are 
 
 1 Ezekiel, xxxix. 4. 
 
236 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 two eunuclis in long robes : the elder one, who is of gigantic stature, 
 holds the umbrella over the king wdth his left hand, and in his right 
 appears the handle of the sceptre or instrument of authority. The 
 younger and lesser attendant carries the king’s quiver of arrows. 
 Fmdher on, three women and a boy are being led into captivity by a 
 soldier armed with sword and bow, who is also a sceptre-bearer, and 
 therefore a person of authority attending the king. The women are 
 bare-footed and wear long robes pecuharly ornamented, but without 
 fringes ; around their waists are scarfs, and their hair hangs over 
 their shoulders in long tresses,^ which they are tearing in despair. 
 Among the captives is a mother and her child. “ I will cast thee out, 
 and the mother that bare thee, into another country;” - and the 
 others may be supposed to be the maidens. “Tor lo ! our fathers 
 have fallen by the sword, and our sons, and our daughters, and our 
 Avives are in captivity.” ^ Above the women are three oxen, part of 
 the spoil. 
 
 May not these representations be a realisation of the prophecy of 
 Amos,”* “ and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, 
 saith the Lord,” and the city of Damascus? “For the king of 
 Assyria Avent up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the 
 people of it captive to Kir, and sIcav Eezin.” ® The site of Damascus 
 resembles that indicated in the friezes : two A^ery sTialloio streams 
 called Abana and Pharpar run through and meander about the walls 
 of the city. “ Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, 
 better than all the waters of Israel ? Again, the liquid fire, poured 
 by the besieged upon the besiegers, may probably be petroleum, Avith 
 Avhich the country abounds. Another corroborative point in support 
 of this suggestion is the inscription on the obelisk, Avhich, according 
 to Eawlinson’s reading, contains mention of Damascus, and likeAAnse 
 the name of the god Eimmon, the divinity of that city ; and, lastly, 
 it would seem that a large city was subjected to attack, since aU the 
 appliances of war have been brought into requisition. 
 
 The next friezes represent the king, who is folloAved by his chariot 
 and attendants, receiving the prisoners who have been captured in 
 the conquered city. The following illustration (fig. 124) is part of 
 this scene. 
 
 The size of slab 8 ft. by 3 ft. The walls of the city extend entirely 
 across the frieze, indicating that only a part of the subject is repre- 
 sented. Four battlemented toAvers are shoAvn ; and beneath the 
 battlements are circular ornaments — a decoration that induces 
 
 ’ Isaiah, xlvii. 2. 
 ^ Amos, i, 5. 
 
 2 Jeremiah, xxii. 26. 
 ^ 2 Kings, xvi, 9, 
 
 3 2 Chron , xxix. 9. 
 2 Kings, V. 12. 
 
XIMROUD. — PEOCESSIOX BEFORE WALLS OF PALACE. 
 
 237 
 
 the surmise that these are not the walls of the city, hut the 
 external boundaries of the palace. The idea is in some measure 
 
 Fig. 124. — TRIUMPHAL PROCESSION TO’SVARDS THE CITY. 
 
 sustained by the figures of tlie women, as the upper story in eastern 
 buildings is that appropriated to the females. On the walls are 
 several groups of women, each having her hair confined by a fillet 
 round the head, and flowing in long loose ringlets upon the shoulders. 
 Their dress consists of a simple robe, vith a scarf or broad band 
 round the waist. They are in various attitudes ; the first having her 
 arms extended and palms open, in the posture common in the East m 
 pronouncing a blessing; the second has her hands in the same 
 position, but the arms are more advanced ; and the third, who is alone, 
 and apparently an older person, has only one hand raised. The 
 gestures of the remaining two, evidently youthful figures, are far 
 more animated; the foremost having her hands extended, as if pointing 
 to the view vdthont and the objects of interest still beyond, while 
 her head is tiumed towards her companion, — who has one hand raised, 
 and seems speaking. Passing before the walls is a procession of 
 chariots ; the first drawn by two horses led by a groom. In it stands 
 the charioteer of a standard-bearer. The emblem is contained in a 
 circle, and represents an armed figme standing upon a bull, and 
 discharging an arrow from his bow. The next chariot resembles the 
 last, but has no attendant groom. It, likewise, conveys the charioteer 
 of a standard-bearer, the staff of Avhose standard is visible, though 
 the emblem is broken away. The arms, appointments, and the trap- 
 pings of the horses are the same as those described in former cases. 
 
 The three succeeding slabs present quite a neAA' scene — the passage 
 of a river by the army of the great king and his allies. 
 
 That the following (fig. 125) is the front division of the subject, is 
 
238 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEERS. 
 
 indicated liy tlie presence of tlie king, wko is always placed foremost 
 in every transaction, whetker in the battle or in tbe cbace. 
 
 Fig. 125. — THE GREAT KING CROSSING A RIVER. Size 7 ft. 3 in. by 3 ft. 
 
 Here be is in bis war-cbariot ; wbicb bas been put into a long 
 boat-like vessel. It is directed towards the coast by a strong 
 and naked steersman, with a long paddle, propelled by three 
 rowers, and further accelerated by men towing on the bank. The 
 king himself is in full panoply of war ; having his sword by his 
 side, three daggers in his belt, his bow in his left hand, and two 
 arrows in his right, while his battle-axe and quivers of arrows are 
 attached to the side of the chariot. Before him stands his eunuch, 
 fully armed, pointing out to his observation the position of the enemy; 
 and behind him is another of his chief beardless officers, likewise 
 completely armed. Tour horses are swimming behind, being guided 
 by the groom who sits within the boat; and above is a man swimming, 
 supported by the skin which he is inflating. 
 
 Fig. 126. — TROOPS AND EQUIPMENTS CROSSING THE RIVER. 
 
 Then follows fig. 126. The soldiers have taken off their clothes and 
 
^*^IE,OUD. PASSAGE OF A EIVEE. 
 
 239 
 
 accoutrements ; wliicli, as well as the chariots, are conreTed in boats. 
 The horses, likewise, relieved of their trappings, are guided by 
 swimmers ; ah these, whether soldiers or grooms, being supported by 
 skins, which they inflate as they progress. In advance of the others 
 is a boat rowed by two men, and conveying domestic finniture and 
 bundles — possibly the clothes of the swimmers. 
 
 Lastly we have fig. 127. One of the king’s beardless ofilcers. 
 
 Fig. 127. — PKEPAEATIOXS FOP. CP.OS3IXG A KIVEE, AND E3IBARKATIOX OF THE CnAP.IOTS. 
 
 wearing the short-fringed upper dress, and holding a whip in his 
 right hand, is superintending the embarkation of a royal chariot. 
 The eunuch is preceded by an attendant in helmet and short tunic ; 
 he holds in his upraised right hand what appears to be the handle of 
 a whip, and in his left a sceptre. Behind the eimuch is another 
 attendant, dressed like the last, but fully armed, and holding a sceptre 
 in his right hand. Before them is the river, upon which a boat has 
 been laimched; this boat contains two men, one managing the paddle, 
 and the other aiding in placing the chariot ; a third man of large 
 stature is transferring the chariot from his shoulders to the boat. 
 Around are men inflating skins, floating upon them, and swimming 
 without their aid, all being quite naked, excepting the belts round 
 their waists. The waves are large and tinbident, conveying the idea 
 of a large river or body of water. The various boats represented in 
 these scenes are singularly illustrative of the unchangeable habits of 
 the people. Il^"e see on the scidptures the very boats of circidar 
 form which Herodotus tells us were “ constructed in Armenia, in the 
 parts above Assyria, where the sides of the vessels, being formed of 
 willow, are covered externally with skins, and having no distinction 
 of head or stern. The boats have two oars — one man to each ; one 
 pulls to him, the other pushes Aom him. On their arrival at 
 
21*0 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS 
 
 Babylon they dispose of all tbeir cargo, selling the ribs of tbeir 
 boats, the matting, and everything but the skins which cover them 
 
 Fig. 128. — KUFAH, OR ROUND BASKET-BOAT, FROM A SKETCH BY MR. ROMAINE. 
 
 which they take back, to form into other similar vessels (Clio, cxciv). 
 Big. 128 shows the kufah, or modern round basket-boat, which is used 
 
 Fig. 129.— LARGE KELLEK, FROM A SKETCH BY MR. ROMAINE. 
 
NFMEOUD. — KELLEKS. 
 
 241 
 
 on tlie Tigris and Lower Euphrates. “They are formed,” says 
 Colonel Chesney, “ of osiers plaited together like baskets, over a cir- 
 cular frame of stout materials. In some instances, the basket is covered 
 with leather ; in others only with bitumen. The vessel is guided by 
 one man, who uses a large-bladed paddle alternately on each side.” ^ 
 Colonel Chesney likewise informs us that small rafts are formed 
 with four inflated skins, attached by withes of willow or tamarisk, 
 over which are placed branches in layers at right angles to each 
 other. “ This constitutes the smallest kind of kellek, on one of 
 which may be seen an Arab family, moving with the stream from 
 one pasture-ground to another, carrying its bags of corn and other 
 effects, the animals swimming by the side of the raft.” ^ 
 ICelleks of various sizes, figure 129, up to 36 feet and 40 feet in 
 
 Fig. 130 — TENT CABIN ON MODERN KELLEK, FROM A SKETCH 
 BY MR. ROMAINE. 
 
 length, and supported by from 50 to 800 inflated skins, are also 
 used to carry merchandise, and the river has, in consequence, 
 been called the chief camelier. The skins are readily re-inflated by 
 means of a reed pipe ; and on the platform is a fire-place, within a 
 little enclosure of damp clay, to prevent accidents. The rafts are 
 
 * See Isaiah xviii. 1,2; also Exod. ii. 3. 
 
 2 Col. Chesney, “ Survey of the Euphrates,” vol. ii., c. 20. We are indebted to Mr. Komaine 
 for the foregoing and several other very interesting sketches, illustrative of the scenery and 
 modern customs on the shores of the Euphrates and Tigris. 
 
 R 
 
242 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREHS. 
 
 generally kept mid-stream by means of two rude oars, made of the 
 rougli branches of trees, a palm-branch fan at the end of each forming 
 the blade. 
 
 As in the time of Herodotus, when the cargo has reached its 
 destination, the materials composing the raft are sold for fire-wood, 
 and the skins taken back by land for future use. The boat of the 
 Lamlum marshes is a larger and swifter vessel ; it is formed chiefly 
 of reeds, small, low, and long, like canoes, with the exception of being 
 covered with bitumen instead of skins. The stem and stern are 
 alike, and the boat is propelled either by one man sitting towards the 
 stern, or by one at each extremity, facing the direction in which the 
 boat is proceeding, and using their paddles on opposite sides. 
 
 The double line of illustration on this part of the wall terminates 
 here, and is succeeded by several groups of colossal figures. The 
 first represents the king holding a cup and a bow, and followed by 
 his armour-bearer. The second contains the king in conversation 
 with the Hab Signeen. The third, a repetition of the king and his 
 armour-bearer, but facing the reverse way. On the fourth slab is a 
 winged figure, having a garland on his head, a basket in one hand, 
 and in the other a flower of five branches, which he is presenting 
 towards the small entrance we are about to pass. Upon each jamb, 
 and looking into the chamber, is a winged bull, wearing an egg-shaped, 
 triple-horned head-dress ; difiering only in the head-dress from the bulls 
 so fully described at Khorsabad. Behind the bulls are large slabs, 
 covered with cuneatic inscriptions. Passing on, we find a second 
 colossal winged being, exactly like that on the answering side of the 
 door ; and the remaining portion of the wall on this side is lined wdth 
 a double row of illustration. 
 
 The first on the upper line, fig. 131, represents three men swimming 
 
^'mEOUD. WICKER WAR ENGINE. 
 
 243 
 
 across a mountain torrent, endeavouring to gain a stronghold built on 
 its bank. Two of them, tbe chief and bis attendant, are sujiported 
 on inflated skins. Tbe van-guard of tbe Assyrian army is seen 
 descending from the biUs, in pmsuit of tbe unfortunate men, who are 
 ah’eady wounded by them shafts. On tbe outer tower is seen tbe 
 watchman ; and on two other towers women extending their bauds in 
 prayer for tbe safety of tbe fugitives. In tbe billy coimtrv of this 
 region grow trees of tbe date and exogenous kinds. This city has 
 strong foundations, built of hewn stones, and high battlemented walls, 
 and tbe towers of the citadel have numerous windows. 
 
 Tbe next frieze, fig. 132, represents tbe attack of a fortified city. 
 
 The king, accompanied by bis body-guard carrying bis arms, and 
 attended by a single eunuch, all on foot, dnects bis arrows against 
 tbe citv. Tbe body-guard are clothed in surcoats reaching midway 
 down tbe legs. Each has a round shield upon bis left arm, which be 
 bolds upraised, to protect tbe sovereign from tbe shafts of tbe enemy. 
 Tbe one behind tbe king has a quiver of arrows, and a sword. He 
 bolds two arrows in bis right band, for tbe king’s use, whilst tbe 
 guard beside him bears tbe king’s javelm, and is without a sword or 
 quiver. Both guards wear sandals, and conical caps. Tbe king’s dress 
 consists of a loug robe, richly fringed, with a shorter tunic closing down 
 tbe front, bordered and fringed. Two cords, knotted together, with 
 tassels, are suspended from tbe girdle, in which be wears two daggers, 
 and a sword at bis left side. He has a second arrow in bis band, besides 
 the one which be is in tbe act of discharging from bis bow. He wears 
 tbe royal head-dress, round tbe base of which passes a plain and unde- 
 corated fillet, tied behind with long ribands. Ear-rings and bracelets 
 are worn by all; sometimes distinguished by a tbree-lobed termi- 
 nation, sometimes consisting of rings with broad pendants. Those 
 
244 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEUEES. 
 
 of the king, however, are longer than and different in form from the 
 others. The bracelets on the king’s wrists are conspicuous from the 
 rosettes, whilst those on the arms of his guard are simple massive 
 rings. The eunuch is habited in a robe down to his feet and fringed 
 at the bottom, and a sash is round his waist, over which the belt of his 
 sword is buckled. On his left side are a bow and a quiver of arrows, 
 and in his right hand is an implement like a stick, with a rosette 
 ornament at one end, and a loop at the other. This instrument we 
 have designated a sceptre, because we remark that in all the sculp- 
 tures the personal attendants of the king, whether his eunuch or his 
 bearded guard, invariably carry it. Xenophon tells us, that 300 
 sceptre-bearers, richly dressed, attended the elder Cyrus upon every 
 occasion. The eunuch’s head is uncovered, and his hair is formally 
 curled. He has ear-rings and bracelets, but wears no sandals. His 
 garments, as well as those of the king, are elaborately embroidered 
 and fringed. Immediately before the king is a castle formed of 
 wicker-work protected in front by curved projections of some less 
 fragile material. This structure, which runs on wheels, is as high as 
 the walls of the besieged town. Both upper and lower tower have 
 three loopholes for the discharge of arrows, and other missiles. The 
 upper tower contains soldiers, bearing square wicker shields, and 
 armed with bows, arrows, and stones. One soldier is discharging an 
 arrow under the cover of his companion’s wicker shield, while the 
 latter is throwing a stone. The wicker engine likewise carries with 
 it a battering-ram ; the strokes of which have taken effect upon the 
 walls of the town, as may* be perceived by the displaced and falling 
 stones. The embattled walls of the city have at intervals lofty towers. 
 The entrance to the city is by an arched gateway, opening with two 
 valves, and protected by a tower on each side. There are loopholes 
 and windows both in the towers and in the walls above the gateway. 
 The defenders posted on the walls (two men in each tower) are 
 discharging arrows, with which their quivers, slung over their shoul- 
 ders, are well stocked ; and they also use the square wicker shield. 
 'Ehe besieged are distinguished in their costume from the besiegers 
 by the head-dress, for, instead of the cap, they wear a fillet round 
 their heads resembling that worn by a people represented on the 
 Egyptian monuments. In the front of the defenders is an elder of 
 the city, who holds his slackened bow in his left hand, and who appears 
 by the action of his right to be endeavouring to obtain a parley. He is 
 closing it b}^ bringing the four fingers and thumb together — an action 
 still in use in the East to enjoin prudence, consideration, and invariably 
 accompanied by some word implying patience. 
 
KIMEOUD. — LION HUNT — CLAW IN TAIL. 
 
 245 
 
 The next scene is of a totally different character. It represents a 
 lion-hunt. The king is in his chariot, drawn by three horses, which 
 the charioteer is urging forward to escape the attack of an infuriated 
 lion that has already placed its fore paws upon the back of the 
 
 chariot. The action and countenance of the charioteer are not 
 without an expression of fear, and his flowing hair evinces the speed 
 at which the horses are advancing. At this critical moment the royal 
 descendant of the “mighty hunter” aims a deadly shaft at the head 
 of the roaring and wounded monster, the position of whose tail and 
 limbs is finely indicative of rage and fury. Behind the lion are 
 two of the king’s bearded attendants, fully armed, and holding their 
 daggers and shields ready to defend themselves in case the prey 
 should escape the arrow of the king. Before the chariot is a wounded 
 lion, crawling from under the horses’ feet ; and the cringing agony 
 conveyed in its entire action is well contrasted with the undaunted 
 fury of the former. The existence of a claw in the tuft at the end of 
 the lion’s tail was disputed for ages, but here in these ancient sculj)- 
 tures is an exaggerated representation of it, in support of this curious 
 fact in natural history. The peculiarity was first recorded byDidymus of 
 Alexandria, an early commentator on the Iliad, who flourished 40 j^ears 
 before the Christian era.^ Homer and other poets feign that the lion 
 lashes his sides, and Lucan states that he does so to stimulate himself 
 to rage ; but not one of these writers adverts to the claw in the tail, 
 although Hidymus, who lived 100 years before the last-named author, 
 discovered it and conjectured that its purpose was to effect more 
 readily what Lucan ascribes to the tail alone. Whatever may have 
 been the supposed use or intention of this claw, its existence has 
 been placed beyond all dispute by Mr. Bennett, who, at one of the 
 
2-16 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEERS. 
 
 meetings of the Zoological Society of London, in 1832, showed a 
 specimen of it, which was taken from a living animal in the Society’s 
 menagerie (fig. 135.) (See “ Proceedings of the Council of the Zoological 
 Society of London,” 1832, p. 116.) It is no small gratification to be 
 able now to quote in evidence of the statement of Mr. Bennett and 
 his predecessor Didymus of Alexandria, this 
 original and authentic document ; and on the 
 authority of the veritable descendants of the 
 renowned hunter himself: a document, too. 
 Fig. 134-claw IN lion’s TAIL, that any one may read who will take the 
 From Nimroud sculpture, trouble to examine the slab under considera- 
 tion. The king’s bearded attendants wear the conical cap, with a 
 large tassel depending from under the hair at the 
 back of the head. The king himself is habited as 
 before described, and armed with a sword, the 
 
 . , . , , -IT 1 T 135.— CLAW IN LION S 
 
 scabbard of which is adorned with lions’ heads. tail, full size. 
 
 In its groove behind the chariot is the king’s javelin, decorated with 
 two fillets. 
 
 The fourth scene, which likewise relates to the chase, displays a 
 bull-hunt (fig. 136) . The king is attended by his huntsman, who follows 
 
 the chariot, riding sideways upon one horse, and leading another with 
 embroidered saddle, and richly caparisoned, for the king’s use in the 
 chase. The king, in his chariot, turns round to seize a bull, whose 
 fore legs are entangled in the wheels, and secures the infuriated 
 animal by grasping one of the horns with his left hand, while his 
 riglit inserts a small dagger precisely between tlie second and third 
 vertebree — just where the spinal cord is most assailable. He performs 
 tliis dangerous feat with dignity — with that calmness and composure 
 
NIMROUD. PROCESSION OF CAPTIVES WITH SPOIL. 
 
 247 
 
 acquired bj long experience. Another bull, pierced with four arrows, 
 lies dead on the ground. In the accustomed place is the royal spear, 
 but hke that in the hand of the huntsman, it has the addition of a 
 fillet, to rouse and frighten the wild animals. The same deficiency in 
 the number of legs, both of the chariot -horses and the saddle-horses, 
 is observable in this sculpture. 
 
 As this completes the upper line of illustration, we return and 
 commence reading the second line. Here the first scene relates to 
 the conquests of the great king, fig. 137. It represents a procession 
 
 Fig. 137. — PROCESSION OF CAPTIVES M^iTH TRIBUTE. Size, 11 feet by 3 feet. 
 
 conveying prisoners and spoil to the feet of the conqueror. The 
 procession is led by two officers of importance, habited in long fringed 
 and embroidered robes, having swords with ornamented scabbards 
 and handles slung over their shoulders, and sandals on their feet. 
 The one is bearded and the other beardless ; the latter having a 
 turban of embroidered linen on his head. Both have their hands 
 crossed in the attitude of respect. A double bale of embroidered 
 cloth is placed above, but not resting on, their heads. Immediately 
 succeeding these are two other officers, similar in every respect, 
 excepting that the head of the eunuch is uncovered, and that he is on 
 the right instead of on the left of the bearded figure. Three bars of 
 precious woods are placed above these two. Following them is a 
 single eunuch, clad in the same fashion, and having two tuslts of an 
 elephant placed above his head. His left hand is upraised, in the act 
 of introducing a prisoner of distinction, as may be inferred from his 
 flowing robes and the decorated fillet upon his head, above which are 
 two square vases. The feet of this prisoner are bare, and his arms 
 are tied behind him, the cord being held in the left hand of a gigantic 
 soldier, Avho follows with his clenched right hand elevated, as if in the 
 act of buffeting his prisoner. The costume of the soldier is the high 
 
248 
 
 KINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEllEES. 
 
 conical cap, a tunic reacMng midway down tlie leg, quiver slung at 
 his back, and how on his arm ; above his head is a semicircular vase 
 of different form, with two handles. Then follows a eunuch, — 
 excepting that he wears sandals, habited like the first prisoner, whose 
 chief minister he probably is. Above his head is also a vase. His 
 arms are bound and secured to the two barefooted, and evidently 
 inferior, prisoners who follow in succession. These two wear short 
 tunics and the fillet encircling the head. The cord which binds their 
 arms and secures them to one another is held by another gigantic 
 soldier, wearing the conical cap and short tunic, as in the former 
 case ; in the left hand he likewise holds his bow, the right being 
 raised in the act of striking with the staff the captives before him. 
 Some have considered that the vases and other implements above the 
 heads of the people in this procession are intended to indicate the 
 rank of each person ; but, to our view, they represent the spoil taken 
 and brought with the prisoners, and laid down on the ground before 
 the conqueror, as in the battle scenes are represented on the ground 
 the dead bodies of the slain. “ I give him charge to take the spoil, 
 and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the 
 streets.” ^ We cannot leave this frieze without noticing especially 
 the attitude of the principal prisoner wdio is brought before the 
 conqueror by the gigantic soldier. The position of this prisoner 
 suggests a passage in 1 Samuel (c. 15, c. 32), in which Agag is 
 described as coming to Saul after the defeat of the Amalekites, “ and 
 Agag came unto him delicately.” 
 
 The next subject, fig. 188, may be called the League or Treaty of 
 
 Peace : for such is its evident import. The great king having pursued 
 bis enemies, who fled like wild beasts, as indicated by the spear 
 
 1 Isaiuli, X. 
 
KIxMEOUD. THE ROYAL SCEPTRE-BEARER. 
 
 219 
 
 furnislied with a fillet, into their strong places, has alighted from his 
 chariot to ratify a treaty of peace with the Melek, or king, of the 
 opposite party, particularly marked by his dress, but who, like the 
 former, is attired in the richly embroidered upper garment, w'hich is 
 seemingly a royal vesture. Both kings are on foot ; but the con- 
 queror is distinguished by the implements of war which he still 
 retains, while his adversary raises his right hand in the act of suppli- 
 cation. Moreover, the favourable conditions of the treaty are further 
 intimated by tlie surrender of the prisoners — as expressed by the figure 
 in the conical cap kissing the feet of his sovereign and deliverer 
 Immediately behind the great king stand his umbrella-bearer and 
 a sceptre-bearer, (see fig. 139) . Then follows the royal groom in front 
 of the horses ; then one of the king’s body-guard ; 
 and, last of all at his post, the charioteer. 
 
 The relative importance and rank of each of 
 these officers of the royal household are intimated 
 bj^ the height of the person of the officer. Each 
 bears his appropriate insignia ; and all are armed 
 precisely as in the rilievo before described. The 
 horses ui this, and in the second rilievo have the 
 fidl complement of legs. 
 
 The next slab represents the return of the king 
 from the chase. It is a perfect tableau de genre de 
 haul ton ; portraying the manners of the Assyrian 
 court more than 2,500 years ago ; resembling in 
 so many points the present customs of the East, 
 that it is truly remarkable how little change the 
 lapse of time has effected ; and affords a most in- 
 teresting illustration of the marked and peculiar 
 characteristic of oriental nations, namely, their 
 teuacious regard for the habits and customs of their forefathers. 
 The king wears the usual truncated cap, long-fringed robe, and 
 short highly embroidered tunic, with the cord and tassels sus- 
 pended from his girdle ; his sword is buckled over his sash, and 
 the tassels of his sword-belt are hanging from his shoulders both 
 back and front. Similar tassels are suspended from under the 
 hair at the back of the head ; and he has rosette-clasped bracelets, 
 plain armlets, and a double string of beads round his neck. 
 Eully armed, he stands in the centre of the composition ; his bow 
 being still in his left hand, while with his right he raises to his lips 
 the cup which he has just received from the hand of the cup-bearer. 
 At his feet lies the subdued lion. He is followed by two beardless 
 
 Fig. 139. — A ROYAL 
 
250 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 attendants, who have accompanied him in the chase, and who hear 
 a reserve supply of bows and arrows, as well for the king’s use as for 
 their own defence. They, as usual, wear no head-dress, and are 
 attired in very richly-embroidered robes reaching down to the 
 ankles. Behind these are the king’s bearded attendants, distinguished 
 by their short surcoats, reaching but little below the knee, and, as 
 well as the last two, carrying the sceptre. All these we may fairly 
 presume have accompanied the king in the chase, and have arrived 
 with him at the entrance of his palace, where he is met by the officers 
 of his household. In advance of these latter stands the royal cup- 
 bearer, (see fig. 140), the sJiarbetgee of modern times. This func- 
 tionary, having presented his lord with 
 the prepared beverage, is occupied in dis- 
 persing the flies, which, in hot climates, 
 assail with uncommon avidity all cool and 
 sweetened fluids. The instrument which 
 he holds in his right hand for this purpose 
 will be recognised by all travellers in the 
 East, as the minasha — the very same fly- 
 flap that is used at the present day. It is 
 ordinarily made of the split leaves of the 
 palm, fastened together at the handle, 
 which in this representation appears to 
 terminate in the shape of a ram’s head. 
 Over his left shoulder is thrown, exactly 
 as in the present day, and as borne by the 
 young Cyrus at the court of Astyages,^ 
 the long handkerchief or napkin (elmdr- 
 hamd), richly embroidered and fringed at 
 both ends, which he holds in his left hand* in readiness to present 
 to the king to wipe his lips. Behind the cup-bearer stand two officers 
 of the king’s household in the attitude prescribed by Eastern etiquette 
 —their hands folded quietly one over the other. The bearded person 
 has a fillet round his head, with a double necklace, indicating, as 
 we pres Lime, that he is the chief of those who attend upon the 
 king in the lower apartments (the saldmlik') of the palace. The 
 other beardless attendant is the chief of the king’s servants (the 
 Kizlar Ay«), who superintends the upper apartments (the liareemlih') 
 of his palace. They are both clad in the long dress, richly embroi- 
 dered and fringed, and wear swords. Their importance in the 
 household is again intimated by the reiative height of their figures. 
 
 Fig. 140.— THE ROYAL 
 CUP-BEARER. 
 
 Cyropecdia, bk. i. 
 
NIMROUD. — RETURN FROM THE BULL HUNT. 
 
 251 
 
 Behind these stand the royal minstrels, who celebrate the king’s 
 prowess in the battle and in the chace, accompanying themselves on 
 instruments of nine strings held in the left hand and supported by 
 a belt over the left shoulder. These instruments appear to be played 
 like the Nubian harp, the fingers being used sometimes to stop and 
 sometimes to twang the chords ; and a plectrum or stick is in the 
 right hand, mth W'hich the chords are struck. The plectrum, in this 
 instance, is apparently a stick, instead of a small piece of leather, 
 commonly used at present. Brom the extremity of the instrument, 
 into Avhich the pegs for the strings are inserted, hang five tasselled 
 cords. The instrument in the hands of tlie nearest performer 
 terminates in a human head, probably to indicate that the bearer is 
 the chief musician, or the leader of the chorus : for we apprehend 
 that the tivo in this sculpture, as in all the representations of battles, 
 sieges, hunts, &c., are put for the many. With regard to the 
 capabilities of such an instrument it is difficult to form any notion ; 
 for before sufficient tension of the chords to produce sound cordd be 
 obtained, it would break at the elbow formed by the arm and the 
 body of the instrument. Either the sculptor has altogether omitted 
 the column to resist this tension of the strings, or the angle formed 
 by the body of the instrument and the arm is not faithfully repre- 
 sented. The minstrels are habited in long garments, fringed and 
 embroidered ; but they wTar no bracelets or ear-rings. Their height 
 however, is indicative of considerable rank in the Assyrian court ; 
 nevertheless, their efforts to record the deeds of their sovereign have 
 not been so successful, in point of durability at least, as those of the 
 sculptor. 
 
 The last scene of this line of illustration (fig. 14-1), resembles in 
 
252 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 most particulars, the previous subject, “ The King returning from the 
 Lion bunt.” 
 
 Tbe dress of tbe king is exactly tbe same as in that, and be raises 
 tbe drinking-cup to bis lips with bis band, while his left bolds bis 
 bow. Behind the king is bis umbrella-bearer, and following him are 
 two eunuchs of lesser size, bearing sceptres and quivers of arrows. 
 At tbe feet of tbe king is tbe bull which be has subdued, and before 
 him stand tbe cup-bearer with bis fly-flap, and Bab Saganeen, habited 
 in a short surcoat bke that worn by tbe king. He bolds bis hands 
 folded one over another, in tbe conventional attitude of respect. 
 Behind these is a beardless figure, entirely unarmed, and with bis 
 bands folded before him ; and after him succeed two musicians, 
 playing with plectra on nine-stringed instruments. Tbe dress of the 
 musicians is a long fringed robe, like those worn by tbe other actors 
 in tbe scene, but in addition to it they wear short furred tunics, and 
 their hair is elaborately curled. 
 
 This subject brings us to tbe corner of tbe room which is occupied 
 by tbe usual representation of tbe symbolic tree. 
 
 Upon tbe adjoining wall, forming tbe end of tbe hall, we find, first 
 a winged figure wearing the egg-shaped three-horned cap, and bolding 
 a pine cone and basket ; then a group of two winged figures and two 
 kings, before tbe symbolic tree (fig. 142) ; and finally, a repetition of 
 tbe first- mentioned winged being; in all, six colossal figures. Tbe 
 large group forming tbe centre stone shows us tbe king, twice 
 
 Fig. 142.— KIN(i AND DIVINITIES BEFORE BAAL AND THE SYMBOLIC TREE. 
 
 repeated, for uniformity sake, performing some religious rite before 
 tbe symbolic tree, in tbe presence of tbe chief divinity, which we con- 
 sider to typify Baal. The king holds tbe sceptre in bis left band, bis 
 right being upraised and bis fore-finger pointed, as if in conversation 
 
IsIMROUD. — BAAL. — SYMBOLS. 
 
 253 
 
 The 
 
 Y/itli the winged divinity above. Elijah apostrophises the priests 
 of Baal ironically, by telling them to call louder on the divinity ; for, 
 lie says, “ he is a god ; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is 
 in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.” 
 (1 Kings xviii., 27.) We may judge now, wdth these authentic docu- 
 ments of the worshippers of Baal before us, how' cuttingly sarcastic 
 W' as this address of the prophet. Here truly he is talking ; elsewhere 
 he is pursuing, - as w'e have seen ; or on a journey ; or peradventure 
 sleeping : this is the climax of sarcasm, because sleep, as the priests 
 of Baal Avell knew, is necessary to the restoration of the faculties of 
 the mortal, and incompatible with divinity. “ Behold, he that keepeth 
 Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” ^ 
 
 We have given three illustrations of this divinity or emblem, 
 first is taken from the most elaborate 
 specimen w^e have yet seen, that in the 
 above subject, in which the radiating 
 lines within the circle conspicuously 
 typify the rays of the sun. The second, 
 wdiich we conceive had the same inten- 
 tion, occurs in less elaborated sculp- 
 tures ; and the third is taken from the 
 
 that appears over the dooiwvays of the most 
 ancient, as w'ell as of the more recent, Egyptian 
 temples, and likewise over tablets. We have little 
 doubt but that the Egyptian design is the original 
 of the Assyrian, and that it substantially bears the 
 same import. In every case this figure appears 
 in the upper part of the field or ground of the basso-rilievo and over 
 the head of the king, w'ith wdiom he 
 is always acting in unison ; eitlier 
 aiding him in battle, admonishing the 
 rebellious subjects of the distant pro- 
 vinces of the empire to yield ready 
 tribute, or as if advising with him. It is remarkable, that in the 
 sculptures of Khorsabad there is no single instance of this particular 
 divinity, so often represented in the sculptures from Nimroud. 
 
 In the floor beneath this mystic basso-rilievo w^as found a slab, 
 10 feet by 8, and 2 feet thick, wEich was ascended by steps, the sides 
 beiiiCT inscribed : around the slab w'as a conduit, as Layard surmises, to 
 carry off some fluid, or the blood of the victim, and under the stone 
 there were found some bones and fragments of gold leaf. Besides the 
 
 143. — BAAL. 
 
 well-known figure 
 
 Fig. 144. — SYMBOL OF 
 BAAL. 
 
 145. — EGY'PTIAN SYMBOL. 
 
 ' Psalm, cxxi. 4. 
 
254 
 
 KINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 above, there were two other hollowed square stones, in the north- 
 eastern corner of the chamber. 
 
 Passing the symbolic corner-stone, we find on the northern wall of 
 the hall a divinity with four wings ; his right hand elevated, his left 
 holding a sceptre, and his face directed, as usual, towards the 
 adjoining doorway. The recess of this entrance is lined with 
 inscribed slabs; and on the jambs beyond, and with their backs 
 turned towards the hall, are winged human-headed lions, having 
 likewise human arms, crossed upon their breasts. Proceeding 
 onwards, there are no remains of friezes until we arrive near the 
 second entrance on this side, where the first that meets our view is a 
 portion of the lower division. 
 
 Pig. 146. The king’s chief officer in his chariot, accompanied 
 
 Fig. 146.— THE flight: parthian bowmen. Size, 7 feet by 3 feet. 
 
 by his charioteer, pursuing the cavalry of the enemy, and 
 driving it into a river. Pour of the enemy are represented 
 
 in rapid flight, while one of the infantry, who has been struck 
 down, reaches out his hand for succour to a horseman, who 
 attempts to aid him. One of the foremost of the fugitives 
 seizes the opportunity to turn and discharge his arrows at 
 the pursuers, and under the horses of the chariot is a wounded 
 man, attempting to draw out the arrows with which he has been 
 pierced in the side and in the thigh. The direction of the heads 
 is reversed in this frieze : they here face to the left instead of to the 
 right. 
 
 “ The Roman dreads the Parthian’s speed, 
 
 His flying war and backward reed.” — Horace, ii. Odes, 13. 
 
 “ Or Parthian, urging in his flight 
 The battle with reverted steed.” — Horace, i. Odes, 19. 
 
 These two quotations from the Poman poet exactly describe our 
 bassi-rilievi, and the Assyrian artist has not failed to represent this 
 
KIMROUD. WINGED DIVINITY. 
 
 255 
 
 peculiarity of Parthian warfare, although he does not acknowledge, 
 like the Koman poet, any dread of the Parthian flight : a mode of 
 warfare that made even the Soman soldiers 
 fear the encounter, and which, we have little 
 doubt, wws equally a source of apprehension to 
 the troops of the great king. 
 
 The next subject is a part of the last, and 
 shows the siege of a castle near a river. 
 
 The double line of historical illustration 
 concludes with this scene, and the next slab, 
 fig. 147, shows us a colossal winged figure : 
 size of slab, seven feet three inches by four 
 feet four and a-half inches, having but two 
 winofs, holdiiii? on his rio-ht arm a fallow-deer, 
 and in his upraised left hand a branch bearing 
 five flowers erect. The figure faces towards 
 the left, and is distinguished for the finished 
 execution and high preservation of the sculp- 
 ture. His elaborately curled hair is confined 
 
 round the head by a circlet, with a rosette-formed ornament in front ; 
 and his mantle and robe, which resemble in form those already 
 described, are both richly ornamented, fringed, and tasselled. 
 
 This brings us to the fourth entrance, in the recess of which we 
 again find the inscribed slabs ; and on the 
 outer jambs, with their backs turned towards 
 the hall, are winged lions, with human heads 
 and arms — the left carrying a stag, and the 
 right a flower, with five blossoms. On the 
 adjoining side of the door we meet a repe- 
 tition of the divinity carrying the fallow- 
 deer and branch, and then with its face 
 directed the contrary way, a winged divinity 
 carrying the fir cone and basket, fig. 148. 
 
 IVe have now reached the fourth symbolic 
 corner-stone, and there, on the end wall, 
 facing towards the large doorway by which 
 we entered, we find a second figure of 
 jSTisroch, fig. 149. His right hand is elevated, 
 liolding the pine cone, and the left hangs 
 down, carrying the square basket. The 
 
 dress is similar in shape to those formerly described — consisting 
 of the long robe, mantle, and ornaments ; but the borders 
 
256 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEREES. 
 
 of his garments are symbolically embroidered. One bem is 
 decorated with the pine cone and lotus, another with the lotus and 
 
 Fig. 149. — NiSRocH. 
 
 honeysuckle, tastefully intermingled, while a third portrays a battle 
 between himself and the human-headed lion, in which the former 
 is victorious. It is worthy of remark, that the eagle-headed human 
 
NIMHOUD. SELIKDAT^. 
 
 figure in this embroidery has four wings : and we would further 
 point out the extravagant development of muscle in tlie leg of the 
 divinity. This exaggeration arises in no conceit or mannerism of the 
 artist, for it is to be seen in all the statues of the divinities, and seems 
 to be peculiar to the sculpture of this age, the characteristic not being so 
 apparent in the examples at Khorsabad, althoiigli the same position 
 is observed. It is evidently the conventional mode of indicating 
 strength, and the irresistible power of the divinity is shown in the 
 attitude of the figure. We take it that the pine-cones in the 
 band of the god, and upon his robe, are emblematic of the same 
 strength and pride ; for the Assyrians and other nations, as well as 
 great kings, are constantly likened to cedars, to figure out their high 
 station, glory, and protection of others. (See Ezekiel, xvii., xxxi.; 
 2 Kings, xiv. ; i\.mos, ii. ; and Isaiah, ii., x.) 
 
 The historical slabs in this chamber do not seem to relate 
 throughout to one consecutive subject or campaign, each event 
 following in easy succession or chronological order, as at Khorsabad. 
 On the contrary, no single series seems to extend beyond three 
 or four subjects, which then terminate abruptly by the commence- 
 ment of a totally different scene. Again, in the case of the lion and 
 bull hunts, the subjects do not follow one another, 
 but are read up and down — the return from the 
 lion-hunt being under the hunt itself, and the 
 same order being observed in the bull-hunt. 
 
 Another peculiarity is the irregular placing of 
 the colossal figures ; for example, on one wall we 
 find eleven slabs of double lines of illustration, 
 succeeded by four slabs containing groups of 
 colossal figures, while on the answering side of 
 the doorway there is but one colossal figure, suc- 
 ceeded by four slabs of double illustration ; and 
 on the opposite wall, the irregularity is almost 
 equally marked, suggesting the obvious conclusion 
 that the whole of the sculptures must have formed 
 part of some earlier edifice. In quitting this 
 great hall, we turn back to the side entrance 
 where we noticed the Divinity carrying the fal- 
 low deer, and at once pass through, and station 
 ourselves opposite the opening. 
 
 On the portion of the Avails still standing, we 
 find, first in an angle to our left, a winged divinity, 14 feet high, 
 wearing the three-horned cap, and carrying the fir-cone and basket ; 
 
 Fig. 150. — THE SELIKDAR, 
 OR SWORD-BEARER. 
 
258 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEriS. 
 
 then, on tlie adjoining side, the king holding his bow and arrow, and 
 followed bj his Selikdar (fig. 150) ; and facing the king, the bearded 
 
 Fig. 151. — CAPTIVE HEADING PROCESSION OF TRIBUTE-BEARERS, 
 
 dignitary whom wm have elsew’here designated the Kab Signeen, who 
 is followed by an eunuch. On our right Ave see the continuation of 
 
KIMROUD. — MONKEYS AS TRIBUTE. 
 
 259 
 
 the procession, the figure next the entrance being again a bearded 
 dignitary, after whom comes an eunuch, followed by people bringing, 
 as tribute, monkeys, earrings, and bracelets. 
 
 lu the first figure (fig. 151) the bended knee and uplifted hands 
 
260 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 are expressive of submission and respect. Behind him follows an 
 attendant (fig. 152) bearing on one shoulder a monkey, and leading 
 another by a cord. The first wears a turban, and has a fringed mantle 
 over a long under robe, while his attendant has a fillet round his head, 
 a mantle short in front, and his under-dress reaching only to his knee. 
 They both wear on their feet buskins, turned up at the toes, like the 
 papusch of Constantinople. These figures are short and muscular in 
 form, resembling very much in countenance the people of Caramania. 
 Eighteen lines of inscription traverse this slab. 
 
 Proceeding to the second entrance on this side of the great hall, we 
 find a repetition of the same subject, but as our purpose is only to 
 describe in detail those sculptures actually in the British Museum, 
 we will at once direct our course through the other chambers of the 
 palace. Crossing the great hall to the doorway on the south side, we 
 meet on each jamb a winged human-headed and eagle-winged bull (fig. 
 153) . This animal would seem to bear some analogy to the Egyptian 
 
 Fig. 153.— WINGED BUI.L IN HALL OF BRITISH MUSEUM. 
 
 sphynx, which represents the head of the king upon the body of the 
 lion, and is held by some to be typical of the union of intellectual 
 power with physical strength. The sphynx of the Egyptians, however, 
 is invariably sitting, whereas the IN^imroud figure is always represented 
 standing. The apparent resemblance being so great, it is at least 
 worthy of consideration whether the head on the winged animals of 
 the Ninevites may not be that of the king, and the intention identical 
 with that of the sphynx ; though we think it more probable that 
 there is no such connexion, and that the intention of the Ninevites 
 was to typify their god under the common emblems of intelligence, 
 strength, and swiftness, as signified by the additional attributes of the 
 
KIMEOUD. HALL OF HISROCH. 
 
 261 
 
 bird. Tbe specimen immediately before us is of gypsum, and of 
 colossal dimensions, the slab being ten feet square, by two feet in 
 thickness. It was built into the side of the door, so that one side 
 and a front view only could be seen by the spectator. Accordingly, 
 the Ninevite sculptor, in order to make both views perfect, has given 
 the animal five legs, as before noticed in the examples at Khorsabad. 
 The four seen in the side view show the animal in the act of walking, 
 while, to render the representation complete in the front view, he has 
 repeated the right fore-leg again, but in the act of standing motionless. 
 
 In this relievo we have the same head, with the egg-shaped three- 
 horned head-dress, exactly like that of the lion, but the ear is that of 
 a bull. The hair at the back of the head has seven ranges of curls ; 
 and the beard, as in the portraits of the king, is divided into three 
 ranges of curls, with intervals of wavy hair. In the ears, which are 
 those of a bull, are pendent ear-rings. The whole of the dewlap is 
 covered with tiers of curls, and four rows are continued beneath the 
 ribs along the whole flank; on the back are six rows of curls, upon the 
 haunch a square bunch, ranged successively, and down the back of 
 the thigh four rows. The hair at the end of the tail is curled like the 
 beard, with intervals of wavy hair. The hair at the knee-joints is 
 likewise cmled, terminating in the profile views of the limbs in a single 
 curl of the kind (if we may use the term) called croclie cmir. The 
 elaborately sculptiued wings extend over the back of the animal to 
 the very verge of the slab. All the flat surface of the slab is covered 
 with cuneiform inscription ; there being twenty-two lines between 
 the fore-legs, twenty-one lines in the middle, nineteen lines between 
 the hind-legs, and forty-seven lines between the tail and the edge of 
 the slab. 
 
 The portions of the jambs forming the recess to the chamber ’within 
 are lined, as in the other openings, with inscribed slabs. 
 
 THE HALL OF KISROCII. 
 
 The chamber we have now entered is apparently about 100 feet 
 long, by 25 feet broad, and has three doorways, the one we have just 
 described, another of similar proportions in the centre of the opposite 
 side, and one in the corner of the end wall on our left. All the slabs 
 upon the walls, excepting one, consist of figm’es of Nisroch presenting 
 the fir-cone and basket to the symbolic tree (fig. 151). The exception 
 is a slab at the side of the small entrance we have mentioned, which 
 contains a representation of the king, Vv’earing an emblematic neck- 
 lace, consisting of the sun surrounded by a ring, the moon, a cross 
 
262 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 like a Maltese cross, likewise in a ring, a tkree-korned cap, and a 
 symbol like two horns. 
 
 Fig. 154. — NISKOCH BEFORE SYMBOLIC TREE. 
 
 HALL OP DIVINATION. 
 
 Passing throngli the small doorway, we see on each jamb a magus 
 wearing a wreath, his right hand raised, and his left holding a trilobed 
 branch. The slabs on the recess, as usual, contain inscriptions. The 
 apartment we are now in is about 90 feet in length, by 25 in breadth, 
 and runs from north to south, instead of from east to west, like those 
 we have just seen. It has five entrances, three on the west, one on 
 the east, and the fifth in the centre of the south end. Advancing 
 into the room, we find that the corners are all occupied by the 
 symbolic tree, and that the entire north end is filled by three slabs, 
 (fig. 155,) representing the king drinking or divining in the presence 
 of the divinities of Assyria. At each end is the figure of a winged 
 divinity, wearing on his head the horned cap, the symbol of strength 
 and power; he is presenting the fir-cone with his right hand, and 
 holds in his left a richly ornamented square bag ; his tunic and long 
 mantle have the usual fringe, and are besides embroidered with sym- 
 bolic borders. The Assyrian monarch is represented as seated on his 
 throne, attended by three of the princij>al beardless ofiicers of his 
 household. In his right hand is the cup that has been presented to 
 him by the cup-bearer, who stands before him with the “Marhammah,” 
 or embroidered napkin, over his shoulder. The representation of this 
 scene is most curiously illustrative of the following passage in Xeno- 
 phon : — “Immediately Cyrus is equipped as a cup-bearer, and 
 
Fig. 155. — THE KING DRINKING OR DIVINING IN THE PRESENCE OP THE GODS OF ASSYRIA. 
 
 ?vi:\niOUD. 'IHE HALL OF DIVINATION 
 
 263 
 
264i 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOYEKERS. 
 
 advancing gravely with a serious countenance, a napkin upon his 
 shoulder, and, holding the cup nicely with three of his fingers, he 
 presented it to the king.” In the right hand of this officer is 
 the “Minasha,” or fly-flap, w'hile in his left he holds the under 
 cup, or possibly the wine-strainer, an instrument in common use 
 among the Etruscans, and of which there are many examples in 
 the museums of Europe. Behind the throne stands the king’s 
 Selikdar,” (see fig. 150,) or sword-bearer, an officer of high 
 rank in eastern courts. This functionary also is occupied in the 
 same manner as the cup-bearer, that is, in dispersing the fiies, and 
 fanning the king. So likewise, at this time, the prime-minister of a 
 Basha or Sultan would be employed while his master was drinking a 
 glass of sherbet, or sipping a cup of coffee. Behind the Selikdar is 
 another carrying arms, and in his right hand a sceptre. The robes of 
 this last attendant are not so richly embroidered as are those of the 
 cup-bearer and Selikdar, which are highly enriched with symbolic 
 borders. The throne, or square stool, on which the king is seated, is 
 decorated with a fringe, and surmounted by a cushion, ornamented 
 with a honeycomb pattern. Each corner of the seat terminates in a 
 bull’s head, some of which, very beautifully cast, or wrought in 
 bronze, were found in the excavations of Khorsabad, and brought to 
 Paris by M. Botta ; and some examples from Nimroud are in our own 
 Museum. The king’s feet rest upon a footstool, with clawed legs. 
 His dress consists of the long fringed robe and furred mantle, the 
 entire breast and broad borders adorned in the most elaborate 
 fashion, and the usual truncated tiara and ornaments ; but he is 
 quite unarmed. Twenty lines of inscription run across the figures 
 and ground of this work. These three slabs are not only interesting, 
 because they are of the finest sculpture that has yet arrived in this 
 country, and because they are in a high state of preservation, but 
 more particularly because they embody a metaphor frequently used 
 in the Psalms, and other sacred books of the Old Testament, expres- 
 sive of the interference of the Divinity in human affairs. Thus, in 
 the 16th Psalm it is said, “ The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance 
 and of my cup : thou maintainest my lot.” And, again, in the 23rd 
 Psalm, “ Thou prepares! a table before me in the presence of mine 
 enemies: thou aiiointest my head with oil ; my cup runneth over.” ^ 
 The whole of the adjoining or eastern wall was covered by slabs 
 representing in regular alternation the king with a cup in his right 
 hand, his left resting on his bow, and attended by the cup-bearer and 
 selikdar ; and the king with two arrows in his right hand, his bow in 
 
 1 Illustrated Loudon News, Dec. 21, 1850. 
 
NIMROUD. DIVINING BY CUrS AND ARROWS. 265 
 
 his left, and attended by two divinities with fir-cone and basket. The 
 south end of the chamber is occupied by the doorway, guarded on each 
 side by a winged figure, and in the fioor, at the corner, is a square stone 
 with a hole in the centre. On the adjoining side, and next to the 
 symbolic corner stone, is a figure of Msroch guarding an entrance ; 
 on the opposite side of which is a corresponding figui’e of the same 
 divinity. Between this figure and the next entrance we have a repe- 
 tition of the alternate groups of king with attendants, and king with 
 divinities, differing in no respect from the former, excepting that the 
 hand of the king rests upon his sword instead of upon his bow. 
 Upon the neighbouring side of the door we again find the jSTisroch, 
 and in the floor between this middle opening and that by which we 
 entered, a square slab with a hole in the centre. 
 
 The evidences upon the walls lead us to suppose that in this 
 chamber were practised the mysteries of divination, both by the cup 
 and arrow^s. This idolatrous people, as we learn from the sculptures, 
 and infer from sacred and profane writings, never ventured on the 
 slightest matter in war or politics, either at home or abroad, without 
 havmg recourse to some superstitious rite ; and it is probable that, 
 on the wall before us, may be a representation of the mode of 
 divination by the cup. 
 
 Many cups of the form of those seen in the hand of the king 
 were found by Layard, in the ruins of Nimroud, and are now de- 
 posited in the British Museum. They are made of bronze, of exquisite 
 workmanship, embossed in separate compartments with numerous 
 figures, representing men and animals. One of the most frequently- 
 repeated figures is that so common in Egyptian sculptures, bearing- 
 reference to time, or cycles, or periods. Other cups are embossed 
 with the Assyrian winged animals ; and others, again different in 
 design, but all of beaten work,^ in which art the ancients had 
 attained great skill and perfection, as these tazze assure us. 
 
 There can hardly exist a doubt, from tlie nature of the decoration, 
 that these are cups for divining, — a practice common to Syria and 
 Egypt as early as the time of the patriarch J oseph, as the stratagem 
 of hiding the cup in the sack of Benjamin would lead us to believe. 
 The question of the steward to the patriarch — “ Is not this it in 
 which my lord drinketh, and whereby, indeed, he divineth ? ”2 — would 
 lose half its force, if the custom had been unknown to the sons of 
 Jacob. 
 
 Drinking-cups, both of brass and silver, and precisely the same 
 shape, are in common use at present all over the East. They are 
 
 ^ Numbers, viii. i ; £xod. xxxvii. 17 — 22. 
 
 2 Exodus, xxY. 18 ; xxxvii. 17 — 22. 
 
266 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 generally decorated with some Arabic sentence bearing a mystic 
 sense ; and in Persia, particularly, there is a tradition that there was 
 a cup in which could be seen the whole world, and all the things 
 which were doing in it. This wonderful cup is known in Persia by 
 the name of “ Jami Jemshid,” the cup of Jemshid, an ancient king of 
 that country. According to the same tradition, this cup, filled with 
 the elixir of immortality, was discovered in digging the foundations 
 of Persepolis. The Persian poets frequently make allusion to this 
 cup ; and they ascribe to it the prosperity of their ancient monarchs. 
 
 Babylon itself is called a “ golden cup,”^ in the figurative language 
 of Scripture, possibly in allusion to her superstitious rites, and 
 because of her sensuality, luxury, and afiluence. 
 
 It is probable that these walls also show representations of that 
 kind of divination by arrows that we read in Ezekiel was practised 
 by “ the King of Babylon, (who) stood at the parting of the way, at 
 the head of the two ways, to use divination : he made his arrows 
 bright : he consulted with images (teraphim) : he looked in the liver.” 
 
 And, in confirmation of the occasions of such consultation, we will 
 quote the next verse : — “ At his right hand was the divination for 
 Jerusalem, to appoint captains, to open the mouth in the slaughter,” 
 that is, where to begin the attack ; “ to lift up the voice with shoutiug, 
 to appoint battering-rams against the gates, to cast a mound, and to 
 build a fort.” - 
 
 All these circumstances of Assyrian warfare we have seen described 
 by themselves, in the course of our rendering of the sculptures ; and 
 we are very much inclined to consider that, wherever the king is 
 represented holding two arrows, as in the rilievo we have designated 
 the League, and in the Passage of the Eiver, it is to be understood 
 that he is divining. 
 
 THE HALL OF THE ORACLE, 
 
 Keturning to the doorway on the east side, we are met on each 
 side by divinities ofiering the fir-cone and basket, behind whom, in 
 the recess, are the inscribed slabs. The chamber we have now 
 entered is about a hundred feet long by twenty feet broad : like the 
 last, it contains five entrances — that by which we entered, another 
 on the same side, and three nearly equi-distant, opposite to us. An 
 inspection of the walls shows us that the principal doorway is guarded 
 by a divinity with a fillet round the head, and carrying the fir-cone 
 and basket ; while the rest of the wall is covered with representations 
 
 Jei’emiah, li. 7. 
 
 2 Ezekiel, xxi. 21, 22. 
 
NOmOUD. — THE ORACLE. 
 
 267 
 
 of the king with cup and how, standing between divinities precisely 
 similar to the guardians of the door. The upper part of three of the 
 slabs on the western side of the room has a recess. 
 
 INSCRIBED CHAMBER AND CHAMBER OF DIVINITIES, 
 
 The second opening in the western side of the room leads into a 
 small chamber, the walls and pavement of which are entirely covered 
 with inscribed slabs, one, on the northern side, being recessed. 
 Leaving this apartment, we enter the doorway, which is nearly 
 opposite, and find ourselves in a long chamber or passage, 20 
 feet long by 10 feet wide, which turns at right angles, and is 
 continued thirty feet further, with an increased width of five feet. 
 The w'alls are divided into two lines of symbolic illustration, vith a 
 band of inscription running between. The upper fine consists 
 exclusively of winged divinities (fig. 156) kneeling before the 
 
 symhohc tree ; and the lower line, excepting in one slab, of figures 
 of Nisroch standing before the symbolic tree (see fig. 151, p.262). 
 The exception is a recess containing two beardless vinged beings, 
 apparently females, wearing the horned cap, and carrying a garland. 
 The upper part of two of the slabs on the north side are recessed ; 
 and in the floor, in the centre of the same side, is a large stone : 
 a stone with a hole in it is also in the floor at the end of the room. 
 
 THE ORACLE 
 
 Before quitting this passage we have to enter a small chamber in 
 the western side. The walls and pavement are entirely covered vith 
 
268 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 inscribed slabs, but in one side there is a recess so deep as to leave 
 only the thickness of a slab intervening between this apartment and 
 that which it adjoins. Each room was in itself complete, and the 
 difference in the thickness of the wall was not apparent in the outer 
 apartment. As the w'hole of this palace seems to be dedicated to 
 rehgious purposes, the question naturally suggests itself whether the 
 recess in this small chamber might not have been for the Oracle, 
 which might have been delivered from the small chamber through 
 disguised openings in the slabs. Such secret chambers occur in the 
 thickness of the walls in the temple of Medinet Haboo at Thebes, and 
 in temples of the Ptolemaic period, as well as in some still less 
 ancient temples of Pompeii. 
 
 [Returning to the Plall of the Oracle, we find that the centre 
 opening, on the eastern side, leads into a small chamber of which the 
 walls only are inscribed ; and that the third door-way leads into a 
 passage or chamber nearly identical in shape and dimensions with the 
 chamber of divinities just described. Almost the whole of the walls 
 are occupied by divinities separated by the symbolic tree ; two of the 
 slabs, however, are recessed, the lower part containing small winged 
 figures and tree. One slab, however (fig. 157), 7 feet 9^ inches 
 
 by 1 feet 6 inches, represents a young and 
 beardless personage habited in a long robe, 
 the bottom of which is ornamented with 
 a tasselled fringe. At the back, and de- 
 pending from his waist to his ancle, is a 
 succession of five feather-shaped fringes — 
 or embroidered cloth to imitate feathers ; 
 and a cord with two tassels is suspended 
 in front. The dress fits closely to the 
 upper part of the body ; round the neck is 
 a cord and tassels, and a necklace consisting 
 of lozenge-shaped gems placed alternately ; 
 and round the waist is a broad girdle 
 in which three daggers are placed side 
 by side. He has sandals on his feet, and 
 arms are decorated Avith massive 
 armlets and ornamented bracelets. On 
 his head he Avears the round cap with two horns, from under 
 Avhich fiows the usual crisply-curled hair adorned by a more than 
 ordinarily long pendent bunch tied with cords and tassels, and long 
 pendent earrings. His right hand is elevated and open ; and his left 
 is extended, holding a chaplet, composed of large and small beads 
 
NIMEOTJD. — THE GOD EIMMOX. 
 
 269 
 
 placed alternately. The countenance of this figure is handsome and 
 dignified : and he differs from the other winged figures in having 
 four wings — two smaller elevated and two larger deflected and 
 drooping ; and also in that round his neck are suspended two rings, 
 from the upper of which depend three circles, each containing a 
 rosette-shaped ornament — and from the lower, four circles, each con- 
 taining a star. The difference between the two is strongly indicated. 
 Twenty-six lines of inscription run across the figure below the waist, 
 avoiding, however, the left wing, with the exception of two or three 
 letters, and only partially encroaching on the right wing. These 
 star-like emblems seem to be connected with the worship of the 
 Assyrian Venus, Mylitta or Astarte, whom Lucian believes to be 
 identical with the moon or queen of heaven. The horned head-dress 
 may, therefore, be a further emblem ; as this goddess is sometimes 
 represented with a bull’s head, whose horns, according to Sanchoniatho, 
 were emblems of the new moon. 
 
 Lrom the situation of this slab in the deepest recess of the chamber, 
 and the circumstance of its having a square slab of gypsum in the 
 pavement before it, with a hole communicating with a drain, there 
 can be little doubt that some mysterious rites — such as libations to 
 the Divinity it represents — were enacted before it. Indeed, all the 
 chambers, in this quarter of the palace, seem to have been dedicated 
 to those idolatrous rites and ceremonies connected with magic to 
 which the people of Assyria were addicted. 
 
 In the next five rilievi the figimes are larger than those we have 
 described — and represent winged men, two of them holding in the 
 left hand a basket, and presenting with the right a pine-cone. They 
 are exactly in the position and dress of that much larger figure 
 of a divinity (fig. 159). Of the remaining three, two only wear 
 the cap with two horns — which in this case are decorated. The 
 third has a circle of rosettes round the head. The right hand 
 of each of these figures is raised as in the act of prayer, — and 
 the left holds a branch with five pomegranates produced from one 
 stem : from which symbol we surmise that this divinity bears some 
 affinity to that of Damascus, called in the Book of Kings, 
 Bimmon, in whose temple the king of Syria was wont to lean on the 
 hand of the captain of his host in prostrating himself before the 
 image — “ "When my master goeth into the house of Eimmon to 
 worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the 
 house of Eimmon.”^ These probably came from the chamber we are 
 now describing, which seems to have been specially devoted to the 
 
 2 Kings, V. 13. 
 
270 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOYEEEES. 
 
 worsliip of this particular divinity. "We have likewise in the same 
 apartment a colossal figure of the king (fig. 158) — size of slab, 7 feet 
 2 ^ inches by 4 feet inches. The king is here represented in the act 
 of walking ; his right hand being supported by a long statf, and his left 
 resting on the hilt of his sword. The whole figure is in such perfect 
 preservation and so wonderfully finished that we are induced to 
 describe it in detail, especially as the embroideries on the garments 
 appear to be legendary and symbolical : — The top of the truncated 
 cap and the cone which surmounts it are surrounded with gems ; and 
 the tiara placed round the lower part of the cap is richly decorated 
 and tied behind with fillets having several tassels at the ends. On 
 the sleeves and breast of the king’s under-robe is delicately traced 
 the mystic tree ; and the sleeve has besides a border, of the stag 
 butting at the honeysuckle. The lower part of the under-robe is 
 bordered by a fringe ; and above the fringe is embroidered a procession 
 of the king and his attendants receiving the homage of conquered 
 nations. Another margin of his fringed mantle is embroidered with 
 the lotus and pine alternated, — and another has the human-headed 
 lion, the bull, and the sacred tree. The cords which confine his robe 
 round the waist have large tassels depending ; each end of his armlets 
 is terminated by most admirably executed bulls’ heads ; upon his 
 wrist are several small chains united by a rosette clasp ; and the 
 point of his ornamented scabbard has two fighting lions intertwined, 
 and a small prowling lion — all exquisitely finished and highly 
 characteristic of the animals. 
 
 The style and workmanship of this figure is so exactly like that of 
 the king sitting on his throne, that we have no hesitation in 
 attributing it to the same artist. 
 
 Before quitting the sacred and symbolic chamber, we have to enter 
 a small inscribed room, containing a deep recess, as if for the oracle, 
 adjoining the Grreat Hall of the Oracle, which thus appears to have 
 had an oracle at each end. 
 
 Leaving this section of the palace by the opening facing the subject 
 of the king upon his throne, we find ourselves in a small antechamber 
 and passage lined with colossal figui’es of divinities like fig. 160. 
 The only exceptions are the slab opposite the entrance, which con- 
 tains the king holding his bow and two arrows, and two inscribed 
 slabs at the entrance of a small side chamber, covered with inscriptions. 
 
 Turning to the right, we pass through an opening into a large 
 court, about 130 feet square, of which so much of the walls as are 
 standing are covered with inscribed slabs. On the north side of the 
 court is an entrance formed by winged bidls ; on the east are three 
 
^sHMUOUD THE GREAT KING 
 
 271 
 
 Fig. 158— TIIK GREAT KING, FROM NIMROUD. 
 
NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOYEEEES. 
 
 27 £ 
 
 entrances communicating witli tlie Hall of Divination, on tlie west 
 the walls, excepting one entrance, have disappeared, and on the east 
 are two doorways and the chambers we are about to examine. 
 
 SECOND HALL OF DIVINITIES. 
 
 Entering by the small side-door, we find on each jamb colossal 
 divinities, back to back, one facing towards the court, and the other 
 towards the interior, a hall about 90 feet long, by 30 broad. This 
 hall has five openings, two on each side, and one in the western end. 
 In the corner on our left we find the symbolic tree, then the king, 
 with one hand resting on the hilt of his sword and the other holding 
 his staff, and two eunuchs carrying arms, behind whom are symbolic 
 trees. On the adjoining wall we pass a small doorway, guarded on each 
 side by the colossal winged divinities so constantly presented to us. The 
 next four slabs contain representations of the same divinity, separated 
 by the tree; we have then a doorway guarded on each side by Msroch; 
 and on the remaining walls are sixteen slabs with repetitions of the 
 winged divinities separated by the tree, and one slab divided by a 
 band of inscription into two compartments, containing winged beings. 
 The jambs of the chief opening into the court are formed by winged 
 bulls, but the others have on them winged men holding a flower. 
 
 Passing through the central opening on the south side, we enter a 
 hall about 65 feet long, by 20 wide, the walls of which are lined with 
 slabs simply inscribed in the centre, and entirely without sculpture. In 
 the western extremity of this apartment was a small opening leading 
 into an unsculptured chamber, communicating with one, the walls and 
 pavement of which were covered with inscriptions. In the floor of 
 the recess on the western side, was a slab with a hole leading to a 
 drain ; and Layard informs us that it was in this chamber he found 
 the ivories and numerous other small ornaments and articles now in 
 the British Museum. 
 
 Beturning through the two halls w'e have just described, we pass 
 through the doorway at the western end of the Second Hall of 
 Divinities, into a small long chamber, the walls of which are lined with 
 the often-mentioned colossal winged divinity (fig. 159). In the floor 
 at one corner is a slab with a hole in the centre. Passing out at the 
 doorway that opens into a passage leading into the centre court, we 
 observe on each side a colossal winged figure, (fig. 160 — size of slab, 
 7 feet i inch, by 4 feet 2 inches.) The dress is nearly the same, 
 excepting that he has a chaplet of flow^ers or rosettes upon his head. 
 He faces towards the right, and holds a goat in his left, and an ear 
 of wheat in his upraised right hand. 
 
XIMTIOUD. AVINGED DIVINITY, 
 
 273 
 
 T 
 
274 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 This we suppose to be one of those images to whom the king 
 Nebuchadnezzar likened the fourth person he saw in the burning 
 fiery furnace, into which Shadrach, Meshech, and Ahed-nego had been 
 cast by his order. “ Lo ! I see four men loose, walking in the midst 
 of the fire, and they have no hurt ; and the form of the fourth is like 
 the son of Grod,” or as the H Bar Alein may be rendered, a 
 
 son of the gods, a divine person, or angel, — Melakeh, 
 
 angel, as the king calls this person in verse 
 28 — (for what notion could the idolatrous king 
 have of the second Person of the Trinity.) We 
 apprehend that this particular figure, as was 
 that in the great hall carrying the branch and 
 fallow-deer, are the representations of men to 
 whom tradition had attributed the cultivation 
 of corn, and the means of preserving the fal- 
 low-deer, a semi-domestic animal, and who had 
 consequently been deified for the benefits they 
 had conferred on mankind. W e may reasonably 
 suppose that the figures of such persons 
 adorned the walls of the palaces in Babylon, 
 in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, as they 
 did those of the palaces of Nineveh, with 
 which the king must have been familiar. 
 The following extract from the Chaldsean 
 Pragments, given in Epiphanius, is curiously illustrative of this 
 species of idolatry : — “ And the followers of this (Hellenism) began 
 with the use of painting, making likenesses of those whom they 
 had formerly honoured, either kings or chiefs, or men who in their 
 lives had performed actions which they deemed worthy of record, by 
 strength or excellence of body. The Egyptians and Babylonians, 
 and Phrygians and Phoenicians, were the first propagators of this 
 superstition of making images, and of the mysteries.” ^ 
 
 Most part of the passage leading into the court is completely 
 destroyed, but four of the slabs found contained a double line of 
 winged figures, divided by a band of inscription, and the remaining 
 six slabs consisted entirely of colossal winged figures. 
 
 The only other ruins in this quarter of the palace are the frag- 
 ments of two chambers, with inscriptions, in one of wdiich has been 
 read the name of the Khorsabad king. In the entrance of a third 
 were three small winged lions. 
 
 We proceed to the south-western quarter and centre ruins of the 
 
 ^ Ccry's “ Fragments,” p. 54, 55. 
 
NIME.OUD. AHT1F1C1AJL MOUNT. 
 
 275 
 
 mound ; but as tbe walls and chambers are generally too detached and 
 scattered to allow of conveying any definite idea of the plan, we 
 shall simply describe the remaining friezes in the order of their 
 interest as historical subjects. 
 
 rig. 161 is an impetuous assault upon a city and citadel, fortified 
 
 Fig. 161. — TilPETUOUS ASSAULT OX A CITY — ARTIFICIAL 
 MOUNT — FELLING TREES. 
 
 by two ranges of embattled walls, the lowest of which is higher than 
 a full-grown date tree. The city is built on a plain, as we gather 
 from the ditch and well-constructed earthwork of the besiegers raised 
 to a level with the base of the wall, and having an inclined plane, 
 along which the wheeled tower is directed against the walls. The 
 bowmen in this moveable castle seem determined in their attack, 
 while in the besiegers no less activity is displayed — the fight being 
 vigorously sustained by both sides on nearly equal terms. The dead 
 are falling into the ditch beneath. Farther from the city, soldiers are 
 felling the date-trees, and advancing vith spear and shield. 
 
 “ And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege 
 against thee vfith a mount, and I will raise forts against thee.” ^ 
 
 “ And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a 
 mount against it ; set the camp also against it, and set battering- 
 rams against it round about.” ^ 
 
 “For thus hath the Lord of Hosts said, TIew ye dovui trees, and 
 cast a mount against Jerusalem.” ^ 
 
 Isaiah, xxix. 3. 
 
 2 Ezekiel, iv. 2 ; xxi. 22, 
 
 3 Jer. Ti. 6. 
 
276 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 The next (fig. 162) from the centre ruins, is an extremely interesting 
 frieze, showing that the military tactics and discipline observed in 
 
 those ancient days are but the prototype of our modern science. 
 Here we have ranks of soldiers sheltered behind a wicker breastwork. 
 The shield-bearer is clothed in the short tunic, while the bowman has 
 long fringed dress and breastplate. Both wear a form of cap not 
 before seen. The figures in the rearmost rank having been cut in 
 two, no details can be firmished. Immediately before the soldiers is 
 a war-engine on wheels protected by a hanging, which has been 
 impelled against the wall of the fort up the steep ascent or rocky 
 eminence upon which the city is built ; an inclined roadway having 
 evidently been formed by the besiegers for the purpose. The two 
 spears of the engine have made a breach in a tower, on the top of 
 
NIMHOUD. EVACUATION OF A CITY. 
 
 277 
 
 whicli a man is extending his hands as if imploring a cessation of 
 hostilities. In front, and within a view of the citizens, are three 
 men impaled, to strike terror into the besieged ; while below, as if 
 they had fallen from the waUs, are seen a headless body and a dying 
 man. This slab exhibits a cramp-hole, by which it was secured 
 to the wall. 
 
 Tig. 163 — the evacuation of a city — is likewise from the centre 
 ruins, and occupies two slabs, both together measuring 9 ft. 8 in. by 
 3 ft. 3 in. The first part represents a city built on an elevation ; but 
 
 not on a rocky eminence, like that last described. It contains a high 
 building or citadel ; and the walls are protected by a deep trench, and 
 defended by towers at regular intervals, which, as well as the walls 
 themselves, are surmounted by battlements. Directed against the 
 centre gate, wliich, like all the other entrances to the city, is dosed, 
 are two of the moveable war-engines that we have before named. iNo 
 person appears on the towers of the citadel, or on any part of the walls, 
 nothing but a solitary date-tree in fidl bearing being visible within 
 the city ; but apparently issuing from some less important entrance 
 is a car, drawn by oxen, and entirely different from a war-chariot, 
 containing a young man, a woman, and child. Yet further in advance 
 is a second car, drawn by oxen, and conveying women and a child, and 
 some animals are quite in front. In the upper portion of the frieze 
 are two scribes, under the superintendence of an officer of rank, noting 
 the spoil — flocks of sheep, rams, and goats, driven by a herdsman ; 
 and still further forward are two men bearing plunder, but too much 
 obliterated to enable us to distinguish their forms in detail. By 
 these devices, and by the absence of people on the walls, we conjecture 
 that the sculptor intended to intimate the utter abandonment of the 
 city — that neither man, woman, nor child were left in it ; and from 
 the circumstance of the car proceeding in the direction of the 
 
278 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 messenger or herald, who wears the long robe and sandals, and 
 carries a wand in his hand, it would seem to us that the evacuation 
 of the city is by command of the victorious king. “ Eor now shalt 
 thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and 
 thou shalt go even to Babylon.” ^ 
 
 It was the custom of the Assyrian conquerors to carry away the 
 inhabitants of a vanquished province or country, and place them in 
 some distant region of the empire, to deprive them of all hope of 
 returning to their own land, and likewise to replenish the less 
 populous districts. An event similar to that here represented took 
 place in the ninth year of the reign of Hoshea, when Shalmaneser, 
 King of Assyria, took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, 
 and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, 
 and in the cities of the Medes.” ^ This rilievo was found in an 
 underground chamber in the central part of the Mound of Kimroud ; 
 and we have, therefore, no sufilciently clear knowledge of the order of 
 its succession on the walls of the building to afibrd a clue to the city 
 intended to be represented. We are, however, of opinion that it 
 cannot be any of the cities of Samaria, because of the fruitful date- 
 tree seen within its walls, as that tree does not produce fruit in 
 the northern district of Syria. 
 
 Fig. 164. — BOWMEN DISCHARGING ARROWS FROM BEHIND MOVEABLE SHIELD. 
 
 Tig. IGI represents two bearded figures and a eunuch. The centre 
 
 Micah, iv. 10. 
 
 2 Kings, xvii. 6. 
 
NIMROUD. ASSYRIzVN HORSES. 
 
 279 
 
 figure and his companion are discharging arrows at the walls of a 
 citadel ; while the third, habited in a short tunic, holds in his right 
 hand a dagger, and with his left supports a shield or portable breast- 
 work, which reaches from the ground to considerably above the heads 
 of those protected by it. Between the shield and the fortress are 
 three trees, — two of the endogenous class, which seem to be growing 
 out of the water, — the mass at bottom resembling what is undeniably 
 water in other friezes. We cannot, however, account for its abrupt 
 termination, unless it is intended to represent a lake, or the rushing 
 of a stream of water turned against the city by the besiegers. A man 
 is seen on the wall directing an arrow at the enemy. This slab 
 exhibits the cramp-hole by which it was secured to the wall, as well 
 as two drill-holes by which it was attached to the slab above. 
 
 Big. 165. Pursuit of an enemy: Yulture above. Size 5 feet 8 inches 
 by 4 feet. This again represents another scene of defeat and flight. 
 
 Fig. 165. — ASSYRIAN MERCENARIES IN PURSUIT.— VULTURE WITH ENTRAILS. 
 
 Two horsemen armed with spears, and wearing the conical cap, are 
 pursuing one Avhose horse has fallen. Behind is a falling figure ; and 
 overhead is a vulture carrying in his beak unequivocal evidence of 
 having already preyed upon the slain. lu the sculptures of Khorsabad 
 and Nimroud the swiftness of the horses and ferocity of their riders 
 are well portrayed. “ Their horses also are swifter tlian the leopards 
 and are more fierce than the evening wolves; and their horsemen shall 
 spread themselves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they 
 
280 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 sliall fly as fhe eagle tliat hastetli to eat.” ‘ The Chaldean cavalry 
 were proverbial for swiftness, courage, and cruelty. Oppianus, a 
 Greek poet of Cilicia in the second century, in speaking of the horses 
 bred about the Euphrates, says, “ They are by nature war horses, and 
 so intrepid that neither the sight nor the roaring of the lion appals 
 them ; and besides, are astonishingly fleet.” 
 
 Eig. 166. Cavalry waiting the word of command, — represents 
 
 Fig, 166, — CAVALRY OF THE GREAT KING AWAITING THE ORDER TO MOUNT. 
 
 two soldiers of the cavalry of the great king, carrying bows and 
 spears, and wearing the conical cap with ear-pieces and coats of mail 
 or breast-plates — their legs being defended by chain armour, over 
 which they have boots. Each stands by his horse, holding the reins 
 in his left hand, in readiness to mount at the command of his 
 general. 
 
 The next slab is nearly identical with fig. 166. It shows another 
 division of the king’s army, similarly appointed — excepting that, 
 in addition to the bow and spear, these men carry a sword, as 
 described in the book of Nahum : 2 “ The horseman lifteth up both 
 the bright sword and the ghttering spear.” “ Horses and horsemen, 
 all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company, 
 with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords.”^ They 
 seem, like the former, waiting the word of command to advance. 
 The background of these two slabs is charged with a succession 
 of regular conical figures like a diapering, with here and there 
 a stunted tree. This, we apprehend, signifies that the country is 
 mountainous and barren ; and its great extent is indicated by the 
 whole background being covered — hill after hill, filling up the space as 
 
 ^ Ilabakkuk, i. 8. 
 
 2 Nahum, iii. 3. 
 
 3 Ezekiel, xxxviii. 4, and xxiii. 12. 
 
XIMEOrD. — BOWMEN AND SLINGEES. 
 
 281 
 
 far as eve can reach. The absence of chariots is a further intimation 
 that the nature of the country is such that only cavalry and infantry 
 can be effective. Xo horse is seen on the monuments of Egypt 
 before the building of the Temple of Karnak ; and we know of no 
 representation of Egvptian cavalry whatsoever. It does, however, 
 happen that a single horseman or two are occasionally met vrith 
 amongst the long-robed enemies of the Pharaohs in the battle-scenes 
 upon the walls of Egyptian temples. 
 
 Fig. 167, Bowman, shield-bearer, and slingers. “And Ezziah 
 
 Fig. 167. — BOWilAX AND SLIXGEK3. 
 
 prepared for them throughout all the host shields, and spears, 
 and helmets, and habergeons, and bows, and slings to cast 
 stones.”^ One bowman wears the conical cap, ivith ear-piece, 
 short tunic, and breastplate reaching to the waist. He differs 
 from his companion, the shield-bearer, in having no beard and 
 wearing greaves ; the shield in this case is cmved, and the top 
 and bottom protected by leather sheaths. Behind the bowmen is 
 a rank of slingers, bearded, and armed with short swords ; theii’ 
 robes having a pendant fiinge imlike any that we have seen in the 
 other rilievi. Each slinger holds a stone in his left hand, ready to 
 supply the sling. Underneath this sculptme is a second range of 
 legs, totally unaccountable, unless they were left by the artist 
 in revising his work. 
 
 Pig. 16b represents an Arab on a dromedary, in rapid flight from the 
 
 ^ 2 Chron., xxvi. 14, 
 
28-2 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEUS. 
 
 hot pursuit of two horsemen armed with long spears. Dying and 
 headless men are stretched upon the plain. 
 
 The next frieze contains a barefooted captive, apparently a female, 
 tearing her hair with her upraised left hand, while the right carries a 
 wine or water vessel, following her are four camels. 
 
 Dig. 169, Warrior hunting the lion. We have here a chariot drawn 
 
 by three horses, conveying a charioteer and bearded personage of 
 distinction, who is discharging arrows. A lion, Avhich has been 
 wounded Avith several arrows, is struggling in the path of the chariot. 
 All the details in this frieze are singularly perfect, but as they so 
 closely resemble those previously described, it is not requisite to 
 again particularise them. 
 
NIMROUD. THE KING DRINKING. 
 
 283 
 
 The next frieze represents a eunuch introducing four bearded pri- 
 soners whose hands are tied behind them. Two hands of another figure 
 and part of a foot likewise appear ; showing that this is but a portion 
 of a frieze, wanting the remainder of that figure and the margin of the 
 top and bottom. The eunuch here wears the dress so often described ; 
 but his position resembles that of Tartan (page 149) — the left arm 
 being elevated, as if commanding his prisoners to halt in the presence 
 of some superior personage, who would probably appear on the adjoin- 
 ing slab. The prisoners are clad only in a short kilt, and wear no 
 fillet about the head nor sandals. The execution of the work is 
 barbarous in the extreme. 
 
 In the succeeding frieze we see the king holding in his right hand 
 two arrows, and in his left a bow, engaged in addressing an officer in 
 the costume of the enemy. The king is attended by his umbrella- 
 bearer, and followed by his chariot, the horses of which are led by a 
 groom. Above is seen the figure of Baal. 
 
 We have then a man driving before him a flock of sheep and goats. 
 The neighbouring fragment, shows a warrior in a crested helmet, 
 whose horse, pierced by the arrows of the Assyrians, is wounded and 
 rearing, and behind are the fore parts of two horses apparently 
 belonging to a chariot. The last rilievo is a representation of the 
 king di’inking. Behind him stands a beardless attendant, bearer 
 of the king’s implements of war (the Silihdar of modern times), 
 together with the sceptre always held in the hand by the officers 
 immediately about the royal person. The elaborate finish of this 
 sculpture is beyond all praise ; although there is much conventionality 
 in the treatment of the hair and beard, — as, indeed, must always 
 be the case in the art of sculpture. There is no doubt that the 
 ancient Assyrians, like the modern Persians, bestowed much time 
 and care upon their beards ; as in these sculptures is sufficiently 
 evident from the formal termination of the king’s beard — always in 
 four roAvs of crisped convolutions — and the precise intervals of plain 
 hair. The hair, too, is not without its prescribed form, — AA'avy in 
 front and terminating in a profusion of curls ; from the centre of 
 which a tassel is usually depended, — a custom still in use among the 
 women of the East, who interweave with the hair skeins of black silk. 
 The borders of the dresses of both the king and his attendant are 
 furred, fringed, and richly embroidered in square compartments. 
 The other portions of the dresses of the king and his attendant are 
 the same as before detailed. The remains of the quiver and feather 
 end of the arrows, with tbe groove for the bowstring, are perfectly 
 represented. 
 
284 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREKS. 
 
 The remaining sculptures consist chiefly of fragments of colossal 
 friezes, the first being a rilievo showing (fig. 170) the head and 
 shoulders of a beardless man, his robes richly embroidered. “And 
 of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall 
 they take away ; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the King 
 of Babylon.” ^ We have no hesitation in pronouncing this to be a 
 person of rank in the court of the Assyrian monarch ; and from what 
 remains of the insignia of his office, and the evident embonpoint of his 
 figure, he can be no other than the king’s cup-bearer — one of those to 
 whom was appointed “a daily provision of the king’s meat and of the 
 wine which he drank” in order that his countenance might appear fat 
 and fair. This was a qualification apparently no less essential in the 
 officers of the court of the King of Assyria than in those who stood 
 
 before the King of Babylon in the time of the prophet Daniel, 
 c. i., V. 5. Brom the figure of a divinity embroidered on the neck- 
 band of this person’s robe, we would presume that he was called 
 after the name of the god which it represents, — “ But at the last 
 Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according 
 to the name of my God, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods.”^ 
 So constant and unvarying are the customs of the East ! 
 
 The next is a colossal frieze — 5 feet 9 inches by 7 feet 10 inches — 
 representing the king drinking and the attendant cup-bearer with 
 his fly-flap. The king wears the usual truncated cap, surmounted 
 
 2 Kings, XX. 18. 
 
 ^ Dan., iv. 8. 
 
^"IMEOUD. FRAGMENTS. 
 
 285 
 
 by the cone and surrounded by a diadem, tied by a fillet, the ends 
 of which are richly embroidered with the winged bull. The neck 
 of his robe is bordered with the winged bull and antelopes, 
 separated by the honeysuckle ; and round the sleeve is the honey- 
 suckle and pine-cone ornament. He has two daggers in his girdle, 
 earrings and rosette bracelets. In his left hand is a bow^, and in his 
 right a cup. The eunuch varies in no respect from those which have 
 been abeady described ; but the fly-flap is very perfectly made out, 
 and the animal’s head at the end of the handle is beautifully finished. 
 
 The fourth, a bearded head, with a rose-decorated fillet. This is 
 the head of one of the magi, or priests ; as may be inferred from the 
 absence of roundness in the features, and the black pigment on the 
 beard and eyebrows being more conspicuous than in any of the other 
 figures — peculiarities which we have ah-eady remarked in analogous 
 figures at Khorsabad. 
 
 Ho. 5 is an admirably executed head of the king. 
 
 Ho. 6. A head and shoulders of an individual of the subdued 
 nations. The hands are in that peculiar position which we have 
 pointed out in describing the obelisk. This figure wears a turban of 
 three folds, bracelets, armlets, and earrings. He has a short beard, 
 and apparently woolly hair. A few lines of cuneiform have been cut 
 over the lower part of the figure. 
 
 Ho. 7. Portion of frieze showing the winged emblem of the divinity 
 in front : the king following — and after him a winged figure with 
 three-horned cap. Eound the king’s neck are suspended mystic 
 emblems — the moon, two stars, and the three-horned cap. 
 
 Ho. 8. The king, his umbrella-bearer, and his charioteer. 
 
 The next sculptures are not rilie’sl, but fragments en ronde losse. 
 They belong to one of those winged bulls with human heads, such as 
 M. Botta discovered at Khorsabad. On tlie head is something: like 
 a turban, which seems surrounded by an ornament imitation of a cord 
 or rope. The ears of a bull, instead of the human ear, as in the last- 
 described divinity, and but one pair of horns, are seen. The beard is 
 elaborately curled in the prescribed fashion. The countenance, when 
 we are better acquainted with the sculpture, will in all probabilitv 
 prove to be the portrait of one of the Assyrian monarchs whose 
 names Colonel Eawlinson is said to have deciphered .The other frag- 
 ment is the head and neck of a colossal human-headed bull with 
 wings. Both of these fragments are in a much harder material than 
 the rilievi, — being a compact flinty limestone. 
 
 There were also several slabs of ioscription — one a cuneiform 
 inscription of twenty-two lines, exquisitely sharp in execution, together 
 
286 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 with fragments of painted bricks, which formed a continuous decoration 
 above the slabs round many of the halls and chambers of the palaces 
 of IMimroud — and other inscribed titles of various dimensions. Some 
 fragments of bronze, apparently belonging to the furniture of the 
 palace — terra-cotta vases, some of which are glazed with a blue 
 vitrefied substance resembling that used by the ancient Egyptians — 
 fragments of glass — three engraved cylinders, or rolling seals, one of 
 which is of transparent glass — beads, amongst which is an Egyptian 
 ornament — a bronze nail with a gilt head — a silver ring — fragments of 
 ivory, delicately carved, some being gilt — ^two small statues in bronze 
 of stags — one of a sheep — and seventeen of a crouching lion, forming a 
 series of various dimensions, from the largest measuring twelve inches, 
 dowmto the smallest of one inch in length (fig. 171). These statues 
 
 of animals are most curious, 
 and evidently important re- 
 mains. We are entirely at a 
 loss to conjecture their pur- 
 pose, unless it be that they 
 are weights ; an opinion which 
 w*e hazard partly from our 
 observations upon a large one 
 in the Erench collection from 
 Khorsabad, in which a ring is 
 attached to the back, ap- 
 parently for a handle — which 
 is differently supplied in tlie 
 case of these from Nimroud ; and partly from the fact that on the 
 tombs at Thebes there are representations of men weighing rings of 
 gold, the weights used having, like these, the form of some animal, 
 as stags, sheep, gazelles, &c. 
 
 Two of the slabs, about 18 inches long by 12 wide, are inscribed on 
 both sides with beautifully cut cuneatic characters. The inscription 
 is the same in both, and most important documents are they for the 
 study of the language, because the termination of the words can be 
 precisely ascertained from them, as the length of the lines varies in 
 both inscriptions. A very cursory examination will satisfy any one 
 that these inscriptions are to be read from left to right ; for, in order 
 to avoid breaking a word, the final characters are carried round the 
 thickness of the slab. The story is continued on the other face, 
 and is read by turning the slab over, as you do a medal or coin, so 
 that what was the lower side of one page becomes the upper side of 
 the next. 
 
NIMROUD. — THE OBELISK. 
 
 287 
 
 The basaltic sitting statue, from Kalah Shergat, and the inscrip- 
 tion, need no special description here ; but in addition to these are, 
 as we have said, many painted bricks — some semi-cylindrical in form. 
 The designs upon the bricks are handsome, containing the rosette and 
 ornaments which we have been in the habit of considering Greek ; 
 but unquestionably the most interesting of these fragments are the 
 written and stamped cuneiform writings. It is most remarkable that 
 so near an approach to printing as wns made by the Assyrians and 
 the Egyptians, more than three thousand years ago, did not sooner 
 produce the invention of modern times ; especially when we find that, 
 even in its infant state, the art was perfect so far as it went. The 
 art of block-printing may have been transmitted to China at this 
 early period ; and may there have been advanced to that additional 
 grade, namely, the transfer of the impression to paper, beyond which 
 limit it has only recently advanced in that country. Besides the 
 letters, another curious and interesting impression is observable on 
 one of these bricks : it is that of the footsteps of a weazel, which 
 must have sported over the recent brick before it had left the hand 
 of the fabricator. The little animal and the mighty king have 
 stamped the record of their existence on the same piece of clay ! ^ 
 
 THE OBELISK. 
 
 The Nimroud obelisk is 6 feet 6 inches in height ; the greatest 
 width at top 1 foot 5|- inches, and at bottom 2 feet, the width 
 at the sides being somewhat less. It is made of a very defective 
 piece of black marble, traversed obliquely throughout its length 
 by a broad vein of whitish heterogeneous matter. The bad 
 quality of the marble indicates not only the deficiency of good and 
 suitable material in the neighbourhood, but an extreme paucity of 
 resources in a nation apparently so great ; for to no other cause can 
 we attribute the use of such an unsightly and bad stone for the 
 purpose of so small a monument. Yfe have formerly pointed out 
 that these sculptured remains are far from remarkable for artistic 
 beauty — and this obelisk forcibly illustrates our observations ; for, 
 however interesting as an historical document, as a work of art no 
 one can rate it highly ; and we ourselves are by no means inclined to 
 place it on a par with any Egyptian obelisk — or even to compare it 
 with that of the Eayoum, which bears ftdly as many figures. There 
 is a want of precision in the Nimroud specimen, shown in the lines 
 
 ’ For the above notices, see “ Athenajum,” Nos. 1025, 1027, 1098, and 1099; likewise 
 “ Illustrated Loudon News.” 
 
288 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 intended to be straight, and in the spaces intended to be equal, but all 
 far otherwise — a repetition and feebleness of invention, and a care- 
 
 rig. 172. — FRONT A'lEW. 
 
 lessness of execution throughout, that will ever keep it low in the 
 scale of art. The form of this monument is not, correctly speaking, 
 that of an obelisk ; for the top is surmounted by three steps, and it 
 is far from square in plan. The w'hole of the upper part, including 
 the steps, is thickly inscribed with cuneiform characters. Each side 
 
yiMROUD. OBELISK. PKESENTATION OF TllIBLTE. 289 
 
 is then divided into five compartments of sculpture, with cuneiform 
 characters between and along the sides, and the base for 1 foot 4 
 inches in height is surrounded by entablatures of cuneiform inscription, 
 containing twenty -three lines. 
 
 The first compartment of sculpture represents the great l^ing, 
 who, holding two arrows and attended by his eunuch and bearded 
 domestic, the captain of his guard, receives the homage of a newly- 
 subjugated province, to the government of which the person standing 
 erect before him is constituted governor. The king seems to be in 
 the act of presenting the arrows and a bow, as insignia of office, 
 or more probably using divination in the appointment of the new 
 governor.^ High in the background, between the great king and the 
 satrap, are two emblems : one of Baal, resembling the winged globe 
 of the ancient Egyptians — the otlier a circle surrounding a star ; the 
 emblems being the same as those which occur on other sculptures 
 from Nimroud, and near the figures on the rocks of ISTahr el Kelb. 
 As regards the meaning of the emblems, we take one to be a con- 
 traction for that figure of the divinity which accompanies the king to 
 battle in the various rilievi ; but why accompanied by the globe — which 
 in the representation on the next compartment is on the riglit instead 
 of on the left side — we are totally at a loss to conceive, unless it be 
 to signify that the presentation of tribute was so vast that it occupied 
 from sunrise to sunset. 
 
 The second compartment comprises the same number of figures, 
 and similarly arranged, excepting that the ennnch beliind the king 
 liolds an umbrella, and in the place of his satrap stands the cup-bearer 
 with his fly-flap. In this representation the forms of the cap and 
 robe of the person kissing the feet of the king are more distinctly 
 delineated, and furnish matter for consideration in describing another 
 compartment at the back of the obelisk. 
 
 In the third compartment are two men, each leading a camel of the 
 two-humped species. The men w^ear the fillet round the head and the 
 short tunic, and are without boots and sandals— -the dress being that 
 of a people with whom the king is represented in many of the scidp- 
 rnres of Nimroud, to be at w^ar. 
 
 The fourth compartment exhibits a forest in a mountainons country, 
 occupied by deer and wmlves. This is an episode in the story related 
 on the monument, intimating the vastness of the dominion of the 
 king of Nineveh, which extended not only over the people, but over 
 the forest and mountains inhabited solely by wild beasts. Thus in 
 Daniel : “ And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of 
 
 1 Ezek.^ xxi. 21, 22. 
 
 U 
 
290 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, 
 and hath made thee ruler over them all.” ^ 
 
 The fifth and last compartment on this side of the obelisk repre- 
 sents a people with whom we have made acquaintance in the Hall of 
 Judgment at Khorsahad, and of whom we remarked that they 
 resembled in costume some figures we had seen from the ruins 
 of Nineveh that we were sure represented Jew^s. They are a 
 short-bearded race, wearing long robes and boots, and a remarkable 
 cap like a bag, the end of which is made to turn back instead of 
 falling towards the front like the Phrygian. These people appear to 
 be the same as those represented on the north wall of the small 
 temple of Kalabshe as enemies of Eharases II. ; but until the inscrip- 
 tions are deciphered this point must, we apprehend, remain in doubt. 
 In this particular compartment the people carry wood or bars of 
 metal, baskets with fruit, bags and bundles ; but on others the 
 tribute offered by the new race — the recent conquest of which the 
 monument appears especially to commemorate — consists likewise of 
 camels, fringed cloths, and vases of various forms and sizes. In 
 evidence of the conquest, the actions of the figures must be particu- 
 larly noted ; the prostrate attitude in the first two compartments, 
 and of those wearing the same costume wdio head the tribute-bearers 
 in subsequent representations, being all indicative of fear or respect, 
 as exhibited in the bended back and knee, which as they advance is 
 exchanged for the prostrate posture of submission and homage yet 
 common in the countries from which the monument is brought. The 
 other people, of which we formerly spoke, as contending wdth the 
 king in battle, bring elephants, monkeys, and baboons with human 
 faces. They are clad in short tunics, and wear a fillet round the head, 
 but are barefooted. 
 
 This completes the description of the front of the obelisk, and 
 gives some idea of the people shown on the three other sides. 
 
 The first compartment on the left side contains one bearded and 
 one beardless figure, apparently belonging to the suite of the satrap 
 of the great king, together with a groom, in the vestments of the 
 newly -conquered people, holding a richly caparisoned horse. The 
 second compartment has a repetition of the bearded and beardless 
 figures, usheriug in three of the new race, the first of whom is in the 
 attitude of awe before mentioned, while the remaining two follow 
 wdth tribute in a richly ornamented box and basket. The tliird repre- 
 sents a bull decorated for the sacrifice, follow^ed by a straight-horned 
 ox, as w^e judge from the cloven hoof, length of leg, and position of 
 
 1 Daniel, ii. 38. 
 
NIMEOUD. OBELISK. 
 
 291 
 
 the horn (not a rhinoceros, as has been surmised), and an animal of the 
 gazelle class. It is to be observed that these animals are neither led 
 
 f c-n ‘UL \\ - 
 
 ; -j ^vy^ 
 
 Fig. 173. — LEFT SIDE. 
 
 nor held, and that the bull, the aleph, the leader, the chief of his 
 class, is decorated for the sacrifice — from which we infer that they 
 do not appear as tribute, but as showing the abundance of food in 
 the king’s dominions — and that as it was the custom to sacrifice to 
 the gods the animals intended for the royal table, the bull is decorated 
 
292 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 accordingly. The fourth compartment contains four figures of the 
 race wearing the fillet round the head, and with the feet bare. Two 
 carry bundles, and the two behind bear a piece of fringed cloth slung 
 upon a pole. The fifth again shows the bearded and beardless attend- 
 ants, and three of the people wearing the fillet, with boots upon their 
 
 
 
 Fig. 174. — BACK OF OBELISK. 
 
 feet. The first is in the attitude of respect, another carries a bag, 
 the third a basket. The inscription beneath contains twenty- seven 
 lines. The custom of presenting robes as a mark of honour may be 
 
NIMROUD. — OBELISK. 
 
 293 
 
 traced to the remotest antiquity in eastern countries, and even still 
 prevails. The Median habit was made of silk, and among the elder 
 Greeks it was only another name for a silken robe. A Persian 
 present is fully explained in the Anabasis (Book I.) ; it consisted 
 
 
 Fig. 175— FOURTH SIDE. 
 
 of a horse with a gilt bridle, a golden collar, bracelets, and a sword of 
 the kind peculiar to Media, called acinaces, besides the silken vest. 
 The first compartment on the back of the obelisk exhibits two 
 
294 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 camels of the Bactrian race ; the first led by one of the newly- 
 conquered people, wearing the peculiar cap and boots, but short 
 instead of long robes ; the second camel is driven by one in a similar 
 costume. The second compartment contains five of the same people, 
 clad in long robes, carrying bars of precious woods, vases, w*ine-skins, 
 wine-cup and a long two-handled basket, empty. The third compart- 
 ment shows an elephant, and two men wearing a fillet and short tunic, 
 and having bare feet. Each man is leading a monkey, the hindmost 
 having likewise a small monkey on his shoulder. The fourth com- 
 partment represents five of the same people, with long robes and bare 
 feet, carrying, for tribute, baskets ; what appear to be pieces of cloth ; 
 bags, probably containing gold dust, and bars of w*ood or metal. 
 Herodotus mentions that Otanes, a Persian prince, himself and 
 all his posterity, were annually presented Avith a Median habit. ^ 
 He also states that the Ethiopians, who border on Egypt, and a 
 people of India, “ once in every three }^ears present to the king 
 (Darius) tAVO choenices of gold unrefined, tAvo hundred blocks of 
 ebony, tAventy large elephants’ teeth, and five Ethiopian youths.” 
 The Arabians contributed every year to the same monarch frank- 
 incense to the amount of a thousand talents. The fifth compart- 
 ment contains also five of the same people, similarly attired, and 
 carrying single-handled and two-handled baskets, and large bundles. 
 The loAver inscription on this side contains tAventy-nine lines. 
 
 The first compartment of the fourth side contains five of the newly- 
 conquered people, capped, booted, and long-robed ; bearing, as tribute, 
 bars of metal or wood, round bundles, and long flat baskets with fruit. 
 The second compartment is similar to the last ; but the men carry 
 square bundles and bags, like wine-skins, over their shoulders, and 
 baskets in their hands — the last a long flat basket, containing fruit, 
 like pines. The third compartment contains tAvo men, without cap 
 or fillet, barefooted, and clad in the short tunic, guiding two human- 
 headed baboons, chained. The fourth has four men wearing the fillet 
 and long robes, and bearing, for tribute, baskets, long bundles over 
 the shoulder, and bars of wood. The fifth and concluding compart- 
 ment resembles the last — but the tribute consists of baskets, sacks 
 like the former, and bundles. “ In the tAvelfth year of Ahaz, King of 
 Judah, began Hoshea, the son of Elah, to reign in Samaria over 
 Israel nine years. Against him came up Shalmaneser, King of 
 Assyria ; and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents. 
 And the King of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea ; for he had 
 sent messengers to So, King of Egypt, and brought no present to the 
 
 ’ Thalia, Ixxxiv. 
 
NIMROUD. MU. HECTOR^S CONTRIBUTION'S. 
 
 295 
 
 King of Assyria, as he had done year by year ; therefore the King of 
 Assyria shut him up and hound him in prison.” This quotation, 
 from the l7th chapter of the second hook of Kings, is so entirely in 
 harmony with the illustrations on this obelisk and with the general 
 tenor of the subjects on the walls of Assyrian palaces, particularly 
 the palace of Khorsahad, that we hare, without further comment, not 
 hesitated to insert it. The entablatime of inscription on this side 
 contains thirty-eight lines. 
 
 This completes the details of the obelisk. 
 
 AVe will now turn our attention to the yaluable addition to our 
 collection, for which we are indebted to the enterprising spirit of 
 Mr. Hector, an English merchant long established at Bagdad, whose 
 antiquarian knowledge and love of research induced him to essay 
 some excavations in the neighbourhood of M. Botta’s rich but now 
 entirely exhausted mine. It is not easy for a private individual 
 to succeed in such tasks as Mr. Hector had undertaken ; but he 
 eventually surmounted all the difficulties in his way, and was rewarded 
 by rescuing these, to us, unique remains (as all the other specimens 
 from Khorsahad are already in the hands of the Trench government). 
 The importance of his exertions will be justly appreciated by all who 
 know that without them our collection of these historical records 
 would have been deficient in some essential links in the chain of 
 research. As soon as Mr. Hector had secured and packed his dis- 
 coveries, he consigned them to the care of Mr. Stirling, of Sheffield — 
 a gentleman distinguished alike for his intelligence and for a patriotic 
 desire to secure to the nation any relics or information of value. 
 Acting upon his knowledge of the interest entertained by the public 
 on the subject, Mr. Stirling at once proceeded judiciously to negotiate 
 the sale to the British Museum ; and the trustees finally paid him 400/. 
 for the curious property intrusted to him. The particular remains 
 now under notice consist exclusively of isolated figures ; although 
 there can be but little doubt that these figures form portions of groups 
 and of colossal ranges of sculpture similar in character to the smaller 
 friezes from the walls at Kimroud. 
 
 The most important of these remains are three figures, 8 feet 
 11 inches high. The first is that of the king wearing the truncated 
 cone-like cap, richly embellished, with the small cone quite perfect at 
 the top, and the two long embroidered and fringed fillets depending 
 from the back of the cap. He has long pendant earrings, bracelets 
 with richly carved rosettes, and upon his arm is an ornamented armlet 
 lapping over. His beard is very long, and, like the hair, formally 
 culled. His under-dress, embroidered with rosettes in square 
 
296 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEERS. 
 
 compartments, and bordered with a tasselled fringe, reaches to the 
 feet : his mantle is decorated with rosettes, dispersed at regular 
 intervals over the whole surface, and a fringe, wdth an embroidered 
 heading, borders the mantle. He has sandals on his feet, of w^hich 
 the heel-piece is painted in red stripes. His left hand rests upon 
 the hilt of his sword — the two-honed scabbard of w^hich appears at 
 the back ; and his right hand is raised, holding a long staif or sceptre. 
 
 The next figure is of the same dimensions as the last, and it appears 
 that the two slabs adjoined, as the lower end of a staff is seen in front 
 of the figure. At all events, the broken parts on these twm and other 
 slabs prove that they are but separated portions of continuous groups, 
 telling a tale ; and they represent an interview between the great 
 king and the Hah Signeen, the governor of some province of the 
 vast Assyrian empire ; for his dress is that of an important func- 
 tionary. His head is uncovered, tlje hair elaborately curled, and the 
 beard of that length and prescribed form which denote a personage 
 of rank. 
 
 This latter is still an infallible indication of rank, for down to so 
 late as 1848, a little before the death of Mohammed Ali, an order 
 from Constantinople obliged even the venerable pacha himself to 
 reduce his white beard to a hand’s breadth below the chin. 
 
 There are also indications of a fillet passing round the head, the 
 two long embroidered and fringed ends of which hang from the back ; 
 and he wears highly- ornamented pendant ear-rings, a richly-carved 
 armlet lapping over, and bracelets with ten strings connected by a 
 rosette-shaped clasp. The robe, which reaches to his instep, is 
 highly- decorated, and has a deep-knotted fringe with an embroidered 
 heading; and over the robe is worn a peculiar article of dress, 
 suspended from the neck to below the waist. It consists of a broad 
 band of embroidery like that on the robe, from the whole of which 
 falls a double row of fur or fringe reaching to the knee, and covering 
 the entire back of the figure from the shoulder downwards, forming 
 also a covering to the arm to a little above the elbow. The right 
 hand of the figure is upraised ; and the left rests upon the hilt of the 
 sword, w^hich is thrust into the band, and appears under and behind 
 the snrcoat. 
 
 The third figure of the same dimensions is beardless, — the face full 
 and the hair formally curled in six rows, in the same fashion as all 
 the otlier beardless figures. The details of the costume are precisely 
 like tlie last — excepting that the robe is without embroidery, that 
 tlm armlet wnaps twice round tiie arm, and instead of being carved 
 all over, is only decorated at each end, and that the bracelets consist 
 
MR. nECTOR'’s COLLECTION FROM KHORSABAD. 
 
 297 
 
 of four rings connected by rosettes. The feet are much mutilated, 
 yet there remains an indication of the sandal. The right hand of this 
 figure is clasped in the left, in the conventional attitude of respect, 
 mentioned formerly ; which would suggest that the person stands in 
 
 Fig. 176.— PORTRAIT OF THE CUP-BEARER OF THE KING OF KIIORSxVBAD. 
 
 the presence of one of superior rank, and therefore belongs to a 
 group of figures. Of this we are unequivocally assured, also, by a 
 portion of a fringed garment, and part of the scabbard of a sword 
 represented on the same slab before the figure. 
 
 The figures which we shall next describe are 3 feet 3 inches in 
 height, two of them apparently representing priests. Tn the first, 
 the hair and long beard are elaborately curled ; around the head is 
 a chaplet of twisted cords and rosettes, tied at the back where the 
 tassel is visible, together witli the large tassel under the hair. H e 
 wears long pendant earrings, overlapping armlets wrapped twice 
 round the arm, and bracelets Avith three rings and rosette clasps. 
 The right hand is open, and raised in the attitude of prayer ; and the 
 left is slightly extended, holding an implement like a whip wdth three 
 thongs, with a large bead at the end of each ; or, as is more probable, 
 a branch of some plant, either a mystic emblem or an offering. The 
 figure is clothed in a short tunic, with embroidery and tasselled 
 fringe, with two cords and tassels depending from the Avaist ; a long 
 
298 
 
 NINEVEfI AND ITS DISCO VEEEES. 
 
 robe with a simple fringe ; and, passing under tlie right arm and over 
 the left shoulder, is a deep fur or fringe headed by embroidery, the 
 whole similar to the peculiar article of costume described in the 
 second colossal figure. The feet are broken off. This figure our 
 present knowledge of the plan of the palace of Khorsabad permits 
 us to define as one of the priests sculptured on the recess formed by 
 the projection of the bulls at the central entrances. 
 
 The second priest-like figure resembles the last in all particulars, 
 excepting that the short tunic is without fringe, whilst the upper 
 robe is embroidered above the fringe ; that the bracelets are simple 
 rings ; and that the feet are perfect, and without sandals. In both 
 these slabs a perforation has been effected near the upraised hands. 
 
 The third figure is attired in a long tunic, with embroidered and 
 scalloped fringe, the upper dress being open in the front ; the 
 head is uncovered, and the beard is short and crisply curled. 
 The left hand is raised, and holds a sack, which the right hand 
 supports at the back. We are also enabled to assert that this person 
 represents a tribute-bearer from the same part of the dominions of 
 the King of Assyria, as those persons we first became acquainted 
 with in the Court of Assembly, and subsequently met in the 
 Chamber of Passage which connects the Court of Assembly with the 
 King’s Court. This figure, from its diminutiveness, must have 
 belonged to an apartment in some part of the palace where the 
 sculpture was divided into an upper and lower line of illustration by 
 a band of inscription. 
 
 Tiie fourth figure has likewise the head uncovered, the hair confined 
 by an embellished fillet ; and the short curled beard. In his left 
 liand he holds a bow, and in his right two arrows ; whilst his quiver 
 is slung behind, and Ins sword is by his side. His fringed and pecu- 
 liarly ornamental tunic reaches only mid-way down the thigh, and 
 ivraps over in fronts — differences so remarkable, that we would 
 venture to suggest the probability of the figure being an Egyptian ; 
 and shall await the arrival of further discoveries for refutation or 
 further corroboration of a surmise wdiich may greatly aid the reading 
 of these records. We are still unable to give any precise account of 
 this figure, for the nations with wdiich wn see the king at Khorsabad 
 in conjunction have the spear and not the bow, and therefore we may 
 conjecture it represents a person of one of the subdued countries, 
 wdiich, it would appear, were not represented in the chambers of that 
 part of the palace at Khorsabad excavated by Botta ; and conse- 
 quently that M. Hector has found a new' mine of historical rilievi, 
 wEich w'e hope may be productive of further results. 
 
MR. HECTOR^ S COLLECTION FROM KlIORSABAD. 
 
 299 
 
 The remaining sculptures are all detached fragments, as follow ; — 
 Two colossal horses’ heads richly caparisoned in highly-decorated head- 
 trappings, the parts of which resemble those at present in use in the 
 East (fig. 177). A hand is seen holding the horses ; but no other part 
 
 of the figure remains. This, we presume, is a fragment of a similar 
 group to that now in the Lo.uvre ; though in this specimen there are 
 only two horses, while in that of the Louvre there are four. In this 
 they botli differ from the sculptures formerly described, — the number 
 of horses in each chariot being invariably three. 
 
 Two fragments of horses’ heads similarly decorated but of smaller 
 dimensions. 
 
 A fragment containing two human feet and the fetlock of a horse. 
 The foot of the horse with a portion of the tail are in front ; and 
 immediately behind is a human foot, with a part of the fringed and 
 
300 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 embroidered robe above it. The second foot, which has a singular 
 fringed garment above, belongs to a distinct figure. Three rows of 
 cuneiform characters in a very perfect state form the base of this 
 fragment. Fragments with horses’ hoofs and cuneiform characters, 
 probably belonging to the former. A few detached and unconnected 
 fragments of inscription : two hands and arms with rosette-clasped 
 bracelets, one being of colossal size ; the point of a scabbard deco- 
 rated with the two lions ; and the following heads, complete the 
 present list : — 
 
 A colossal human head, with a turban, represented by folds laid close 
 round the head, or leather cap (fig. 178) ; a row of curls appears from 
 
 Fig. 178.— NATIVE OF THE COAST OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 
 
 underneath the turban at the back, and the beard is short and formally 
 curled. — This is the head of one of those colossal figures we were first 
 introduced to in the Court of Assembly, and afterwards met in the 
 Chamber of Audience at Khorsabad. 
 
 Three heads of smaller size, the details of which are like the last. 
 In one, however, the shoulder indicates that the left arm is raised ; 
 and in anotlier, the thumb and palm of the hand are visible upon the 
 right shoulder. 
 
IsIMHOUD AND KHOESABAD COMPARED. 
 
 30] 
 
 Six heads, uncovered, the hair arranged in six formal rows of curls at 
 the hack (see fig. 176). The faces are very full, and quite beardless. In 
 five of the heads the three-lohed earring is showm ; whilst in the sixth 
 it is the long pendant. In one, the neck of the robe is embroidered ; 
 on another, embroidery is visible upon the shoulder ; and on a third, an 
 ornament like a chain of metal plates appear over the shoulder. The 
 remains of colouring-matter can he seen upon almost all these heads. 
 — Finally, two smaller heads with chaplets, apparently belonging to 
 priests ; and part of a head with a short beard. 
 
 All these heads above enumerated, except those of the beardless 
 figures, differ from those of the attendants of the great king, and 
 those who defend the walls of the beleaguered cities in the bassi-rihevi 
 from Nimroud, in the form of the head-gear, and also in the fashion 
 of the hair and beard. "We are now able to pronounce, with a proba- 
 bility almost amounting to certainty, that they are the heads of that 
 race of people inhabiting Sidon and Tyre, or from the coast of Cilicia. 
 Further acquaintance with the sculptures informs us that, besides 
 this obvious variety in dress, there is a marked difference in the shape 
 and length of the beard and hair, which cannot be attributed to the 
 caprice of the artist ; for everything in the East is of ancient and 
 prescribed form. Even the colour of the robe is settled by law ; so 
 that Fashion cannot exert that capricious infiuence in which she 
 indulges in the West. So likewise, in modern times, no Christian 
 of Damascus would dare to wear other than a black turban ; and no 
 Moslem who could not make good his descent from the Prophet 
 would venture on a green one. 
 
 In reviewing and comparing the palaces of Khorsabad and 
 Ximroud, the general features which are common to both, and the 
 characteristics which are peculiar to each, forcibly present themselves 
 for observation. The leading principles of construction, such as 
 the elevated substructure, thick walls, successive long and narrow* 
 chambers, the courts, and the mode of decoration, seem to have been 
 so nearly alike in both edifices, as to indicate that the same prin- 
 ciples w*ere m force, and that the same rules of construction prevailed ; 
 but when we turn to examine the sculptures in detail, and their 
 arrangement upon the walls, we at once perceive the most distinctly 
 different features. In the example at Khorsabad, the palace w*as 
 built according to a regular and w'ell-devised plan, of which the sculp- 
 tured decorations formed an integral part ; whereas, in the palace 
 at JSTimroud, although the plan of the chambers and courts are 
 evidently according to preconceived designs, the sculptures generally 
 have the appearance of being adventitious adjuncts, probably brought 
 
302 
 
 xVINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEERS. 
 
 from other palaces, and adapted to the walls where thej were found. 
 Again, in the first building, the character of the illustrations is chiefly 
 regal and historical, — the divinities which are represented being intro- 
 duced only as guardians of entrances, and not in direct attendance 
 upon, or ministering to, the king. At Nimroud, on the contrary, 
 the historical subjects bear but a comparatively small part in the 
 decoration of the walls, and, even when seen, are rarely found in con- 
 secutive order, while the king is almost invariably represented in 
 conjunction with a divinity. In some cases the divinities are 
 ministering to him ; in others, he is in the act of adoration ; and in 
 others he is accompanied to the battle-field, or in victory, by the 
 symbol of his god. 
 
 Another remarkable peculiarity is, that entire chambers at Nimroud 
 are especially dedicated to particular divinities, or to representations 
 of the king attended by divinities ; whilst at Khorsabad there are no 
 analogous chambers or representations. At Nimroud, the symbol, 
 which we have designated Baal, is repeated in every historical subject 
 where the king appears; but at Khorsabad there is not a single 
 example of this symbol. 
 
 At Nimroud we have the beardless divinity with four wings, and 
 the figures of deified men, while at Khorsabad none of these divini- 
 ties appear; but we have, in their stead, the four-winged figure we 
 have named Ilus, and the representations of Kimrod. 
 
 At Kimroud we have seen the king divining, both by cup and 
 arrows ; but at Khorsabad there is not one subject indicative of 
 divination. 
 
 At Mmroud, trained birds of prey accompany the king, and 
 hover over every battle-field ; but at Khorsabad, notwithstanding the 
 number of battle-scenes, not a single example of the bird is exhibited. 
 
 At Nimroud, the king is frequently seen in the act of drinking ; but 
 at Khorsabad he is never seen, otherwise than in battle, in the acts 
 of walking, conference, and judgment, or in receiving homage and 
 tribute. 
 
 At Khorsabad, the principal wars of the king seem to be with the 
 pastoral people clothed in skins ; but at Nimroud these people are 
 never seen; and the contention appears invariably to be with the 
 people who wear the fillet upon the head. 
 
 At Kimroud, the tribute or spoil laid before the king is always 
 accompanied by captives, or people in attitudes bespeaking penitence 
 and earnest entreaties for mercy ; on the other hand, at Khorsabad, 
 the numerous processions, carrying tribute, suggest the idea that the 
 offerings are voluntary gifts of regular vassals, presented by the 
 
NIMP.OUD AND KHOllSABAD COMPARED. 
 
 303 
 
 governors of the respective provinces, acknowledging the rule of the 
 great king. 
 
 At Nimroud we find the sculptures traversed by numerous lines of 
 inscription, without any regard to the figures originally represented 
 on the slabs ; but at Khorsabad there are no examples of similar 
 obliterative inscriptions. 
 
 At Nimroud we have seen a peculiarity in the chariots, the inten- 
 tion of which is not clearly understood, namely, an appendage to the 
 pole, which seems to resemble the embroidered hanging, — and some- 
 times padded separation between the horses and bullocks, in the 
 modern cars of India ; but at Khorsabad this appendage is never 
 shown, the chariots being in all respects more simple, and less 
 decorated. 
 
 Finall}^, the very marked differences in the styles of art vdiich the 
 sculptures manifest, must strike every observer. At Khorsabad, the 
 style is broad, simple, and flowing, the minor details being always 
 rendered subservient to the more important features which the artist 
 desired to present to the spectator ; at Nimroud, on the contrary, 
 almost everything was sacrificed to the minute delineation of the 
 forms within the contour of the figure, — as, for example, the affectation 
 of anatomical knowledge, and the multiplication of lines, particularly 
 about the knee-joint. 
 
 The inferences to be drawn from a consideration of the foregoing 
 analysis are, that though the distinctive characteristics of the sculp- 
 tures of the two palaces bear the stamp of national peculiarity, yet 
 that they were the works of the nation at different periods ; and that 
 these periods were sufficiently distant to admit of the introduction of 
 new customs and innovations such as we have shown. It remains, 
 therefore, to be determined, to which the priority of antiquitv 
 is due ; and, to this end, we venture to submit the following 
 observations, derived from our readings of the sculptures themselves, 
 and entirely irrespective of the interpretations of the cuneatic 
 inscriptions. 
 
 First, as regards the well-devised and systematic arrangement of the 
 sculptures at Khorsabad, as contrasted with the irregularity and 
 nature of the illustrations found upon the walls at Nimroud. At 
 Khorsabad we are impressed with the conviction that a deliberate 
 and mature design was methodically accomplished, in accordance with 
 the original plan. At Nimroud, all that we see indicates haste, — the 
 general plan being imitated from existing examples, and being, appa- 
 rently, carried out with the materials which had adorned previous 
 structures. Thus, we find some of the subjects placed in consecutive 
 
304 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEERS. 
 
 order ; some, one above tlie other ; and others breaking off abruptly — 
 a new subject commencing, without any connection with the last. 
 In one instance the double line of illustration commences in the angle 
 of the room, and, after continuing for some distance, is abruptly 
 terminated by a succession of colossal slabs ; and, again, colossal 
 slabs are awkwardly placed in corners, regardless of architectural 
 effect, as if the builders had been obliged to conclude their work with 
 undue rapidity, and had taken the first materials that presented 
 themselves. In support of these views of the hurried erection of the 
 structure, and of the employment of the materials belonging to a 
 previous building, we learn, from Mr. Layard, that he found in one 
 part of the ruins several slabs, which were evidently in process of 
 removal from one place to another ; thus indicating not only that the 
 palace was in actual progress, and being hastily constructed out of the 
 ruins of an earlier and larger building, but that the work was abruptly 
 arrested before completion; from both which circumstances it may 
 be inferred that the Palace of Nimroud dates subsequently to that of 
 Khorsabad, which was finished, and in its glory, at the period of its 
 destruction. 
 
 Another important evidence in favour of the superior antiquity of 
 the Khorsabad palace is the absence of the inscription running across 
 the sculptures, which we have remarked at Nimroud. At Khorsabad 
 it would seem that there were two classes of inscriptions, religious 
 and historical. To the first class is to be attributed those inscriptions 
 on the back of slabs, and those impressed on the bricks forming 
 the pavement of the courts, and cut on the kiln-burnt bricks of the 
 walls ; as well as the four inscriptions on the bulls, which were 
 apparently continuous portions of the same text repeated on each 
 bull, and found more or less abridged on the paving slabs at the 
 entrances. To the second class belong those on the walls of the 
 chambers, generally forming a long band separating the two ranges 
 of bassL-rilievi ; and those engraved on the dresses of certain person- 
 ages, over the heads of captives, and upon the walls of cities. These 
 are all notoriously historical, for the texts vary with the subjects 
 represented in the rilievi, and obviously relate to them ; but instead 
 of being placed so as to obliterate any part of the sculpture, when an 
 inscription is seen upon a figure it is invariably upon a plain part 
 of the dress, and bordered by a line, the whole presenting the 
 appearance of a label containing the name of the person, or the 
 sentence he is uttering. 
 
 At Kimroud, the inscriptions which appear are, possibly, also 
 religious and historical. Those of a religious character occupy 
 
COMPATIISOX OF NIMROUD AA'D KHOESABAD. 
 
 305 
 
 positions at the entrances, upon the hulls, and in the pavement, as 
 in the example at Khorsabad : but here the resemblance ceases. 
 We do not find one single inscription upon anj representations 
 of buildings, nor on any special figure, hut instead of these we 
 have numerous lines of cuneatic running across the centre of the 
 large friezes, without any respect for the subject underneath. 
 Hence it may reasonably be conjectured that he who built the 
 palace out of the ruins of a former one, did not scruple to appro- 
 priate the sculptures to himself, and to obhterate the monuments 
 of his predecessor by the record of his own exploits ; and if we 
 consider these evidences, in conjunction with the different styles 
 of art of the respective structures, it follows almost indisputably 
 that the Palace of Nimroud is of more recent date than that of 
 Khorsabad. 
 
 A third evidence we would deduce from the representations at 
 both palaces, of the processions bearing tribute. At Khorsabad the 
 ofierings are the voluntary tribute of vassals from the very extremi- 
 ties of the empire, which extended even to the coast of the Mediter- 
 ranean, showing that at that time the empire of Assyria Proper was 
 in the plenitude of its power ; whereas at Kimroud, the apparently 
 forced tribute would seem to be rendered by revolted subjects, for 
 there are no extant processions of voluntary tribute-bearers, like 
 those so frequently seen at Khorsabad. 
 
 To descend to more minute particulars, derived from the customs 
 which are exclusively exhibited in the Kimroud sculptures, we Avill 
 first instance the trained birds of prey, a custom doubtless imported 
 from some of the neighboiudng nations conquered by the kings of 
 Assyria, and wdiich continued to prevail in Persia so late as the 
 seventeenth century. The practice of training animals for the chase 
 and battle-field has existed in various countries from the earliest 
 times, and history tells us that the Egyptians, Indians, Pomans, 
 Grauls, and others, had animals especiaUy trained for the battle-field : 
 the presence of this bird, therefore, at Kimroiid is another testimony 
 in favour of the greater antiquity of Khorsabad, as obviously the 
 custom did not prevail at the time the sculptimes found there were 
 executed. 
 
 Another innovation apparent at JSTimroud, is the alteration of the 
 chariot, probably copied from some other country. We learn from 
 Xenophon (Cyrop. book vi.), that Cyrus built chariots of a new form, 
 having found great incoiw eniences in the old ones, the fashion of which 
 came from Troy and had continued in use till that time throughout 
 all Asia; and we may easily surmise that the AvaUs at Ximroud 
 
 X 
 
306 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEHS. 
 
 supply examples of the Trogan, the intermediate stage between those 
 pourtrayed at Khorsahad and those introduced by Cyrus. 
 
 The most important, however, of all the characteristics peculiar to 
 Mmroud, are the divinities seen upon the walls, and the evidence 
 thus aiforded of the introduction of new gods, and of hero or demon- 
 worship. In the very earliest stages of society the worship of 
 mankind was pure and simple ; but as the people spread over the 
 earth, and became more corrupt, this primitive worship of the Deity 
 gradually gave place to types and symbols more within the com- 
 prehension of the degenerate race. The learned Dr. Faber has 
 supposed that the cherubim were used in the worship of the true 
 Grod prior to the deluge, and presumes from this that when idolatry 
 sprang up, the demon-gods would be worshipped by the same 
 emblems that had been already consecrated to the true Grod. The 
 uniform veneration of the world for the bull, lion, eagle, and man, he 
 thinks, perfectly accords with the presumption that the common 
 origin can only be found in a period when all mankind formed one 
 society. The inspired writers inform us, that, when the Grentiles 
 departed from the worship of the true Grod, they adored partly the 
 host of heaven, and partly certain beings, called, in the New Testa- 
 ment, Demonia, and, in the Old Testament, Baalim, or Siddim ; 
 these demonia being the same as hero-gods, or the souls of eminent 
 benefactors to mankind. 
 
 "When we turn to Khorsahad, we find that the only gods repre- 
 sented on the walls are the human-headed eagle-winged bulls, which 
 we regard as cherubic animals ; the Ilus, or Cronus ; the divinity 
 with two wings ; and an eagle-headed divinity, who, from his dress 
 and the situations wliere he is found, would seem to be of inferior 
 importance. Hence, from these few, simple, and generally noble 
 symbols of the Divinity, we may infer that, at the time the Palace of 
 Khorsahad was built, the religion of the Assyrians was comparatively 
 pure. On directing our attention, however, to the walls of Nimroud, 
 we at once perceive degeneracy in the system of religion, from the 
 increased number of divinities, and from the evident manifestations 
 of deified mortals, or hero-worship. 
 
 We have first, in addition, the divinities common to both palaces 
 and to the Cherubic animal, combining the man, the eagle, and the 
 bull ; one combining the man and the eagle with the lion. We see no 
 figure of Ilus, but instead, there is the four-mnged beardless divinity, 
 no where visible at Khorsahad, and therefore we may suppose, of 
 more recent origin. 
 
 We have then the winged figures, which we consider to be deified 
 
CONCLUSIONS. 
 
 307 
 
 mortals from their wearing the head-dress, and hearing the in- 
 signia of the magi ; the absence of these figures from the friezes 
 at Khorsabad, we take to be an indication of the greater antiquity 
 of those sculptures. 
 
 We next perceive that the eagle-headed divinity, so unimportant 
 at Khorsabad, has become a leading and predominant divinity at 
 Kimroud, 
 
 Finally, we have the feathered symbol always accompanying tlie 
 king in war and triumph ; and as we likewise find this particulnr 
 divinity prevailing in the Persepolitan sculptures after the period 
 when the Assyrian empire had become absorbed in that of Persia, 
 the inference is obvious to us that the emblem of Nimroud occupies an 
 intermediate place between Khorsabad and Persepolis, and con- 
 sequently fartlmr confirms our view that the palace of Khorsabad is 
 more ancient than that of Nimroud. 
 
 Many other minor details coidd be adduced in further corro- 
 boration of the foregoing evidence ; but the comparisons we have 
 already instanced appear to us so satisfactory, that we have no 
 hesitation in offering them to the candid consideration of our readers, 
 nor in expressing our convictions that the palace of Khorsabad may 
 be carried much fartlier back in the silent stream of time, than 
 that of Nimroud. 
 
 We have been induced to enter thus minntely into the detail of 
 these interesting sculptures, from the important light they throw 
 upon our previous historical records ; for, although they can in no 
 way be available for their beauty as wmrks of art, the high state of 
 civilisation wdiich they manifest as regards the ornamental and useful 
 sciences will at once be appreciated by the intelligent and enlightened 
 observer. In concluding, w^e will beg to offer a few remarks relating 
 to the preservation of these antiquities, which have already sustained 
 considerable injury since their exhumation and in their transit to this 
 country. From the nature of the marble (gj^psum), wdiich has in 
 some instances been exposed to the action of fire, we know that they 
 are likely to suffer much damage from the moisture of our climate. 
 Care should, therefore, be taken not to enhance this unavoidable 
 source of injury by washing ; or, if it is necessary to cleanse them, 
 it should be done lightly and carefully, under the direction of an 
 experienced person, and then by subsequently melting wax into the 
 pores of the gypsum, they might be effectually preserved. It would 
 likewise be desirable to suggest the propriety and advantage of 
 performing this operation on the spot, in the event of any future 
 discoveries, as soon as they are exhumed, or, at least, immediately 
 
303 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 after drawings are made ; tlie profusion of wax in tire surrounding 
 country would render this experiment easy of accomplishment, and 
 the result would he an ample recompense for the slight additional 
 labour required. 
 
 LIST OF SCULPTURES FROM NIMROUD IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 
 
 1. Colossal figure of Nisroch presenting pine-cone 
 
 and basket ....... 
 
 2. Ditto, with wings entire 
 
 3. Colossal divinity in egg-shaped cap, with three 
 
 bulls’ horns laid close round the base, and 
 presenting pine-cone and basket 
 
 4 . Ditto, deified man, wearing a circlet with a rosette- 
 
 formed ornament in front ; he carries a 
 fallow-deer on his right arm and a branch in 
 his left hand ....... 
 
 5. Ditto, deified man, wearing a garland and carrying 
 
 a goat or gazelle on his left aian, and in his 
 right hand an ear of wheat .... 
 
 6. Ditto, beardless figure with four wings ; he wears 
 
 a two-horned cap, and carries a garland in his 
 left hand 
 
 7. Ditto, of the king walking, his right hand holding 
 
 a staff, and his left resting upon his sword 
 
 8. Ditto, holding two arrows, and followed by a 
 
 divinity with the pine-cone and basket . 
 
 9. Two figures of Nisroch before symbolic tree 
 
 10. Two beardless divinities holding garlands, described 
 
 11. Two divinities with two-horned cap kneeling be- 
 
 fore symbolic tree ...... 
 
 12. Small divinity with a two-horned cap, and holding 
 
 branch of five pomegranates in left hand ; the 
 right raised as if in prayer .... 
 
 13. Ditto, similar in all respects ..... 
 
 14. Ditto, similar, excepting the head-dress, which is 
 
 encircled by a wreath, deified man . 
 
 15. Ditto, with horned head-dress, and presenting 
 
 pine cone and basket ..... 
 10. Ditto ditto. 
 
 17. Two kings before symbolic tree; the emblem of 
 
 Baal above ; each king has a sceptre in his left 
 hand, tlie right hand being open and elevated, 
 and he is followed by a divinity carrying the 
 pine cone and basket ..... 
 
 18. King drinking attended by his cup-bearer . 
 
 19. Divinity with pine-cone and bag, following the 
 
 royal cup-bearer, who holds a wine-strainer 
 and fly-flap ....... 
 
 20. King seated upon his throne, and with his feet 
 
 resting on a footstool ; he holds a wine-cup in 
 his right hand, and behind him stands a eunuch 
 with a fly-flap ....... 
 
 SIZE OF SLAB. 
 
 Ft. In. Ft. In. 
 
 7 10 X 2 10 
 7 74x 5 5 
 
 7 10 X 4 2 
 
 7 3 X 4 4| 
 
 7 0|-x 4 2 
 
 7 9| X 4 6 
 
 7 2-^x 4 81 
 
 7 9x74 
 3 6 X 5 31 
 
 3 7x58 
 
 2 6x52 
 
 3 5x29 
 
 3 7x2 41 
 3 7 x 2 81 
 
 6 0 xl4 2 
 
 7 10 X 5 9 
 
 7 9x68 
 7 10 X 5 9 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 219 
 
 256 
 
 273 
 
 255 
 
 274 
 
 268 
 
 271 
 
 262 
 
 267 
 
 ih. 
 
 2C9 
 
 ih. 
 
 ih. 
 
 ih. 
 
 ih. 
 
 252 
 
 263 
 
 ih. 
 
LIST OF SCULPTURES IX THE BRITISH HUSEUH. 
 
 809 
 
 21. Sceptre-bearer and divinity with pine-cone and 
 
 bag . 
 
 The foregoing three slabs form one subject — 
 The king drinking or divining in the 
 presence of the Gods of Assyria. 
 
 22. Captive and attendant, with monkeys as tribute . 
 
 23. Winged human-headed bull ..... 
 
 21. Winged human-headed lion . . . • . 
 
 25. King in his chariot, besieging city .... 
 
 26. Standard-bearers of the kmg — continuation of the 
 
 above ........ 
 
 27. King proceeding victoriously from the battle field, 
 
 followed by a saddle-horse .... 
 
 28. Standard-bearers in procession after victory— con- 
 
 tinuation of the above ..... 
 
 29. Eunuch receiving prisoners; mummers dancing ; 
 
 grooming horses ; and the royal kitchen 
 
 30. Eunuch warrior in battle ; above is the trained 
 
 bird of prey ....... 
 
 31. A charge of cavalry followed byinfantiy ; above 
 
 trained bird of prey ..... 
 
 32. 33. King in his chariot, and preceded by his 
 
 standard-bearers ; he is discharging an arrow 
 at the enemy, who are furiously repelling the 
 attack ; on the ground are the dead and dying, 
 upon whom the birds are preying, pecking out 
 eyes ........ 
 
 34. Chariot of the king and Assyrian soldiers following 
 
 mailed warriors ; birds of prey above and 
 tearing the dying : joins 35 . . 
 
 35. Siege of a city, possibly Damascus ; warriors de- 
 
 fending the walls and endeavouring to impede 
 the action of the war-engines of the besieged . 
 
 36. Continuation of above — King discharging his 
 
 arrows at the city; besieged mounting by 
 scaling ladders ; women and children led into 
 captivity ....... 
 
 37. The king holding two arrows and followed by his 
 
 chariot, receiving a warrior : above is the 
 emblem of Baal with ring (woman on walls) , 
 
 38. Triumphal procession towards the city : women 
 
 on walls ........ 
 
 39. Passage of a river by the king and his allies 
 
 40. Continuation of above, sho^^nng roixnd boat . 
 
 41. Do,, Preparations for departure . . . . 
 
 42. Fugitives crossing a torrent, castle 
 
 43. King on foot, attacking a fortified city , . . 
 
 44. The king hunting the lion ..... 
 
 4 5. The return from the lion hunt . , . . . 
 
 46. The king hunting the wild bull .... 
 
 47. The return from the bull hunt . , . . 
 
 48. Procession conveying prisoners and spoil 
 
 49. The League, or Treaty of Peace . . . . 
 
 50. The Flight — Parthian bowmen .... 
 
 51. Evacuation of a city ; scribes taking account of the 
 
 spoil ......... 
 
 52. Eunuch introducing prisoners .... 
 
 53. Horsemen pursuing a man on a dromedary 
 
 ' SIZE 
 
 OF 
 
 SLAB. 
 
 
 i Ft. In. 
 
 
 Ft 
 
 . In. 
 
 1 PAGE. 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 
 X 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 ' 263 
 
 ! 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 258, 259 
 
 ‘ 9 
 
 0 
 
 X 
 
 9 
 
 0 
 
 218 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 X 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 260 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 X 
 
 7 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 221 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 X 
 
 < 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 i 224 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 X 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 225 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 X 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 
 ih. 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 X 
 
 
 1 
 
 226. 227 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 X 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 228, 229 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 X 
 
 7 
 
 0^ 
 
 230 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 X 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 231 
 
 I 
 
 3 1 X 7 OJ: 230,232 
 
 I 
 
 2 llix 7 Oi; 233 
 
 3 0 x 7 0 234 
 
 3 0x7 1 I 235 ' 
 
 3 0x7 1 ’ 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 X 
 
 1 
 
 10 1 
 
 237 
 
 7 3 
 
 X 
 
 3 
 
 0 1 
 
 238 
 
 3 0 
 
 X 
 
 7 
 
 0 1 
 
 ib. 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 X 
 
 p 
 
 0 1 
 
 239 
 
 2 10 
 
 X 
 
 7 
 
 
 242 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 X 
 
 7 
 
 4 ' 
 
 243 
 
 3 01 
 
 X 
 
 7 
 
 4 
 
 245 
 
 Do. 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 1 249 
 
 Do. 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 246 
 
 Do. 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 1 251 
 
 7 4 
 
 X 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 ! 247 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 X 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 1 248 
 
 7 0 
 
 X 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 i 254 
 
 I 
 
 ' 9 8 
 
 X 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 ; 277 
 
 3 0x7 4 
 
 1 3 4x3 9 
 
 282 
 
310 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 54. 
 
 55. 
 
 56. 
 
 57. 
 
 58. 
 
 59. 
 
 60. 
 
 61. 
 
 62. 
 
 63. 
 
 64. 
 
 65. 
 
 60. 
 
 67. 
 
 68 , 
 
 69. 
 
 70. 
 
 71. 
 
 Female captive followed by camels 
 
 Man driving a flock of sheep and goats . . . 
 
 Cavalry of the king waiting the word of 
 command ....... 
 
 Ditto, armed with a sword, as well as bow and 
 
 spear 
 
 Bowmen and slingers, and a partially obliter- 
 ated subject . . . . . . 
 
 horsemen armed with 
 
 o 
 u 
 
 Y 
 O 
 
 u 
 
 N 
 
 G 
 
 IK 
 
 Two 
 
 spears, pursuing a 
 
 third ; above, a bird of prey, with entrails of 
 the slain ........ 
 
 Impalement of prisoners before the walls of a city 
 Fragment : Two warriors, protected by a moveable 
 shield, discharging arrows at a fortress near a 
 stream, on the banks of which grow three trees 
 Impetuous assault on a city in a plain ; moveable 
 tower, artificial mount, and soldiers felling 
 trees ........ 
 
 "Warrior in his chariot, hunting the lion . . . 
 
 Fragment : Warrior, in a crested helmet, on horse, 
 which is rearing from the wounds of its 
 pursuers ........ 
 
 Fragment ; Head and shoulders of a man, holding 
 two richly caparisoned horses . . . . 
 
 Fragment : Head and shoulders of the king’s cup- 
 bearer ........ 
 
 Fragment : Head and shoulders of an individual 
 of the subdued nations . . . . . 
 
 tlead of Priest with garland ..... 
 
 Colossal head with horned cap . . . . . 
 
 Head and neck of colossal human headed bull 
 Cuneatic inscription of twenty-two lines . . . 
 
 Numerous tablets of inscriptions, and fragments of 
 painted bricks ...... 
 
 An obelisk in black marble, 6 feet 6 inches in 
 height ; greatest height at top, 1 foot 5| inches, 
 at bottom, 2 feet . . . . . . 
 
 Sitting statue in basalt from Kalah Sherghat 
 
 SIZE OF SLAB. 
 
 Ft. In. Ft. In. 
 
 3 2x53 
 
 2 0x36 
 2 0x3 6 
 
 2 0x25 
 
 4 0x60 
 
 3 7x37 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 280 
 
 281 
 
 279 
 
 276 
 
 278 
 
 275 
 
 282 
 
 284 
 
 300 
 
 338 
 
 91 
 
 99 
 
 MR. HECTOR’S COLLECTION OF SCULPTURES FROM KHORSABAD. 
 
 1. Colossal figure of the king . . . . . 
 
 2. Ditto, Rab Signeen, the governor of a province 
 
 3. Ditto of a eunuch ....... 
 
 4. Figure of priest, wearing a wreath of rosettes and 
 
 cords ; right hand elevated ; left with trilobed 
 branch ........ 
 
 5. Ditto, ditto ........ 
 
 6. Ditto, left hand carrying a water-skin, which the 
 
 left supports at the back .... 
 
 7. Armed figure, with bow in left hand and two 
 
 arrows in the right ; his dress resembles that 
 of an Egyptian . . . . . . 
 
 8. Two colossal horses’ heads, richly caparisoned 
 
 8 11 high, 
 
 same size. 
 
 3 3 high. 
 
 297 
 
 299 
 
LIST OF SCULPTUEES IN THE BEITISH MUSEUM 
 
 3U 
 
 SIZE OF SLAB. 
 
 Ft. In. Ft. In. 
 
 9. Colossal human head, with cap laid in f^lds close 
 to the head ....... 
 
 10 — 12. Three heads like the last, but of smaller size . 
 
 13 — 18. Six ditto, uncovered and beardless 
 
 The remains of colouring matter appear 
 on almost all these heads. 
 
 19, 20. Two smaller heads of priestswearing chaplets 
 
 21. Part of a head with a short beard 
 
 22 — 23. Two fragments of horses’ heads, resembling 
 
 No. 8 i 
 
 And numerous small fragments . 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Fig. 179.— VIEW OF THE TOMB OF THE PROPHET JOXAH ON THE MOUND OF 
 NEBBI A’OUNIS, FROM A SKETCH BY MR. ROMATNE. 
 
Fig. 180.— HEAD-DRESS OF KHORSABAD. 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 COSTUME. 
 
 ASSYRIAN ART, INDUSTRY, AND COMMERCE. 
 
 The most striking facts that present themselves to onr imagination, 
 in contemplating the remains of the Assyrian Palaces, are the perfec- 
 tion to which the art of sculpture had arrived at that remote period, 
 and the important evidence they afford of conversance with the most 
 refined arts of life ; both indicating a pitch of civilisation that we 
 should find it difficult to reconcile with the most extended scheme of 
 chronology, if, at the same time, we were bound to suppose that the 
 first settlers in the land were in a parallel state of ignorance and 
 degradation with the inhabitants of New South Wales, or with those 
 of the back-woods of America. The Scriptures, however, afford ample 
 evidence of a primitive civilisation, especially in the knowledge of the 
 w^orking in metals, and of other refined arts (Gen. iv., 17, 21, 22,) 
 even before the Deluge ; and this testimony, we apprehend, sufficiently 
 accounts for any degree of proficiency we find in the works of art of 
 these remote ages, and for that early civilisation of the human family 
 Avhich the contemplation of these sculptures suggests. 
 
 The objects of sculpture in the more remote ages being simply to 
 record the remarkable events in the history of the people and their 
 sovereigns, and to make the record intelligible to those who could 
 gain the required information from no other source, the necessity 
 
ASSYRIAN ART, INDUSTRY, AND COMMERCE. 
 
 313 
 
 for presenting ttie events vi\ndly to the imagination of the spectator, 
 unavoidably induced a conventional mode of representation, that, in 
 course of time, became settled and determined by certain laws. To 
 this circumstance we attribute the mode of portraying the human 
 figure, such as we find in these and in the Egyptian rilie^d, and even 
 in those of Grreece, which, when once adopted, was never after wholly 
 abandoned, — because the art itself imposes certain limits, that 
 the moderns have in vain endeavoured to remove, by the introduction 
 of perspective, so essential an element in the sister art, but which is 
 entirely incompatible vdth sculpture. It was not till this primitive 
 object in the practice of sculpture had ceased in some measure to be 
 so rigidly observed, and the beauty of the human form^ had become 
 the more important aim of the artist, that sculpture began to leave 
 the rigid trammels imposed upon it, and ultimately to attain that per- 
 fection we admire in the statues of the Phidian age, when the beauty 
 of the human form, in all its endless varieties, was pourtrayed in the 
 statues of the gods and heroes, — its chief aim being to assign to each a 
 peculiarity of excellence which eventually became as much the attri- 
 bute of the particular divinity as any emblematic attribute peculiarly 
 belonging to it, as the thunderbolt to Jupiter, the caduceus to 
 Mercury, or the breast-plate to Minerva. 
 
 Erom the very beginning, the Greek sculptors seem to have 
 possessed a nicer perception of this quality, and a greater facility in 
 expressing it, than the other people of antiquity, and they quickly 
 freed themselves from the bonds which shackled them. The Egyptians, 
 on the contrary, tied down by a system of theocracy which regidated 
 every action of their life, never shook off the prescribed rules ; then- 
 sculptime was always influenced by them ; and their productions, in the 
 time of the Pomans, were but imperfect copies of the works executed 
 during the reign of the most ancient Pharaohs, influenced in a stiP 
 more eminent degree by prescribed and time-haUowed conventionali- 
 ties. Thus, at the present day, the painters who decorate the Greek 
 or Armenian churches bend to consecrated rules or habits, and are 
 content to copy and reproduce the old Eyzantine types in all their 
 stiffness ; wanting always a certain natural simplicity, which renders 
 their copies inferior to the originals. 
 
 The Egyptians, like all other people in their infancy, attached 
 importance to the exterior line only. In their paintings and sculp- 
 tures they made simple strokes of astonishing boldness and character, 
 by which both proportions and action were rendered with great 
 perfection. Put here their science stopped ; and in later times, as in 
 
 Isaiah, xliv. 13. 
 
314 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEEERS. 
 
 the most remote, they never thought of completing these outlines by 
 an exact representation of the anatomical details contained within 
 them. Their finest statues are, in this respect, as defective as their 
 bas-reliefs and paintings. Seizing on th^ characteristic forms of 
 objects, they never varied them under whatever aspect ; thus the 
 front view of the eye was always introduced in the profile face ; the 
 profile foot in the front view of the figure ; and but extremely rarely 
 does the front face occur, although the body may be facing, — a law 
 which seems also to have considerably influenced the Greek sculptors 
 in their compositions for basso-rilievo ; and, as it appears to us, one 
 imposed by the art itself. All the necessary details, however, for 
 characterising the objects in Egyptian and Assyrian rilievi are 
 always made visible, whether they could in the particular view be 
 seen or not. Lastly, always sacrificing truth to the desire of hiding 
 nothing which in their eyes appeared the more important, the 
 Egyptian painters and sculptors have carefully avoided crossing the 
 figures by accessory objects which would have hidden any part of 
 them, — a law which the Greeks also observed ; and, possibly, to the 
 same law may be attributed, in these and Egyptian representations 
 of battles, the larger dimensions they have given to the conquerors 
 than to the conquered. 
 
 Most of these characteristics are found in Assyrian as well as Egyptian 
 art ; but they are less strongly marked ; and the careful observer can 
 perceive that the art is emerging from its state of infancy. The bodies 
 are no longer all full-face, if we may so express it, and have less con- 
 ventional stiffness. The figures consist no more of mere outlines ; the 
 heads are well modelled ; and the anatomical details of the limbs, the 
 bones, and the muscles are always represented ; though coarsely and 
 ignorantly expressed, and with a conventional exaggeration indicating 
 a greater knowledge of anatomy, but a less artistic mode of conveying 
 their knowledge, than is found in Egyptian figures of the same age. 
 The reader need only compare some Egyptian figures in the British 
 Museum with some of the Assyrian bas-reliefs in the same establish- 
 ment, to convince himself how superior the latter are as representations 
 of real life ; but, on the other hand, they are decidedly inferior in 
 justness of proportion and purity of drawing. In the Assyrian bas- 
 reliefs the figures are generally too short, and the artist has not 
 always succeeded in endowing them distinctly enough with animation. 
 
 In both schools animals were represented with more fidelity than 
 men. The reason of this is, doubtless, that in this branch of his art 
 the sculptor was not shackled by rules and prejudices of so precise a 
 description. The muscles and bones of the symbolic bulls are 
 
PERIOD OE THE ASSYRIAN SCULPTURES. 
 
 315 
 
 admirably modelled, although, it is true, a little exaggerated; the 
 statues of the symbolic lions, however, are inferior to them, and the 
 paw, in every instance that has yet arrived in Europe, is anatomically 
 inferior to the lions in the Egyptian saloon ; those of Assyria repre- 
 senting the paw of a dog instead of the claw of the cat, to which 
 class the lion belongs. 
 
 Let us mark a peculiarity, which proves how tenacious these 
 ancient sculptors were of making the objects they represented appear 
 perfect from whatever point they were contemplated ; for this purpose 
 they gave these animals five legs, in order that, whether seen in 
 profile or in full, they should leave nothing for the mind of the 
 spectator to supply. 
 
 In the bas-reliefs at Kineveh may be seen, as it were, the first 
 essays of that system which, brought to a state of perfection by an 
 intelligent people, deeply enamoured of physical beauty, produced 
 the chefs d'oeuvre leagued to us by Hellenic antiquity. There is, 
 however, between these two schools the whole distance which sej^a- 
 rates the results obtained by the first timid efforts of a novice from 
 the perfection attained by genius favoured by the most fortunate 
 circumstances ; and whatever partiality we may entertain for Assyrian 
 art, we are far from putting it on a footing of equality with that of 
 Phidias and Praxiteles. 
 
 As regards the age of these specimens of Assyrian sculpture, 
 we recognise in them a degradation from that simplicity of style 
 which characterises the earliest specimens in other countries ; we are 
 therefore inclined to suppose that the art had passed that stage 
 of early simplicity at a period anterior to the examples before us, 
 and we regard Persian art, its immediate successor, as a con- 
 tinuation of the degradation we observe in the sculptures from 
 IN’ineveh ; but we anticipate that the excavations which are now 
 in progress at Kouyounjik will disclose remains bearing those 
 distinctive featiu’es, and a simplicity in style indicative of an earlier 
 stage in art than any we have yet seen. 
 
 After having compared the art of the Assyrians with that of con- 
 temporary nations, it will not, perhaps, be out of place to compare it 
 also with that of a people who succeeded them in the empire of the 
 world — the ancient Persians. 
 
 The sculpture of Persepolis is seen accurately in the drawings of 
 Ker Porter and in the fragments in our Museum ; and these are suffi- 
 cient to show that the Persians borrowed this art from their prede- 
 cessors, the Assyrians, and that it only degenerated in their hands. 
 There is the same difference between the bas-reliefs of Persepolis and 
 
316 
 
 Is^INEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 ttiose of Kliorsabad as between tbe Egyptian bas-reliefs sculptured in 
 the time of the Ptolemies and those of an anterior age ; the falling off 
 is the same in both cases. To be convinced of this, it is sufficient to 
 look at the figure of a man leading a horse, sculptured at Persepolis ; 
 it will then be seen, that if the school of sculpture is the same as at 
 Nineveh, the drawing is less pure, and the forms heavier, while the 
 anatomical details are altogether wanting, or badly-indicated ; it is, 
 in fact, but a clumsy imitation of immeasurably superior models. 
 
 Though the sculpture of the Assyrians was in some respects 
 superior to that of the Egyptians, and though it incontestibly surpassed 
 that of the Persians, their architecture, judging from our present 
 knowledge of it, w'as much inferior to that of both these people. 
 While describing the edifices found by Layard and Botta, we cannot 
 fail to remark how much the simplicity of their construction con- 
 trasted with the richness of their decorations ; mud walls, covered 
 with sculptured slabs of gypsum, and a roof probably made of wood. 
 How meagre ! This poverty at Nineveh could not be owing, as at 
 Babylon, to the wmnt of solid materials proper for building. Besides, 
 v^hen it is seen that the Egyptians have fetched and worked immense 
 blocks of the hardest substances, it cannot be supposed that the 
 Assyrians, who were more numerous and powerful, could not have 
 used the same means ; and it becomes most difficult to account for 
 their relative inferiority with respect to architecture. Perhaps it is 
 only apparent, and after discoveries may possibly yet show us that 
 architectural art at Nineveh had made as much progress as other arts. 
 
 As we have already observed, the edifices discovered by Layard in 
 the mound of Nimroud are of similar character to those at Khorsabad, 
 and are built in the same manner. It has, no doubt, been remarked 
 that the external and internal bas-reliefs bore evident traces of 
 colours. The Assyrians, then, employed the style of decoration 
 wliich appears to have been used by all the people of antiquity ; and 
 Ave ouglit, besides, to have expected to find it at Nineveh, for the 
 Bible expressly mentions it in a passage which seems to be a descrip- 
 tion of the sculptures that we have seen. The apostacy of Jerusalem 
 is compared with the debaucheries of a painted courtezan (Ezekiel, xxii. 
 14, 15). This remarkable piece of evidence, added to the traces of 
 colour still subsisting, proves without doubt that the Assyrians were 
 accustomed to paint their bas-reliefs. But another important question 
 ]iow presents itself. We did not find on the sculptures of Khorsabad 
 any colours but red, blue, and black, and these merely on the hair, 
 the beards, and a few accessories. Must we, in the first place, believe 
 that these w^ere the only colours employed, and, in the second, that 
 
COLOUE ON SCULPTURES. 
 
 31T 
 
 they were only used in those places where we found their traces, 
 while the remaining portions of the figures and the background of 
 the bas-reliefs were entirely colourless ? We are without facts to 
 enable ns to give a decided answer ; but it appears probable that the 
 colours were more varied, and that the whole surface of the bas- 
 reliefs was covered with them. Thus, on the bricks there are other 
 tints than red, blue, and black : we found yellow, white, green, &c. ; 
 and there is no reason why the Assyrians should have used these 
 latter colours on their bricks, and not have employed them to paint 
 their sculptures. It is much more natural to suppose that the 
 portions not at present coloured were coloured formerly, and that 
 this was done with some substances Avhich, being less lasting tlian the 
 others, had been destroyed, either by fire at the time of the con- 
 flagration, or by time and the earth, in which they have been so long 
 buried. This, however, is but a conjecture ; and, consequently, not 
 wishing to have anything hypothetical introduced into his work, 
 Botta insisted that, in restoring the facades and the chambers, no 
 colour should be employed where he had perceived none. ]M. Flandin 
 would have acted otherwise, because he believed that he had found a 
 proof of the former colouring of the whole surface of the slabs, and 
 principally of the figures. The following are his reasons for this 
 belief. They had found at Khorsabad a head, on which not only was 
 the black colour of the hair and the beard perfectly preserved, but 
 there was, besides, a yellowish crust spread over the whole surface. 
 Tlandin thought that this yellow tint had been purposely applied to 
 represent the colour of the flesh. Botta examined this fragment 
 carefidly at Khorsabad before packing it up, and afterwards at Paris, 
 where it is at present ; and it appeared certain to him that the bistre 
 tone of the surface was pimely accidental. The head was bound with 
 a red band, part of which had been carried away ; a portion, also, of 
 the cheek was wanting. Kow the places thus left empty by the 
 missing fragments were covered with the same yellow crust as the 
 face itself. This wordd not be the case had the colour been purposely 
 applied, for then there would have been none in the mutilated parts. 
 It cannot be said, either that these mutilations existed at the time 
 that the stone was sculptured, and that the places in question were 
 painted like the rest of the head, because, in that case, the broken 
 portion of the band would have been painted red, and not yellow. It 
 is most likely, therefore, that this tint was accidental, and that it 
 was owing to some incrustation or other — a supposition which is 
 rendered stiU more probable by the unequal and wrinkled surface of 
 these portions of the face. This fragment, however, is at present 
 
318 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOYEREES. 
 
 in the Museum at Paris, and the colours have not been injured by 
 the voyage. 
 
 It is unnecessary to assert the perfection of the arts at Nineveh, 
 since we have just seen the proof of it ; yet we must call attention to 
 the splendour of the costumes, the richness of the ornaments, and the 
 good taste of the details, because these facts are new to us. We can 
 now better understand what the Sacred Books say of the splendour 
 of the court of the Assyrian kings, and the effect that it must have 
 produced on the Hebrew people. But let us give a few details on 
 this head, and pass in review what these newly-revealed facts have 
 taught us. 
 
 We Iiave already remarked that the architecture of the palaces of 
 Nineveh was not so perfect as that of Egypt at the same epoch ; yet 
 it is not the less certain that the Assyrians, by the dimensions of 
 their buildings and the richness of their decorations, equalled, if not 
 surpassed, all that the various people of antiquity ever built. The 
 ensemble of their edifices must have been as imposing as it was 
 magnificent ; and the effect that must have been produced by their 
 paintings and sculptures well corresponds to the idea given by the 
 descriptions in the Bible of the court of the kings of Assyria. Their 
 furniture, by the richness of its nature, differed completely from what 
 is now seen in the East ; for the Assyrians used arm-chairs or stools, 
 and ate, like us, off tables : the representation of the banquets allows 
 of no doubt with respect to this. It will be seen, from the detailed 
 descriptions we have already given of some few articles of furniture, 
 that the tables and chairs were ornamented with as much richness as 
 taste, and, what is very singular, with the same objects as our own 
 furniture is now — that is, with lions’ feet, animals’ heads, &c. These 
 models might be studied and copied at present with advantage. The 
 vases of different kinds, already minutely described, were not less 
 remarkable for their elegance. 
 
 Figs. 181, 182, 183.- VASES. Botta, Plate 162. 
 
 Trie gliirah, plural ghirbeh, or bottles, of various sizes and shapes, 
 made of leather, for containing liquid butter or water, are now in use all 
 
ASSYraAN COSTUME. — UTENSILS. 
 
 319 
 
 Figs. 1S4, 185. — GHiRAit, 
 
 FROM A SKETCH BY MB. 
 ROMAINE. 
 
 over the East, more particularly in traveUing, as any other kind of vessel, 
 of less tough materials would he comparatively useless. These modern 
 examples have been introduced with a view of 
 affording a comparison with the ancient repre- 
 sentations of similar vessels, occasionally seen 
 in the hands of the sheepskin-clad people in 
 the sculptures from the walls of the Palace of 
 Khorsahad. 
 
 The dresses also, at least those of the per- 
 sonages attached to the court, furnish us with 
 the proof of a state of great luxury, and remind 
 us strongly of Xenojihon’s description of the Median court. He 
 says, “ Astyages himself was richly clothed ; had his eyes coloured, 
 his face painted, and his hair embellished with artificial locks. For 
 the Medes affected an effeminate life, — to be dressed in scarlet, and 
 to wear necklaces and bracelets.” ^ The robes of the Assyrians were 
 generally ample and flowing, but differed in form from those of the 
 Egyptians and the Persians. They consisted of tunics or robes 
 varying in length, in mantles of diverse shapes, of long-fringed 
 scarves, and of embroidered girdles. Ornaments were scattered with 
 profusion over these dresses, some of which appear to have been 
 emblematic of certain dignities or employments. Thus the double 
 mautle with the points thrown over the shoulders is never worn 
 except by the king, and that on state occasions only. dTiis principal 
 personage, too, is the only one who wears the pointed tiara, which 
 
 resembles in sliape the Persian cap of the present day. Xenophon 
 tells us that Cyrus wore “ his upright tiara upon his head, encircled 
 
 Cyrop. bk. i. 
 
320 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEEEES. 
 
 with a royal diadem. His under tunic was of purple mixed wdth 
 white, which was a colour peculiar to kings. Over his other garments 
 he wore a large purple cloak. His hands were uncovered.” Cyrus 
 likewise gave each of his superior officers and allies a dress of the 
 Median fashion, i.e., “ long robes of a variety of the brightest colours, 
 and richly embroidered with gold and silver.” ^ Other shaped head- 
 dresses were appropriated to the deified men and priests, who alone 
 wear the robe scooped out in front, and the divinities the tiara girt 
 with horns. The eunuchs — who, as might have been expected, from 
 the frequent mention of them in holy Writ, appear so often — always 
 wear the long robe, and have nothing different from the guards, or 
 from the principal personages. 
 
 The warlike weapons in use among the ancient Assyrians have 
 been described from time to time in a preceding chapter. Many of 
 these, howmver, were richly ornamented, and require some present 
 
 Figs. 191, 192, 193, 194, 195.— Assyrian shields. 
 Botta, Plate 160. 
 
 allusion on this account. The shields and bucklers, for instance, wDre 
 often of the most enriched character, and it is supposed that these 
 
 Cyrop. Lk. viii. 
 
ASSYRIAN ARMS. 
 
 321 
 
 were formed occasionally of the precious metals. The taU oblong 
 shields, however, that were used during a siege to protect the entire 
 person of the besieger from the spears and arrows of the enemy, were 
 constructed either of wicker-work or of the hides of animals ; and 
 even the circular bucklers, which were chiefly used by the charioteers, 
 would frequently be -made of small pieces of wood or leather, care- 
 fully joined together. The decoration of the Assyrian bows was 
 conflned chiefly to the extremities, which were formed to resemble 
 the head of a bird. The quivers, however, were more elaborately 
 decorated, and were slung over the back by cords attached, as 
 represented in the engraving. 
 
 Figs. 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201. — Assyrian bow, arrow, and quivers. 
 Botta, Plate 159. 
 
 The helmets of the Assyrians were of various shapes, and some 
 were particularly elegant in form, so much so that they furnished 
 models to the Greeks, Herodotus describes them to have been made 
 of brass ; those, however, which were discovered in the ruins appear 
 to have been of iron, occasionally inlaid with copper. The Assyrian 
 swords and sceptres were often richly decorated, as will be remembered 
 by calling to mind the descriptions of them given in a preceding 
 chapter. The sword-hilt was generally ornamented with several lions’ 
 
 T 
 
322 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 heads, arranged to form both handle and cross-bar. figures of lions 
 were also introduced about the scabbard with a boldness and 
 
 202 203 204 205 
 
 Botta, Plate 163. 
 
 originality that were productive of the most successful result. The 
 remainder of the sheath was frequently elaborately embossed or 
 engraved. * 
 
 206 207 208 209 
 
 Figs. 206, 207, 208.— Assyrian swords. Fig. 209. — sceptek. Botta, Plate 159, 
 
 Like all Orientals, the Assyrians appear to have taken extreme care 
 of their beard, which, to judge by the bas-reliefs, they allowed to 
 grow long, and arranged in so regular a manner, that the representa- 
 tions of it might almost be regarded as merely conventional. Their 
 hair was not less carefully attended to, and was always gathered up 
 on the shoulders in a large bunch of formal rows of curls. 
 
 Their eyelids, according to the ancient and imiversal custom of the 
 
ASSYEIAN UMBEELLA. STANDAED. — EAEEINGS. 
 
 323 
 
 East, were stained black with hhol, a composition of powdered 
 antimony and lamp-black. Their arms and wrists were encircled 
 
 Fig. 210. — UMBRELLA. 
 
 with amulets and bracelets of various simple forms, and probably of 
 massive gold ; and the men also wore ear-rings varying in the richness 
 of their design, but most of which 
 might serve even in the present day 
 as models for similar ornaments. 
 
 Among this latter is a kind very 
 commonly seen, that seems com- 
 posed of wire, most probably gold, 
 bound at intervals by transverse 
 wires, which we presume, from that 
 circumstance, are of the form and 
 kind called “ Pathil, or Phatil,” 
 
 Nos. 218 and 219, derived from 
 a word signifying to twist, and 
 commonly worn not only by the 
 inhabitants of Mesopotamia, but 
 also, as we learn from the sculptures 
 and the Book of Gienesis, by the people of other countries. The 
 ladies of Syria and Egypt wear bracelets of this form, sometimes 
 representing a twisted cord, and usually made of massive gold of 
 the purest kind, the ductility of the metal permitting the ornament 
 to be bent round the wrist with the greatest ease. We have given 
 an engraving of the kind most commonly seen on the arm of the great 
 
824 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 king, terminating in the head of a bull, which, massive as it is, if 
 made of the purest gold, could be opened sufficiently to allow it to be 
 placed over the arm. 
 
 In Mr Smirke’s interesting review of the Assyrian sculptures, he 
 remarks: — “Very few female figures occur; but scarcely a male 
 Assyrian figure is represented, whether priest or warrior, without 
 large ear-rings, and most of them have necklaces, bracelets, and 
 
 armlets. (Fig. 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224.) Ifc is to 
 be remarked, however, that not a single case occurs, amidst all this 
 display of personal jewellery, of a finger-ring ; the entire absence of 
 this ornament in sculpture, wherein details of this nature are so 
 elaborately and carefully attended to, leads to the conclusion that the 
 finger-ring was an ornament then unknown. 
 
 “ The apparel of the Assyrians appears by these sculptures to have 
 been almost always richly fringed, with wide borders ornamented 
 with figures of men, animals, and foliage. The caparison of their 
 horses is most gorgeous ; every strap of their head and body- 
 housings is enriched; to the chariot horses there is usually seen 
 attached, apparently either to the extremity of the pole or to the 
 trappings of the neck, and to the front of the chariot itself, a long 
 fish-shaped piece of drapery, fringed and embroidered. Layard is 
 at a loss to designate this object. Perhaps ‘the precious clothes 
 for chariots,’ alluded to by Ezekiel as being obtained by the people 
 of Tyre from Dedan, may have reference to this singular piece of 
 horse-furniture. 
 
ASSYRIAN MANUFACTURES. INDUSTRY. 
 
 325 
 
 “ Tlie same love of ornament above alluded to is apparent in their 
 pavilions, of which there are specimens in these sculptures ; also in 
 the fashion of their armour ; the hilts, handles, and sheath-ends of 
 the swords ; their knife -handles, their slings, and their quivers. 
 There are in the British Museum some lions’ feet of bronze, 
 apparently belonging to furniture, which formed part of Bayard’s 
 collection at IMimroud, and are equal to Greek workmanship in 
 execution.” 
 
 In some things, Assyrian industry had attained a high degree of 
 perfection. The Assyrians were able to work the hardest as well as 
 the softest substances, with a view to their employment in building 
 or other purposes. This is proved by the jasper or crystal cylinders, 
 and by the bas-reliefs sculptured on gypsum or siliceous basalt. 
 They were acquainted with glass, and various kinds of enamels. 
 They could bake clay for bricks or vases, the quality of the clay 
 varying in fineness according to the purpose for which the vases were 
 intended. Thus, the bricks employed in building were simply burnt 
 in the sun or slightly baked, so as to remain tolerably soft, while 
 those intended for paving were excessively hard. Thus, again, the 
 large funereal urns were of but middling consistency ; while, on the 
 contrary, the cylinders of baked clay on which were any inscriptions 
 were manufactiu’ed out of a very fine and very hard kind of earth. 
 Lastly, the art of varnishing pottery, and covering it with paintings 
 by means of coloured enamels, was known at Nineveh. 
 
 The Assyrians were also acquainted with the art of founding, of 
 working, and even hammering out various metals. This branch of 
 manufactures had acquired great perfection among them, as can be 
 seen by the little statue of the bronze lion, the nails, calf’s head, &c. 
 The metal most frequently used appears to have been copper, as was 
 the case with all people of antiquity : this fact is easily accounted 
 for, with respect to Mesopotamia, by the proximity of the celebrated 
 mines of Argana-Maaden, situated near Biarbekir, in the lesser 
 chains of the mountains that border the plain on the north. These 
 mines, even now, not only supply the whole of the Ottoman empire, 
 but considerable quantities of metal are also exported from them. 
 Iron appears to have been used more rarely ; but this metal oxydises 
 quicker than copper, and cannot resist a long sojomm underground ; 
 it is probably on this account that so few objects fabricated in this 
 metal have been found. Lead was evidently known to the Assyrians, 
 for the bronze lion was fastened with this metal to the stone which 
 formed its base. It is now known that that there are lead-mines in 
 the mountains of Kurdistan, at a little distance from Mosul. 
 
326 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOYEEERS. 
 
 It was natural to expect that when the buried city was exhumed, 
 a great number of small objects would be found, interesting from the 
 materials of which they were made or the uses to which they were 
 formerly applied: the excavations, on the contrary, have been in 
 this respect very unfruitful. The reason of this is probably to be 
 attributed to the fact, that the edifices were pillaged before being 
 destroyed by fire. The despoders, whoever they were, would naturally 
 carry off everything of any value or interest, prior to completing 
 their work of devastation by setting fire to the place. This expla- 
 nation seems the more probable from the fact that Layard, while 
 excavating the mound of Nimroud, found numerous curious little 
 objects in a monument that had not undergone the action of fire, 
 while he found nothing in another, which like that of Khorsabad, 
 appeared to have been purposely destroyed. 
 
 If the palace of Khorsabad was pillaged, it will easily be conceived 
 that everything made of the precious metals was taken away first ; 
 but still it is singular that Botta should have found so few cylinders, 
 or rather small relics, and only one bronze lion. We have shown at 
 page 78, two of the cylinders, and beneath is the bronze Hon. 
 
RINGS IN PAVEMENT TO FIX THE AWNINGS OP COURTS. 327 
 
 This little statue was found fixed to a fiagstone that paved the 
 recess formed by the projection of a winged bull and pier on the 
 right side of a doorway. There had been similar ones not only on 
 the other side of this doorway, but at all the grand entrances of the 
 monument, for the fiagstones on which they had been fixed still 
 remained. The present statue is the only one that had not dis- 
 appeared ; and nothing proves more than this fact with what avidity 
 everything of any value was carried ofi* when the edifices were 
 destroyed. This lion is repi*esented in a quiet posture, with his 
 fore-feet stretched out, on a square base, beneath which there is a 
 stout conic stem that entered a hole in the pavement. Tlie animal’s 
 posture is perfect, and his head full of expression. With the excep- 
 tion of the mane, which forms a sort of pad round the neck, and the 
 claws, there is nothing conventional in the workmanship : it is a true 
 representation of nature. The statue is massive, and cast in a single 
 piece, with the plinth and ring in the middle of the back. 
 
 It appears to us that the purpose to which these bronze lions, 
 fixed in the pavement, was dedicated, was to attach the cords of such 
 temporary awnings and hangings as are described, in Esther, to have 
 been in the court of the palace (Esther i. 6). There are some rings 
 in the British Museum, found by Layard at Nimroud, which may 
 probably have been applied to the same purpose. 
 
 Another relic was a bronze calf’s head. This is not cast, but 
 beaten out with a hammer. It must have been adapted to the angles 
 of a seat or table, for we have seen similar ones represented as orna- 
 ments of the furniture in one of the Assyrian banquets. Even the 
 little holes are seen through which pass the nails that must have 
 served to fasten it to the wooden part of the chair. 
 
 This little work is interesting, for it shows that the art of hammer- 
 ing out and welding metals was known to the Assyrians at a very 
 distant epoch. Several fragments belonging to similar heads have 
 also been found ; this proves that they must have been often used. 
 
 We have already described the small burnt clay idols, found hidden 
 under the pavements, and which ‘we have called Teraphim (see 
 page 156), and besides these, the antiquity of which is incontestible, 
 since they were found beneath the very earth of the mound, a small 
 ram’s head made of clay, and beautifully executed, was discovered. 
 During the very first excavations at Khorsabad, the workmen found 
 a considerable number of balls of clay, hardened by the action of fire, 
 and on which was seen the impression of an emblem that is frequently 
 observed on the cylinders, and which is also found at Persepolis ; it 
 consists of a man disembowelling a lion that he holds by the mane j 
 
828 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 the man’s hair and heard are arranged in the Assyrian manner. This 
 little scene is framed with a border, outside of which there are some 
 cuneiform inscriptions, differing from the other specimens. These 
 little inscriptions have not been made with a seal, but have evidently 
 been traced with a style on the clay when wet. The balls, which are 
 of a very irregular shape, were simply kneaded with the hand ; for, 
 the opposite side to that on which the seal is cut, still bears the marks 
 of the fingers, and even of the pores of the skin ; lastly, they have 
 always a hole pierced through them, and in this hole there are still 
 found the remains of charred twine. This circumstance is another 
 proof, added to the rest, that the building was destroyed by fire. The 
 fact itself may be easily explained in the following manner : these 
 balls of clay, which were hung up by a piece of string in different 
 situations, must have been calcined, and the string burnt inside the 
 hole, where the remains of it were discovered. 
 
 But what can have been the use of these seals of clay ? It is plain 
 they were not objects destined for any very long term of service ; for 
 they must have been used before their calcination, while the clay was 
 yet soft, otherwise the string would not be found burnt inside the 
 hole. The most plausible explanation, probably, is, that they served 
 as a means of knowing whether certain doors had remained shut, 
 and for this purpose the Assyrians sealed up their doors with these 
 balls. This is the more probable, as the Bible teaches us that the 
 kings of Assyria were, in certain cases, in the habit of doing so.^ 
 
 Bunereal urns were also found. These urns or jars were buried 
 in the mounds, and were found standing upright in rows. They are 
 oval and elongated in shape, terminating at the bottom in a very 
 narrow foot, and widening out at the mouth. The only ornament on 
 them is one rim or fillet round the neck, and another round the base. 
 These urns are made of baked earth, and have no cover ; they are 
 about four feet high, and their greatest diameter is about two feet 
 and a half. They were, when discovered, entirely fiUed with a clayey 
 earth, in which was found a great many fragments of bones, that 
 appeared calcined. Although there is no reason to doubt that the 
 bones were those of the human skeleton, no single fragment was 
 found considerable enough, or in a sufiicient state of preservation, to 
 give direct proof whether it belonged to man or some other animal. 
 (Bigs. 226 and 227). 
 
 When we were at Jerusalem, some years ago, we met with an 
 Armenian Christian merchant of Bagdad, who had come to visit the 
 sacred localities, and to carry back with him a voucher of the due 
 
 1 Dan. vi. 17. 
 
SEPULCHRE AND EUNEREAL URNS. 
 
 329 
 
 performance of tlie pilgrimage, imprinted in indelible blue pigment, in 
 the skin of his right fore-arm. He related to ns that the Arabs, who 
 tend their flocks in the vicirdty of the mounds, in the plains of 
 Mesopotamia, find huge vases, containing mummies, or skeletons of 
 men, and that round the necks there is generally slung, by a string, 
 one of those cylindrical engraved stones. We apprehend that these 
 vases are of the kind described by the merchant ; and we know that 
 the cylindrical engraved stones are those known as Babylonish seals. 
 
 Painted bricks were discovered. In noticing the mode of building 
 pursued at Khorsabad, it was evident that, above the coating of 
 gypsum slabs, there had been several rows of kiln-burnt bricks, the 
 united surfaces of which must have represented subjects analogous to 
 those which were sculptured on the lower part of the walls. Unfor- 
 tunately, only a few fragments of these were found. They are 
 sufficient, however, to give an idea of this kind of decoration. 
 
 Altars must next be mentioned as among the discoveries. Two 
 blocks of calcareous stone, cut in the shape of altars, were lying on 
 the ground, at a few steps from the Mound of Khorsabad. Their 
 trimks are triangular ; the tops of the angles are cut ofi’, and termi- 
 nate with lions’ feet, very well sculptiued ; above and below which is 
 a flat band ; the angles beneath the feet are round like columns, 
 instead of being flat. The whole stands on a plinth, and is formed of 
 one single block. A cuneatic inscription is engraved on the circum- 
 ference of the upper part. These remains are called altars, since 
 no better explanation of their form could be given. Both were 
 exactly alike. 
 
330 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 Nails of various forms were found in tlie eartli that filled the 
 chambers ; and fragments of copper utensils were also discovered. Of 
 the nails, some are small, and similar to those we call hr ads ; others 
 were much bigger, and were square, with round heads like those used 
 to nail ships’ planking. All had probably belonged to the roof ; for 
 some appeared to have undergone the action of fire, and were partly 
 melted, being made of bronze. 
 
 Besides these nails, the ring which was fixed in the wall above the 
 small bronze lion, already mentioned, was found. It was secured in 
 the wall by means of a strong square rod, annulated at intervals, so 
 that it might not be torn out of its place. All these objects are 
 exceedingly well made, and much superior to any similar articles that 
 could be manufactured in the East at the present day ! 
 
 A few words must now be said of the fragment of a small circle, 
 whose use it is not easy to guess. There is no doubt that this frag- 
 ment formed the portion of a wheel, or something similar, for on 
 its concave side the roots of the spokes are still to be seen ; but it is 
 too small and slight to authorise us in believing that it is part of 
 the wheel of a car. If the reader, however, will again look at the 
 wheels represented on the bas-reliefs, he will perceive that they 
 were, in truth, very little, and the spokes remarkably slight, — a 
 circumstance that would induce us to believe that these latter were 
 formed of metal. We cannot believe, it is true, that felloes as 
 narrow as those of the fragment in question could ever have supported 
 a car without sinking into the ground; but the bas-reliefs again 
 furnish an answer to this difficulty. We can see by them very 
 distinctly that the felloes are formed of two superposed circles, the 
 external circle being united by broad flaps to the internal one. It is 
 very allowable to suppose that the Assyrians, finding great difficulty 
 in uniting with precision the different parts of a wheel, thought of 
 casting in one piece the interior portion, that is, the nave, the spokes, 
 and the first circle of the feUoe, and then completing it by another 
 circle of wood, thicker and broader than the first, in order to increase 
 the diameter of the wheel, and prevent its cutting into the ground. 
 This would explain the bas-reliefs ; and the fragment in question 
 might really have formed part of the wheel of an Assyrian car. 
 
 We may pass over, as possessing no interest, a large number ot 
 large thin plates of bronze, but must not omit mentioning the small 
 models of arms discovered in one of the pits containing the idols of 
 baked clay. In this place were little lance-heads of bronze, with a 
 handle hollowed out for the insertion of another one of wood. Some 
 thin little crescents of the same metal, also furnished with a small 
 
MINIATURE WEAPONS BURIED WITH IDOLS. 
 
 331 
 
 handle were likewise discovered. We may boldly assert that these 
 playthings could have been of no use, and were doubtless thus buried 
 by the side of the idols, solely with some symbolic intention. The 
 crescent and arrow-head, of which we here give engravings (Figs. 228, 
 229), are taken from larger examples of the same symbols, and are 
 drawn full size. 
 
 A piece of lapis oUaris, flat and sculptured on several sides, was 
 found near Amadia, a tovm situated at a distance of fifteen hours’ 
 journey to the north of Mosul, in the first range of the mountains of 
 Kurdistan. One side represents two symbolic figures lying one on 
 the other, each of whom is encompassed by a cording in the form of a 
 frame. The heads of these figures are human, with no beards, and 
 are rather efieminate. Their head-dresses, which are Assyrian, are 
 encircled with bands ; their bodies resemble that of a lion or feline 
 animal, rather than that of a herbivorous one, and wings completed 
 their fantastic appearance. 
 
 The other side is also divided into two compartments. In the 
 lower one there is a goat, lying down and looking back ; in the 
 upper one there are two of these animals also looking back, and 
 standing with their fore-feet on a stem or trunk placed between 
 them. On each of the larger sides is seen a personage whose 
 form is entirely human : he has no beard, and is dressed in a long 
 robe fringed at the lower edge, and over which he wears a cloak 
 like a sort of pelisse, but rounded at the bottom. IJnderneath, it 
 is furrowed with oblique lines, which, by crossing each other, form 
 
332 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DIS COVE REES. 
 
 lozenges. Lastly, the top is bored with three holes, that penetrate 
 nearly to the base. It is very difficult to discover what could have 
 been the former use of this stone. 
 
 Here it will not be out of place to add a few words on the commerce 
 of ancient Assyria. "With the exception of some isolated passages in 
 Scripture, we must entirely depend for the sources of our information 
 on this subject upon writers who flourished later than the age of 
 Cyrus. But it must be borne in mind that the Orientals can 
 preserve* a traditionary policy, undisturbed and unaltered, for many 
 generations. The characteristic attachment to peculiar customs is 
 exemplified in the well-known proverb, “ The laws of the Medes and 
 Persians alter not.” This national repugnance to innovations of 
 every description would have been shared with equal zeal by a 
 despotic government, which would have watched with suspicion the 
 feeblest attempt to disturb the prestige of hereditary privileges. The 
 conqueror would soon perceive the advantages to be derived from the 
 permanent and profitable employment of the people ; the wants of 
 the vanquished would become in time those of the victor, and dues or 
 presents would be exacted without difficulty, either from native or 
 foreign merchants. We may, indeed, fairly conclude that less mis- 
 chief was inflicted on commerce by mere changes of dynasty and 
 conquests so-caUed, than by those fearful anarchies which, at a later 
 period, caused a total suspension of the commerce of Persia. As the 
 more recent dynasties were built upon the same foundations with 
 their predecessors, so their commerce must also have retained the 
 same general character ; its principal seats remained unchanged, and 
 the countries in which they were situated were at all times adorned 
 with rich and flourishing cities, which, after the most cruel devasta- 
 tions, rose unimpaired from their ruins. With these preliminary 
 considerations before us, it is easy to understand that when the 
 sceptre of Assyria passed to the hand of the intelligent and active 
 Persian, very little, if any, change took place in the social condition 
 and pursuits of the people ; and we may reasonably conjecture that their 
 commerce and manufactures were rather extended than diminished by 
 the infusion of a fresh stimulus to industry and exertion. At a very 
 early period the textile fabrics of Assyria were celebrated all over the 
 civilised world: the raw material required for these manufactures, 
 viz., flax, cotton, wool, and perhaps silk, were either not the produce 
 of their soil, or certainly not in sufficient quantity for their own 
 consumption. This fact alone implies the existence of a very exten- 
 sive shipping trade with the East. Accordingly, we find the prophet 
 Isaiah (xliii. 14) alluding, in the eighth century before our era, to 
 
ASSYRIA : ITS COMMERCE. 
 
 333 
 
 their maritime power — “ Thus saith the Lord your Redeemer, the 
 Holy One of Israel, For your sake, I have sent to Babylon, and have 
 brought down all their nobles and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in their 
 ships.” Again, the poet H^schylus says in “ The Persians,” “ Babylon, 
 too, that abounds in gold, sends forth a promiscuous multitude, who 
 embark in ships, and boast of their skill in archery.” 
 
 We must now take a rapid survey, as far as our limits permit, of 
 the chief branches of this widely- spread traffic : first of manufac- 
 tures. Amongst those who traded in “ blue cloths and embroidered 
 work” with Tyre, Ezekiel (xxvii. 24) enumerates the merchants of 
 Asshur, or Assyria. In these stuffs, gold threads (Pliny viii. 48) 
 were introduced into the woof of many colours, and were no doubt 
 the dyed attire and embroidered work” so frequently mentioned in 
 Scripture as the most costly and splendid garments of kings and 
 princes. The cotton manufactures were equally celebrated and 
 remarkable, and are mentioned by Pliny as the invention of Semiramis, 
 who is stated by many writers of antiquity to have founded large 
 weaving establishments along the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates. 
 The silken robe of Assyria, the produce chiefly of the looms of 
 Babylon, were renowned long after the fall of the Assyrian empire, 
 and retained their hold of the market even to the time of the Eoman 
 supremacy. Frequent allusions are found in classic authors to the 
 brilliancy and magnificence of the Babylonian carpets, which were 
 embroidered with symbolical figures, together with auimals and con- 
 ventional forms. One of these covered the tomb of Cyrus, when 
 visited by Arian (vi. 29), wdio gives a minute description of it. The 
 country was characterised by Ezekiel (xvii. 4) as “ a land of traffic, a 
 city of merchants ;” and we can gather, even from the scanty materials 
 at our command, that the Assyrians carried on a very considerable 
 commerce with India, Syria, and thence to Asia Minor, and even parts 
 of Western Europe. Their mountains furnish a copious supply of 
 the precious metals, copper, lead, and iron, in great abundance, which 
 are still found in large quantities at no great distance from Mosul. 
 
 The tribute obtained by the Egyptians from Mesopotamia con- 
 sisted of vases of gold, silver, copper, and precious stones ; and 
 similar articles were offered as presents by the prince of Syria to 
 David (2 Samuel, viii. 6; I Chron. xviii. 10). The most extraordi- 
 nary traditions were observed in antiquity of the enormous amount 
 of gold collected at Nineveh. Every one will recoUect the image of 
 gold raised by Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel hi. I). This image of gold 
 which Nebuchadnezzar the king made, and set up in the plain of 
 Dura, in the province of Babylon, was three-score cubits high and six 
 
334 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 wide ; that is to say, its height was ten times its width — ^proportions 
 which we are inclined to think cannot refer to the image of a man, 
 but which agree perfectly with those of an obelisk, most of the Egyp- 
 tian obelisks being about ten times the width of the base in height ; 
 and as the word used for image in the Hebrew and in the Septnagint 
 does not necessarily signify the image of a man, we think it more 
 probable that it was the figure or image of an obelisk. We are 
 informed by Pliny that obelisks were considered the type of the solar 
 rays, and dedicated to the Sun, or Baal. A cubit is generally con- 
 sidered to represent one foot six inches of onr measure ; so that this 
 image set up by Nebuchadnezzar must have been ninety feet high 
 and nine wide, of which dimensions there is still standing among 
 the ruins of Karnak, in Egypt, an obelisk of one single block of 
 granite, and we have only to fancy that monument to be covered 
 with plates of gold to have present to the imagination the image of 
 the plain of Dura. ‘‘ Take ye the gold, take ye the silver,” says the 
 prophet Nahum (ii. 9), the riches of Nineveh are inexhaustible, her 
 vases and precious furniture are infinite, copper constantly occurs in 
 their weapons, and it is most probable a mixture of it was used in 
 the materials of their tools. They had acquired the art of making 
 glass, an invention usually attributed to the Phoenicians. Several 
 small bottles or vases of this substance, and of an elegant shape, 
 were found at Nimroud and Koyounjik. The well-known cylinders 
 are a sufiB.cient proof of their skill in engraving gems. Many beau- 
 tiful specimens of carving in ivory were also discovered — an 
 interesting illustration of a passage in Ezekiel (xxvii. 6) to which 
 we have before referred, where the company of Assyrians are 
 described as the makers of the ivory benches of the Tyrian galleys. 
 Some tablets of ivory from Nimroud are richly inlaid with blue 
 opaque glass, lapis lazuli, &c. Herodotus (i. 195) mentions the 
 delicately-carved heads of walking-sticks, in the shape of an apple, a 
 rose, lily, or an eagle : some of these are still extant. To these, the 
 gems, the silk, cotton, ivory, and sugar-cane of India, and the spices 
 of “Araby the blest,” must have added their luxurious tribute. 
 Indeed, a hasty glance at the map is sufiicient to show that the 
 country was favourably situated for commercial enterprise. Enclosed 
 by two mighty rivers, which fiow without interruption to the Persian 
 Gulf, it presented one vast unbroken level, everywhere intersected 
 by canals, which gradually decreased in size till they became mere 
 ditches. The banks were covered with innumerable machines for 
 raising the water and spreading it over the soil. The aridity of the 
 climate rendered this constant irrigation absolutely necessary; but 
 
ASSYRIA : ITS TERTILITY. 
 
 335 
 
 here, as in Egypt, the labour of man was rewarded by a luxuriant 
 crop, such as the most fertile valleys of Europe never produce. 
 
 “ Of all the countries I am acquainted with,” says Herodotus 
 (i. 193), “Babylon is by far the most fruitful in corn; the soil is 
 so particularly suitable for it, that it never produces less than two 
 hundred fold, and. in seasons remarkably favourable it sometimes 
 amounts to three hundred. The ear of the wheat, as well as the 
 barley, is four digits broad, but the immense height to which the 
 cenchrus and lesanum grow, although I have witnessed it myself, I 
 dare not mention, lest those who have not visited this country should 
 disbelieve my report.” The fig-tree, ohve, and vine, according to the 
 same authority, were not found at all ; but their place was supplied 
 by an abimdance of date or palm trees, which still grow in large 
 quantities on the banks of the Euphrates. The vine occurs on the 
 sculptures from Hineveh, and Eabshakeh expressly describes his 
 country to the Jews as a “ land of corn and wine, a land of bread 
 and vineyards, a land of olive oil and of honey” (2 Kings, xviii. 32), 
 as indeed the northern region of Mesopotamia is, and was formerly, 
 more productive. Of lofty trees the country is now destitute, but 
 there is no reason for believing it w^as always so ; on the contrary, 
 the logs of charred wood, the remains of the beams of the roof found 
 in the excavations, is an evidence to the contrary ; and among the 
 sculptures from Kimroud in the British Museum is a specimen of 
 considerable dimensions. 
 
 Here we may borrow the words of Professor Heeren, to whose 
 valuable work on the commerce of the principal nations of antiquity, 
 we must refer the reader who requires a more elaborate discussion of 
 this interesting subject. “ Situated,” he says, “ between the Indus and 
 the Mediterranean, it was the natural staple of such precious wares of 
 the East as were esteemed in the West. Its proximity to the Persian 
 Grulf, the great highway of trade, which natnre seems to have prepared 
 for the admission of the sea-faring nations of the Indian seas into the 
 midst of Asia, must be reckoned as another advantage, especially 
 when taken in connection with its vicmity to the two great rivers, 
 the continuation, as it were, of this great highway, and opening a 
 communication with the nations dwelling on the Euxine and the 
 Caspian. Thus favoured by nature, this country necessarily became 
 the central point where the merchants of nearly all the nations 
 of the civilised world assembled ; and such, we are informed by 
 history, it remained, so long as the international commerce of Asia 
 fiourished. Neither the devastating sword of conquering nations, 
 nor the heavy yoke of Asiatic despotism could tarnish, though for a 
 
336 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEEEES. 
 
 time they might dim, its splendour. It was only when the European 
 found a new path to India across the ocean, and converted the great 
 commerce of the world from a land trade to a sea trade, that the royal 
 city on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates began to decline. 
 Then, deprived of its commerce, it fell a victim to the two-fold 
 oppression of anarchy and despotism, and sunk to its original state 
 of a stinking morass and a barren steppe.” 
 
 The condition of the ruins is highly corroborative of the sudden 
 destruction that came upon Nineveh by fire and sword. “Then 
 shall the fire devour thee ; the sword shall cut thee off.” It is evident 
 from the ruins that both Khorsabad and Nimroud were sacked and 
 then set on fire. “ She is empty and void and waste.” Neither 
 Botta nor Layard found any of that store of silver and gold, and 
 “pleasant furniture” which the palaces contained; scarcely anything, 
 even of bronze, escaped the spoiler, but he unconsciously left what is 
 still more valuable ; for to the falling in of the roofs of the buildings, 
 by his setting fire to the columns and beams that supported them, 
 and his subsequent destruction of the walls, we are indebted for the 
 extraordinary preservation of the sculptures. In them we possess an 
 authentic and contemporary commentation on the prophecies ; in 
 them we read, in unmistakeable characters, an evidence of that rapacity 
 and cruelty of which the Assyrian nation is accused. “ Eor the stone 
 shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer 
 it. "Woe to him that buildeth a tower with blood, and establisheth 
 a city by iniquity !”^ 
 
 ^ Nahum. 
 
 Fig. 230. — TUE PASSAGE-BOAT OF THE GHEAT KING. 
 
Fig. 231.— VIEW FROM MOSUL, LOOKING OVER THE PLAINS AND MOUNDS OF NINEVEH 
 TOWARDS THE GEBEL MAKLOUB FROM A SKETCH BY MR. RoMAINE., 
 
 SECTION YL 
 
 INSCRIPTIONS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ASSYRIAN INSCRIPTIONS, AND THEIR INTERPRETATION. 
 
 The wedge-sliaped and arrow-lieaded inscriptions of the Assyrian 
 palaces have been frequently referred to during the progress of this 
 narrative. The adventures and successes of European scholarship in 
 interpreting this writing would entitle the subject to especial notice, 
 even were its contents less important to our future knowledge of 
 Assyrian history. Inscriptions in this wedge-shaped character are 
 found, as we have already shown, on other monuments than those of 
 Hineveh, and with the external appearance of these Europeans have 
 long been familiar through copies. The wedge-sliaped signs of 
 
 z 
 
338 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 Assyrian inscriptions, or the cuneiform characters, as they are com- 
 monly called, are of two kinds : the first form is that of a straight 
 line divided at the top like the notch of an arrow, and ending in a 
 point so as to resemble a Avedge ; others look like the two sides of an 
 obtuse angle (fig. 232). A number of these w*edges of larger or 
 smaller size, and perpendicular or horizontal in their arrangement, are 
 grouped to form a letter, and the letters are separated from each 
 other by a particular sign. 
 
 Pietro Della Yalle and Pigueroa were the first European travellers 
 who are known to have formed any conjectures respecting the cuneatic 
 characters ; they supposed that the inscriptions were to he read from 
 left to right, and subsequently Chardin inclined to the same view, 
 though he thought they might possibly be read perpendicularly. 
 IS’iehuhr published the earliest exact copies of cuneatic inscriptions, 
 and in 1798, Tychsen, of Postock, followed by Munter, of Copenhagen, 
 thought that they had ascertained the characters to be alphabetical, 
 and to be read from right to left. Dr. Hagar, in 1801, published a 
 dissertation, to show that the characters were monograms ; and 
 Lichtenstein supposed that in the various combinations only one was 
 essential, the rest being added without necessity or rule, each group 
 accordingly having the same value, and finally that the characters 
 were to be read from right to left. 
 
 It will be seen that doAvn to this period no substantial progress 
 had been made in interpreting the cuneatic. However, in the y'Sar 
 1800, an unknown scholar studying at the university of Bonn was 
 bold enough to attempt, without the advantages of Oriental learning, 
 to extract the latent meaning of an inscription copied by Hiebuhr 
 from a monument at Persepolis. Men of the most powerful intellect 
 had just been applying themselves to discover a phonetic language in 
 the hieroglyphics of Egypt, with what great results is at this time of 
 day sufiiciently known. But the Bosetta stone discovered in Egypt 
 contained a Oreek manuscript of the hieroglyphical sentences. 
 Plutarch had dissected the Pantheon, and given the names of the 
 gods ; and Manetho had classified the dynasties, and transmitted the 
 names of the kings : without such helps the meaning of the Egyptian 
 signs might have remained a mystery to this day. Ho similar aid 
 awaited the young German. The inscription upon Avhich he com- 
 menced his labours was written in three languages ; and whether 
 either was a known tongue concealed under this curious alphabet was 
 uncertain. The first step, then, was to find out what sounds were 
 represented by these signs, before inquiring what those sounds might 
 signify when ascertained. All this has been done ; and with so much 
 
' tmi g-i -- B— < 
 
 Z J ►— -H V>- I ►»-^ -*^ 
 
 “fff TT^T^n^a’ I g tel ^ V 
 
 s 
 
 7 
 
 e 
 
 JO 
 
 11 
 
 /2 
 
 13 
 
 /C 
 
 15 
 
 16 
 
 17 
 
 18 
 \/9 
 
 20 
 
 2 / 
 
 22 
 
 '■^ wf t#= ^ •> IT J 3 >H 
 
 -f- y -IT i£F 
 
 «f4-l-Mf B- W 
 
 -■ff >^44 ->^M -^TT ^ 
 
 te -ISI-® ^ -ETT^ :>Tff 
 
 
 lTT>>f "T* 0 4 -’f«tn>ffEt 4 ' 
 
 ’F*j'v ff te hum 
 
 cE S: H-IU 0 0 >E- 4- Tf 
 
 -hT ^ »0 ^ -y T ►*-y IT 
 
 ►ejEAfpT t?¥rETf«0KYin<tt: 
 
 4^H- T - 4 c?f HU •-d' 4H- KHy 
 
 T ►►-y ^ /[ 
 
 ^yy ^yy ji ^y 
 
 ^y]r t^2~/\- 1 i* >-^<*'\\ 
 
 ^ H-— ^ 
 
 
 - fc 
 
 
 ^ *~t 
 
 I 
 
 z 2 
 
 Fig. 232. — in8Crxbiw> blab w brutish museum. 
 
340 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOYEEEES. 
 
 certainty, that Col. Eawlinson at Bagdad, and Professor Lassen at 
 Bonn, could sit down to interpret the same passage, and furnish 
 readings only just discrepant enough to show that they had not acted 
 in concert. I^ow, if this be but an accidental coincidence ; if by 
 assuming that certain unknown signs are the equivalents of certain 
 known letters, exactly the names which we might expect come out 
 from the process ; if the right letters always occur at the right part 
 of the words, and are found in other words composed of the same 
 elements ; lastly, if all that is found in these inscriptions when 
 interpreted agrees with history, and only varies to make it fuller and 
 more exact, — then we have an accumulation of probabilities in favour 
 of the soundness of the principle of interpretation, which cannot be 
 rejected without shaking the very foundations of evidence. 
 
 It was Professor Grrotefend, since Director of the Gymnasium of 
 Hanover, who first led a gallery into this treasury of antiquity, by 
 determining nearly one-third of the alphabet. His first discovery, 
 communicated in the year 1800 to the Boyal Society of Gottingen, was 
 reviewed by Tyschen, in the forty-ninth number of the Gottingeschen 
 Gelehrten Anzeigen, September 18, 1802 ; and he afterwards wrote 
 an account of his system for M. Heeren, who published it in 
 his “ Considerations on the Politics, Intercourse, and Trade of 
 the Principal JSTations of Antiquity.” (Gottingen. 1815, Oxford 
 edition. 1833.) 
 
 The chief points of Grotefend’s system are 
 
 That the cuneatic characters are neither simple nor numerical 
 figures, but alphabetic characters. 
 
 That the Persepolitan inscriptions contain three different systems 
 of cuneatic, so that the deciphering of one would supply the sense of 
 the others. 
 
 That the characters are not syllabic, as there are no words of ten 
 syllables. 
 
 That the inscriptions are to be read from left to right. 
 
 That the systems contain forty signs, including separate characters 
 representing the long and the short related vowels, an opinion he 
 supports by the analogy of the Zend. And, 
 
 That the Persepolitan inscriptions are in Zend, and belong to the 
 period of Cyrus and Alexander. 
 
 We cannot follow the entire process by which Grotefend arrived at 
 these conclusions after more than thirty years spent in patient inves- 
 tigation ; a few words, however, will serve to indicate the system he 
 pursued. . Having in the first instance assumed that the inscriptions 
 related to the kings whose portraits they accompanied, he proceeded 
 
ASSYRIAN INSCRIPTIONS. 
 
 341 
 
 to carefully examine and analyse them, word by word, and letter by 
 letter, till at length he satisfied himself that he had found a genea- 
 logical succession of three distinct proper names. His inquiries into 
 history having convinced him that the inscriptions themselves 
 belonged to the Achsemenian dynasty, his next step was to try the 
 names from Cyrus downwards ; and here an important difficulty 
 appeared, for the names in the inscriptions all began with different 
 letters, and at the same time were of nearly equal length ; so that 
 both Cyrus and Cambyses, and Cyrus and Artaxerxes, were successions 
 equally irreconcilable, binding that the first name of the inscription 
 contained seven letters, he gave a hypothetical value to these, 
 D-A-K-H-E-IJ-SCH, Darius, which he compared with the Hebrew 
 Daryavesch, Darius. The name of Xerxes appeared to be formed of 
 the following letters : KH-SCH-H-E-E-SCH-E. The value of these 
 letters having been thus fixed, the first four letters of the root of the 
 word which he thought meant king were KH-SCH-P-H. He was 
 informed that in the Zend, once spoken in the country of the inscrip- 
 tions, KH-SCH-E-IV, signified king. The proper name of the king 
 and his title having been thus disposed of, Grotefend w^as led by a con- 
 currence of reasons, apparently trivial when viewed apart, but suffici- 
 ently conclusive in their connexion, to consider the third word in each 
 sentence which preceded the word “king,” as an epithet or honorary 
 title. It had four letters, the first of which, according to the hy- 
 pothesis, ought to be an E, and the third an E, to agree with the 
 same characters found in the name of Darius. This time he went to 
 the Zend, and finding that the word spelt E-GH-E-E meant “ great,” 
 he adopted that reading here. Grotefend had thus constructed a 
 system by which the whole inscription might be read ; and he soon 
 proceeded to test it in a manner which may be more easily illus- 
 trated by the English names. Thus, if the three names were Hys- 
 taspes, Darius, and Xerxes, it is evident that the first and second 
 letters of the first name should not occur again ; the third should 
 occur as the sixth of that name ; the t would not again appear ; the a 
 must be the second of the second name ; the p must not occin* again, 
 but the e should appear in the third name. 
 
 In its beginnings, Grotefend’ s great discovery was thus a guess ; 
 he yet obtained in this manner the fragment of an alphabet, and 
 approached the true mode of spelling so nearly, that those best 
 qualified to form an opinion, have never hesitated a second as to its 
 adoption. 
 
 An important basis for future labours had now been laid, but 
 beyond this nothing further appeared, until in 1836, M. Bournouf, 
 
NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO YEREES. 
 
 sn 
 
 a scliolar distiDguislied for his intimate knowledge of the Zend 
 language, interpreted two of the Hamadan inscriptions, and likewise 
 ascertained that one of the Persepolitan inscriptions contained 
 numerous proper names of ten syllables, of which he was able to 
 fix the true reading. The alphabet was considerably extended by 
 this performance, and confidence in its power was so fully established, 
 that it only needed the application of a critical knowledge of Zend, 
 Sanscrit, and other dialects cognate to the old language of Persia, to 
 solve the di£B.culty. 
 
 In Professor Lassen, of Bonn, the pupil of A. W. Schlegel, a 
 man of almost universal Orientalism, these requisites were found ; 
 and between 1836 and 1844 he published three memoirs, developing 
 an alphabet which left scarcely anything farther to be accomplished. 
 
 While the continental scholars were working in their quiet studies 
 on copies of inscriptions more or less accurate, by some happy for- 
 tune a young officer of the East India Company’s army, not behind 
 any Grerman recluse in antiquarian zeal, was attached to our mission 
 in Persia. Colonel Eawlinson, being ignorant of what was going oii 
 in Europe, or of the processes by which Grotefend had been led to 
 the discoveries of which he had heard, set to work to decipher two 
 of the inscriptions at Hamadan. He found them in every respect 
 identical, except an epithet, and the groups being arranged, like 
 Grotefend’s, genealogically, he applied the same process, arrived at 
 the same conclusion, and succeeded in reading part of the text of the 
 inscription. At this time Bournouf’s work, and the great Behistun 
 inscription, supplied him with abundant analogical and analytical 
 aid ; and he eventually succeeded in constructing an alphabet which 
 only varied in a single character from that formed by Lassen, 
 at Bonn. 
 
 One of the cuneiform alphabets had now been deciphered, and the 
 language found to be an ancient Persian, easily interpreted by the 
 analogies of modern Zend, and the Sanscrit of the Yedas. The 
 industry and acumen of Col. Bawlinson has worked out the 
 problem so far, that further inquiry will relate only to the refine- 
 ments of grammatical criticism. 
 
 The same work had now to be performed for the Assyrian texts ; 
 but here, while the process of analysis was essentially the same, its 
 application was accompanied with tenfold difficulties. The Persian 
 alphabet contained forty distinct characters : the Assyrian text 
 appeared to contain 600. When Bawlinson had worked at it for 
 some time, he found that some of these were only variants, or 
 slightly deviating forms of the same letter ; but having discovered 
 
INSCRIPTIONS. RAWLINSON. 
 
 343 
 
 this, and determined the value of the alphabetic letters, the language 
 still remained to be mastered. An unexpected aid was about this 
 time discovered. Just as Arab, Persian, and Turk, exist side by side 
 in Mesopotamia at the present day, so did the Assyrian, the Persian 
 or Mede, and the Scythian, in the days of Darius. To this circum- 
 stance we owe it that any progress has been made in their decipher- 
 ment. All of them are trilingual : one written in Persian, another 
 in Assyrian, and a third in a language which has not yet been fully 
 deciphered. The Behistun inscription from which Colonel Bawlinson 
 picked out his Assyrian contains from 80 to 100 proper names, which 
 he could now read in the Persian cuneiform writing ; it was, there- 
 fore, not difficult to construct an Assyrian alphabet pretty nearly 
 accurate. The most frequently recurring words were soon recog- 
 nised ; and when the sound had been approximatively determined, it 
 was found that the language was very nearly allied to the Hebrew 
 and the ancient Chaldee. It will not be supposed that, even after 
 this discovery. Colonel Bawlinson’s task was henceforth easy. 
 Obstacles lay in his way, of which students who learn a language with 
 aU the aids of lexicons, grammars, and annotated texts, have no con- 
 ception. Thus, this Behistun inscription is engraved on a rock at 
 an elevation of 300 feet above the plain ; and its delicately-executed 
 characters had to be read by the aid of a telescope ; besides which, a 
 part of it was peeled off and irrecoverably lost. The inscriptions at 
 Persepolis were so short, so crowded with proper names, and so fuR 
 of repetition, that it was difficult to ascertain what the real language 
 was. In spite of all these impediments. Colonel Bawlinson considers 
 the meaning of about 500 words is certainly determined; and as 
 these contain many substantives, verbs, and adjectives, with probably 
 all the prepositions, they suffice to explain the meaning of any 
 simple record of events, and such is the character of most of these 
 inscriptions. 
 
 The inscriptions at Khorsabad are never found upon any of the 
 fa 9 ades, but run along the sides of the chambers, forming a line 
 between the upper and lower bas-reliefs. There are also shorter 
 ones engraved upon the bottoms of the dresses of the different 
 figures, and others still briefer between the legs of the bulls at the 
 doorways, as well as on the large flags which pave the entrance to the 
 doors. Besides these, others, seemingly consisting of a single word, 
 are to be seen over the heads of captives, and the representations 
 of different towns. These Botta conjectures to be proper names. 
 Another class of inscriptions was discovered upon the back of the 
 gypsum slabs which formed the paneUing of the chambers. Botta at 
 
344 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 first accounted for tliis fact by supposing that tbe remains of some 
 still more ancient building had been employed in the construction 
 of the Khorsabad monument ; but as the inscriptions were always 
 the same, and invariably placed in the very middle of the block, he 
 came to the conclusion that they must represent the name or gene- 
 alogy of the monarch who raised the structure, or else commemorate 
 some historical fact. This supposition is strengthened by the cir- 
 cumstance that the inscriptions in question are also cut upon the 
 sides of the stones which formed the angle of the chambers. They 
 were not executed with the same care and nicety as those upon the 
 walls of the chambers, but were evidently placed in the position they 
 occupied, in the same manner, and for the same reasons, that coins 
 and medals are deposited under tbe foundation-stones of modern 
 buildings. 
 
 The inscriptions at Khorsabad are, without exception, all written 
 in the cuneiform character, and, with few variations, the same as that 
 employed at Nimroud. This fact fixes the date of the monument 
 anterior to the termination of the Assyrian empire. Botta gives, at 
 great length, a catalogue of the characters he met with at Khorsabad, 
 and also a list of the different groups formed by these simple charac- 
 ters or elements, and finds these groups, including the variations 
 which he observed in their form, to amount to 642. The number 
 of simple elements in each group varied from one to fourteen, but 
 never exceeded the latter number. Botta is of opinion that the 
 different groups are not resolvable into their simple elements, but 
 that each represents a separate sound, as in Chinese : in this view he 
 differs from all other inquirers. At Khorsabad a great many inscrip- 
 tions illustrate historical subjects, and it cannot be supposed that 
 they always contain the same individual words. With so small a 
 number of groups, therefore, it is impossible each group can have 
 represented a word ; they must evidently stand for either a letter or 
 a syllable. The words, too, generally consist of a number of signs or 
 groups, varying from one to four, from which it may be concluded 
 that the language is syllabic, or that, at least, the signs representing 
 the consonants contain also the necessary accompaniment of vowels. 
 Botta was at first inchned to believe in the co-existence of another 
 system of writing on account of the complexity of the cuneiform, and 
 also because he discovered bricks, vases, and gems, with inscriptions 
 somewhat resembling the Phoenician character. He accounts for 
 this, however, by supposing that the cuneiform letters may, like the 
 Chinese, for ordinary use, be written quickly, and, as is the case 
 with hieroglyphics, be reduced to such simplicity as to become 
 
INSCRIPTIONS. — RAWLINSON. 
 
 345 
 
 almost irrecognisable as variants of the normal form. He also 
 suggests, as a reason for the two systems of writing, that as the 
 Phoenician-like characters were always found upon small articles, 
 such as gems, vases, cylinders, &c., they might have been the work of 
 foreign workmen, anxious to leave some mark of their nationality, or 
 may have been engraved by the captives who were kept prisoners 
 by the monarchs of Assyria. This may certainly have been the case 
 at Babylon, where many of these objects with the inscriptions in 
 question were discovered, and where there was a constant communi- 
 cation wdth the Phoenician popidations inhabiting the shores of the 
 Mediterranean. 
 
 There is one remarkable fact connected with the cuneiform inscrip- 
 tions of Khorsabad. Ho modification ever, or hardly ever, is observed 
 at the commencement, or in the middle of the words. The termina- 
 tion alone is affected. This peculiarity, Botta thought, went far to 
 j)rove that the language was not Semitic, as in the latter class of 
 languages the changes always occur in the beginning ; nor is it ot 
 the Arian family, as there are no traces of prefixed prepositions or 
 composed w'ords. 
 
 Having given, w'e trust, full credit to the acumen of Grrotefend and 
 the profound learning and skdl of Lassen, we may now" devote the 
 remainder of our space to an account of the labours of our own 
 coimtryman, Bawlinson, of wdiom every Englishman may well be 
 proud. AYe shall do this chiefly in his owm words, as contained in 
 the “ Journal of the Boyal Asiatic Society.” In a memoir, prepared 
 in 1839, but not then published, the Colonel thus wrote respecting 
 the labours of his predecessors ; — 
 
 “ It woidd be interesting, perhaps, to the lovers of Oriental litera- 
 ture, if I could open the present memoir with a detailed account of 
 the progress of cuneiform discovery, from the time when Professor 
 Grrotefend first deciphered the names of Cyrus, Xerxes, and Darius, 
 to the highly improved condition which the inquiry now- exhibits ; but 
 my long absence from Europe, wdiere the researches of Orientalists 
 have been thus gradually perfecting the system of interpretation, 
 while it has prevented me from applying to my own labours the 
 current improvements of the day, has also rendered me quite incom- 
 petent to discriminate the dates and forms imder which these 
 improvements have been given to the wmrld. The table, how*ever, in 
 Avhich I have arranged the different alphabetical systems adopted both 
 by continental students and by myself, will give a general view of 
 their relative conditions of accuracy, and — supposing the correctness 
 of my owm alphabet to be verified by the test of my translations — it 
 
316 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEHEKS. 
 
 will also sliow that the progress of discovery has kept pace pretty 
 uniformly with the progress of inquiry. 
 
 “ Professor G-rotefend has certainly the credit of being the first 
 who opened a gallery into this rich treasure-house of antiquity. In 
 deciphering the names of Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes, and Hystaspes, he 
 obtained the true determination of nearly a third of the entire alpha- 
 bet, and thus at once supplied a sure and ample basis for further 
 research. M. Saint Martin, who resumed the inquiry on its being 
 abandoned by the German professor, improved but little on the 
 labours of his predecessor ; but shortly afterwards Professor Dask 
 discovered the two characters representing M and X, which led to 
 several most important verifications. 
 
 “ The memoir of M, Bournouf on the two cuneiform inscriptions 
 of Hamadan, published in 1836, added several discoveries of interest ; 
 and the recent researches of Professor Lassen, supplying an identifi- 
 cation of at least twelve characters, wLich had been mistaken by all 
 his predecessors, may entitle him almost to contest with Professor 
 Grotefend the palm of alphabetical discovery. 
 
 “ In a very few cases only, which may be seen on a reference to 
 the comparative table, have I indeed found occasion to differ with 
 him as to the phonetic power of the characters, and in some of the 
 cases even, owing to the limited field of inquiry, I have little more 
 than conjecture to guide me. 
 
 “ But in thus tracing the outlines of the discovery as far as they 
 are at present known to me, and in thus disclaiming any pretension to 
 originality as far as regards the alphabet which I have finally decided 
 on adopting, I think it due to myself to state briefly and distinctly 
 how far I am indebted for my knowledge of the cuneiform character, 
 and of the language of the inscriptions, to the labours of continental 
 students which have preceded the present publication. It was in the 
 year 1835 that I first undertook the investigation of the cuneiform 
 character. I was at that time only aware that Professor Grotefend 
 had deciphered some of the names of the early sovereigns of the house 
 of Achsemenes ; but in my isolated position at Kermanshah, on the 
 western frontier of Persia, I could neither obtain a copy of his 
 alphabet, nor could I discover what particular inscriptions he had 
 examined. The first materials w'hich I submitted to analysis were 
 the sculptured tablets of Hamadan, carefully and accurately copied 
 by myself upon the spot ; and I afterwards found that I had thus, by 
 a singular accident, selected the most favourable inscriptions of the 
 class which existed in all Persia for resolving the difB.culties of an 
 unknown character. 
 
INSCRIPTIONS. RAWLINSON. 
 
 347 
 
 “ These tablets consist of two trilingual inscriptions, engraved by 
 Darius Hystaspes and his son Xerxes. They commence with the 
 same invocation to Ormazd (with the exception of a single epithet 
 omitted in the tablet of Darius) ; they contain the same enumeration 
 of the royal titles, and the same statement of paternity and family ; 
 and, in fact, they are identical, except in the names of the kings and 
 in those of their respective fatliers. When I proceeded, therefore, to 
 compare and interline the two inscriptions (or rather, the Persian 
 columns of the two inscriptions ; for as the compartments exhibiting 
 the inscription in the Persian language occupied the principal place 
 in the tablets, and were engraved in the least complicated of the three 
 classes of cuneiform writing, they were natually first submitted to 
 examination), I found that the characters coincided throughout, 
 except in certain particular groups, and it was only reasonable to 
 suppose that the groups which were thus brought out and indivi- 
 dualised must represent proper names. I further remarked, that 
 there were but three of these distinct groups in the two inscriptions ; 
 for the group which occupied the second place in one inscription, 
 and which, from its position, suggested the idea of its representing 
 the name of the father of the king who was there commemorated, 
 corresponded with the group which occupied the first place in the 
 other inscription, and thus not only served determinately to connect 
 the two inscriptions together, but, assuming the groups to represent 
 proper names, appeared also to indicate a genealogical succession. 
 The natural inference was, that in these three groups of characters I 
 had obtained the proper names belonging to three consecutive gene- 
 rations of the Persian monarchy ; and it so happened that the first 
 three names of Hystaspes, Darius, and Xerxes, which I applied at 
 hazard to the three groups, according to the succession, proved 
 to answer in all respects satisfactorily, and were, in fact, the true 
 identifications.” 
 
 The Colonel is not able, after the lapse of so many years, to 
 describe the means by which he ascertained the power of each par- 
 ticular letter, or to discriminate the respective dates of the discoveries ; 
 but he has no doubt that some years ago he could have explained 
 the manner in which he had identified these eighteen characters 
 before he met with the alphabets of Grrotefend and Saint Martin. 
 
 He continues : “ It would be fatiguing to detail tlie gradual pro- 
 gress which I made in the inquiry during the ensuing year. The 
 collation of the two first paragraphs of the great Behistun inscription 
 with the tablets of Elwend supplied me, in addition to the names of 
 Hystaspes, Darius, and Xerxes, with the native forms of Arsames, 
 
348 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 Ariaramnes, Teispes, Achaemenes, and Persia, and witli a few old 
 words, regarding which, however, I was not very confident; and 
 thus enabled me to construct an alphabet w'hich assigned the same 
 determinate values to eighteen characters that I still retain after 
 three years of further investigation. 
 
 “ During a residence at Teheran in the autumn of 1836, I had 
 first an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the labours of 
 Grrotefend and Saint Martin. In Heeren’s Ideen, and in Klaproth’s 
 Apergu de V Origine des diverses ^critures, I found the cuneiform 
 alphabets and translations which had been adopted in Grermany and 
 Prance : but far from deriving any assistance from either of these 
 sources, I could not doubt that my own knowledge of the character, 
 verified by its application to many names which had not come under 
 the observations of Grotefend and Saint Martin, was much in advance 
 of their respective, and in some measure conflicting, systems of 
 interpretation. As there were many letters, however, regarding 
 which I was still in doubt, and as I had made very little progress in 
 the language of the inscriptions, I deferred the announcement of my 
 discoveries until I was in a better condition to turn them to account. 
 
 “ In the year 1837 I copied all the other paragraphs of the great 
 Behistun inscription that form the subject of the present memoir ; 
 and during the winter of that year, whilst I was still under the 
 impression that cuneiform discovery in Europe was in the same 
 imperfect state in which it had been left at the period of Saint 
 Martin’s decease, I forwarded to the Boyal Asiatic Society my 
 translation of the two first paragraphs of the Behistun inscription, 
 which recorded the titles and genealogy of Darius Hystaspes. It is 
 important to observe that these paragraphs would have been wholly 
 inexplicable according to the systems of interpretation adopted either 
 by Grotefend or Saint Martin; and yet the original Prench and 
 German alphabets were the only extraneous sources of information 
 which, up to that period, I had been enabled to consult. It was not, 
 indeed, until the receipt of the letters Which had been sent to me 
 from London and Paris, in answer to my communication to the 
 Royal Asiatic Society, that I was made acquainted even with the fact 
 of the inquiry having been resumed by the Orientalists of Europe ; 
 and a still further period elapsed before I learnt details of the 
 progress that had been made upon the Continent in deciphering the 
 inscriptions simultaneously with my own researches in Persia. The 
 memoir of M. Bournouf on the inscriptions of Hamadan, which 
 was forwarded to me by the learned author, and which reached me 
 at Teheran in the summer of 1838, showed me that I had been 
 
INSCEIPTIONS. EAWLINSON. 
 
 349 
 
 anticipated in the announcement of many of the improvements that I 
 had made on the system of M. Saint Martin ; but I still found several 
 essential points of difference between the Paris alphabet and that 
 which I had formed from the writing at Behistun, and my obser- 
 vations on a few of these points of difference I at once submitted to 
 M. Bournouf, through the Secretary of the Boyal Asiatic Society of 
 London. The materials with which I had hitherto worked were far 
 from being complete. The inscriptions which I had copied at 
 Hamadan and Behistun supplied my only means of alphabetical 
 analysis ; and the researches of Anquetil du Perron, together with a 
 few Zend MSS. obtained in Persia, and interpreted for me by an 
 ignorant priest of Yezd, were my only guides in acquiring a know- 
 ledge of the ancient language of the country. In the autumn, 
 however, of 1838, I was in a condition to prosecute the inquiry on a 
 far more extended and satisfactory scale. The admirable commentary 
 on the Ta 9 ua by M. Bournouf, was transmitted to me by Dr. Mohl, 
 of Paris, and I there for the first time found the language of the 
 Zend Avesta critically analysed, and its orthographical and gram- 
 matical structure clearly and scientifically developed. To this work 
 I owe in a great measure the success of my translations ; for although 
 I conjecture the Zend to be a later language than that of the inscrip- 
 tions, upon the debris of which, indeed, it was probably refined and 
 systematised, yet I believe it to approach nearer to the Persian of the 
 ante- Alexandrian ages than any other dialect of the family, except 
 the Vedic Sanscrit, that is available to modern research. At the 
 same time, also, that I acquired through the luminous critique of 
 M. Bournouf an insight into the peculiarities of Zend expression, and 
 by this means obtained a general knowledge of the grammatical 
 structure of the language of the inscriptions, I had the good fortune 
 to procure copies of the Persepolitan tablets which had been pub- 
 lished by Niebuhr, Le Brun, and Porter, and which had hitherto 
 formed the chief basis of continental study. The enumeration of the 
 provinces tributary to Darius Hystaspes I found to be in greater 
 detail, and in a far better state of preservation, in the Persepolitan 
 inscription, than in the corresponding list which I had obtained at 
 Behistun ; and with this important help, I was soon afterwards able 
 to complete the alphabet which I have employed in the present 
 translations. 
 
 “ On my arrival at Baghdad during the present year I deferred 
 the completion of my translations, and of the memoir by which I 
 designed to establish and explain them, until I obtained books from 
 England which might enable me to study with more care the 
 
350 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 peculiarities of Sanscrit grammar ; and in the mean time I busied myself 
 with comparative geography. It was at this period that I received 
 through the Yice-President of the Boyal Asiatic Society a letter from 
 Professor Lassen, containing a precis of his last improved system of 
 interpretation; and the Bonn alphabet I recognised at once to he 
 infinitely superior to any other that had previously fallen under my 
 observation. The Professor’s views, indeed, coincided in all essential 
 points with my own, and since I have been enabled, with the help of 
 Sanscrit and Zend affinities, to analyse nearly every word of the 
 cuneiform inscriptions hitherto copied in Persia, and thus to verify 
 the alphabetical power of almost every cuneiform character, I have 
 found the more reason to admire the skill of Professor Lassen, who, 
 with such very limited materials as were alone at his disposal in 
 Europe, has still arrived at results so remarkably correct. The close 
 approximation of my own alphabet to that adopted by Professor 
 Lassen will he apparent on a reference to the comparative table ; and 
 although, in point of fact, the Professor’s labours have been of no 
 further assistance to me than in adding one new character to my 
 alphabet, and in confirming opinions which were sometimes con- 
 jectural, and which generally required verification, yet as the improve- 
 ments which his system of interpretation makes upon the alphabet 
 employed by M. Bournouf appear to have preceded not only the 
 announcement, but the adoption of my own views, I cannot pretend 
 to contest with him the priority of alphabetical discovery. Whilst 
 employed in writing the present memoir, I have had further oppor- 
 tunities of examining the Persepolitan inscriptions of Mr. Bich, and 
 the Persian inscription of Xerxes, which is found at Yan ; and I have 
 also, in the pages of the Journal Asiatique, been introduced to a 
 better knowledge of the Pehlevi, by Dr. Muller, and I have obtained 
 some acquaintance with Professor Lassen’s translations, from the 
 perusal of one of the critical notices of M. Jacquet.” 
 
 Bespecting cuneiform writing in general, Bawlinson observes, that 
 the Babylonian is unquestionably the most ancient of the great 
 classes of cuneiform writing. It is well known that legends in this 
 character are stamped upon the bricks which are excavated from the 
 foundations of all the buildings in Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and 
 Chaldsea, that possess the highest and most authentic claims to 
 antiquity; and it is hardly extravagant, tlierefore, to assign its 
 invention to the primitive race which settled in the plains of Shinar. 
 It embraces, however, so many varieties, and it is spread over such a 
 vast extent of country, that Orientalists have been long divided in 
 opinion as to whether its multitudinous branches can be considered as 
 
INSCRIPTIONS. RAWLINSON. 
 
 351 
 
 belonging to one type of alphabet and language. Those who have 
 studied the subject with most care have arrived at the conviction 
 that all the inscriptions in the complicated cuneiform character, 
 which are severally found upon rocks, upon bricks, upon slabs, and 
 upon cylinders, from the Persian mountains to the shores of the 
 Mediterranean, do in reality belong to one single alphabetical 
 system; and they further believe the variations which are per- 
 ceptible in the different modes of writing to be analogous, in a 
 general measure, to the varieties of hand and text which characterise 
 the graphic and glyphic arts of the present day. Colonel Eawlinson, 
 however, can hardly subscribe in all its amplitude to this general and 
 complete amalgamation. He perceives modifications of a constant 
 and peculiar character, which perhaps are hardly sufficient to establish 
 a distinction of phonetic organisation between the Babylonian and 
 Assyrian writing, but which may be held, nevertheless, to constitute 
 varieties of alphabetical formation : and the inscriptions of Elymais, 
 also, from their manifest dissimilarity to either one system or the other, 
 are entitled, he considers, to an independent rank. He then proceeds 
 to exhibit a classification of the complicated cuneiform writing, 
 according to the opinions which he has formed from an extensive 
 examination of the inscriptions ; premising, at the same time, that he 
 sees no sufficient grounds at present to prevent us from attaching aU 
 the languages which the various alphabets are employed to represent, 
 to that one great family, which it is the custom (improperly enough) to 
 designate as the Semitic ; and that he leaves untouched the great and 
 essential question, whether the difference of character indicate a 
 difference of orthographical structure, or whether the varieties of 
 formation are merely analogous to the diversity which exists between 
 the Estranghelo and the Hestorian alphabet, the printed and the 
 cursive Hebrew, or the Cufic and the modern Arabic. 
 
 The complicated cuneiform character, then, may, he thinks, be 
 divided into three distinct groups, — Babylonian, Assyrian, and 
 Elymsean; and the two former of these groups will again admit of 
 sub-division into minor branches. Of the Babylonian, there are only 
 two marked varieties ; the character of the cylinders may be con- 
 sidered as the type of the one ; that of the third column of the 
 trilingual inscriptions of Persia, of the other. The former is probably 
 the primitive cuneiform alphabet. It is also of extensive application ; 
 it is found upon the bricks which compose the foundations of the 
 primaeval cities of Shinar, at Babylon, at Erech, at Accad, and at 
 Calneh ; and, if the Birs-i-Nimroud be admitted to represent the 
 tower of Babel, an identification which is supported, not merely by 
 
352 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 the character of the monument, hut by the universal belief of the 
 early Talmudists, it must, in the substructure of that edifice, embody 
 the vernacular dialect of Shinar at the period when “ the earth was of 
 one language and of one speech.” Eut it was not confined, as has 
 been sometimes supposed, to cylinders and bricks. It has the same 
 title as that of the trilingual inscriptions to be considered a lapidary 
 character ; for we have specimens of it on Sir Harford Jones’ great 
 slab, published by the Honourable the East India Company in 1803, 
 as well as upon numerous stones and hard-baked pieces of clay that 
 have been disinterred at Babylon at different periods. JSTor was its 
 employment, or at any rate its intelligence, restricted to that imme- 
 diate vicinity ; Eawlinson copied, in the year 1836, a very perfect 
 inscription of thirty-three lines in this character, from a broken 
 obelisk on the mound of Susa ; and a black stone, which is engraved 
 with 104 short lines of the same writing, and which is now in the 
 possession of the Earl of Aberdeen, was excavated not long ago from 
 the ruins of JSTineveh. 
 
 The second form of this alphabet is the best known, as it is also 
 unquestionably the least ancient, branch of the Babylonian writing. 
 It is employed with little or no variation of type to represent the 
 transcript in the third column of all the trilingual tablets of Persia, 
 and it may, perhaps, therefore, be not inappropriately termed the 
 Achsemenian-Babylonian. By what means it became simplified from 
 the primitive writing, or by how many centuries its adoption preceded 
 the rise of the Achaemenean dynasty, we have no data at present for 
 determining ; but that it was in use until a late period of the 
 Persian empire, is proved by the inscription on a vase in the treasury 
 of St. Mark’s at Venice, which records the name and titles of 
 Artaxerxes (Ochus) in hieroglyphics and in the trilingual characters 
 of the Achaemenians. It is curious to remark that although at 
 Persepolis, at Hamadan, at Van, and at Behistun, this writing exhibits 
 no sensible variety, it may be doubted if a genuine Babylonian monu- 
 ment has been ever met with, of which the character is precisely 
 identical. The inscriptions published by Bich are certainly a near 
 approximation, and Grotefend observes that the writing upon the 
 stone described by Mr. Millin partly resembles the same type ; but 
 Bawlinson repeats that he is not aware of any legend discovered at 
 Babylon that may lay claim to an absolute identity ; and this is the 
 more to be regretted, as we are indebted to the trilingual inscriptions 
 of Persia for our only key to the decipherment of the Babylonian 
 alphabet, and any variation, accordingly, from the former type 
 seriously impedes the extension of the inquiry. 
 
EAWLINSON OX THE ASSYRIAN ALPHABETS. 
 
 353 
 
 ^Respecting the Assyrian character, Rawlinson says : “ M. Eotta, 
 who has exhumed, under the liberal patronage of the French 
 government, the multitudinous inscriptions of Khorsabad, and who 
 will shortly, it is hoped, confer a more important benefit upon 
 science by rendering their contents intelligible, regards the Assyrian 
 writing, wherever, it may exist, as of one common and universal 
 type. I do not pretend at present to contest this view, as far as it 
 may concern either the language or its alphabetical structure ; but in 
 respect to the configuration of the character, it requires, I think, to 
 be somewhat modified. If the permutations of letters occurring in 
 certain Avords (particularly names) at Van and at Khorsabad, were 
 regular and constant, or if the frequent repetition of those words, 
 either at one place or the other, by a different employment of signs 
 connected the two systems of orthography together, and explained 
 the process of amplifying, abridging, or modifying the respective 
 characters at will, then, by an extensive assortment of variants, the 
 alphabets, perhaps, might be brought to coalesce ; but such I cannot 
 find to be the case. On the contrary, I perceive characters at Van 
 ' which never occur at Khorsabad, and vice versa; and without 
 impugning therefore, in any way the possible identity of language, or 
 the probable identity of its phonetic organisation, as I have dis- 
 tinguished between the Babylonian writing of the piimitive and 
 Achaemenian periods, so do I also recognise a difference between the 
 Medo- Assyrian and the Assyrian alphabets. By the Medo- Assyrian 
 alphabet I indicate that which (with the exception of the trilingual 
 inscription of Xerxes) is exclusively found on the rocks at A^an and 
 its neighbourhood, which occurs at Dash Tappeh, in the plain of 
 Miyaudab, and on the stone pillar at the pass of Kel-i-Shin, and 
 which, as far as I can judge from an imperfect specimen of the writing, 
 is also the character employed in a rock inscription on the banks of 
 the Euphrates, between the towns of Malatieh and Kharput. The 
 Assyrian alphabet, on the other hand, appears to be peculiar to the 
 plains of Assyria. In this character are engraved the entire series of 
 the marbles of Khorsabad. Broken slabs bearing the same writing 
 have been excavated from the ruins of Nineveh, and I was also lately 
 favoured with the fragment of an inscription from Nimroud (perhaps 
 the Rehoboth of Scripture), Avhich is unquestionably of the Assyrian 
 type. The bricks, moreover, which I have seen from Khorsabad, 
 Nineveh, and Nimroud, are, as might be expected, impressed with 
 legends in the Assyrian character, and exhibit, in this respect, a very 
 remarkable difference from the relics of the same class in llabylonia. 
 Unfortunately I have never been able to obtain bricks stamped with 
 
NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 the cuneiform character from either of the sites, which I suppose to 
 represent the sister capitals of Eusen and Calah. Such relics, how- 
 ever, I have every reason to believe, are found both at Shahrizor and 
 at Holwan, and if, when submitted to examination, the writing 
 should prove to be of the Nineveh tpye, we then may claim for the 
 Assyrian character an antiquity of invention and an extensiveness of 
 employment almost equal to that of the primitive Babylonian. 
 
 “ I have already mentioned the disinterment of a stone from the 
 ruins of Nineveh, which exhibits a very long and perfect inscription 
 in the character of the Babylonian cylinders. The discovery of this 
 relic, however, in situ, does not, as it appears to me, necessarily con- 
 found the limits of Assyrian and Babylonian writing. It was pro- 
 bably of foreign manufacture, and may have been preserved by some 
 inhabitants of Nineveh as an amulet or sacred curiosity. Under 
 any circumstances, it can only be regarded as a specimen sui ge- 
 neris ; for the usual writing which is found upon cylindrical pieces 
 of hard-baked clay excavated from Nineveh is quite distinct from 
 any variety of character which occurs on similar velics at Babylon. 
 The Assyrian running-hand, as it may be called, is extremely minute 
 and confused, and the letters, by their sloping position, are made so 
 thorouglriy to intermingle, that it is almost impossible to discrimi- 
 nate their respective forms. Mr. Bich {^Babylon and Bersepolis, 
 Plate 9, No. 5) has published a fragment of writing which appears 
 to me to be in this difficult character ; numerous specimens of it are 
 to be found in the museums of Europe, but by far the most inte- 
 resting and perfect relic of the class that has been ever hitherto 
 discovered, is a hexagonal cylinder of clay, in the possession of Colonel 
 Taylor, which exhibits on each side between seventy and eighty lines 
 of writing, in excellent preservation, but so elaborately minute as, 
 I fear, to defy all attempts at analysis. I have, indeed, a paper im- 
 pression of this curious record, in which the relief of the characters 
 is more clearly marked than on the original cylinder, and yet, 
 although I have repeatedly examined it with the aid of a magnifier, I 
 hesitate to say whether it most resembles the writings of Khorsabad 
 or Van. 
 
 “ Before I quit the subject of the Assyrian inscriptions, I must also 
 notice the tablets at the mouth of the Nahr-el-Kalb, in the vicinity 
 of Beyrout. I remember to have seen in Persia many years ago a 
 lithographed sketch of the entire sculptures, executed by Mr. Bonomi ; 
 but, as far as my recollection serves me, there was no attempt in that 
 sketch to delineate the forms of the characters. At present, I can 
 only consult a drawing of the principal figure, made by an Armenian 
 
IIAWLENSON ON THE ALPHABET AND WHITING. 
 
 355’ 
 
 gentleman, together with a few detached specimens of characters ; and 
 I find from the materials that, although the style of sculpture at the 
 hJ’ahr-el-Kalb resembles in every particular the figures at Khorsabad, 
 the letters appear to be of the Medo- Assyrian type ; a circumstance 
 which, if it should be verified by more elaborate examination, will 
 have the important effect of determinately connecting the monuments 
 of Van and Khorsabad. At any rate, in a locality accessible at all 
 times to European curiosity, a question of so much interest to 
 historical research ought not to remain long in doubt. 
 
 “ It will thus be seen that the classification which I have adopted 
 of the complicated cuneiform writing, embraces the following 
 divisions : — 
 
 { Primitive Babylonian, 
 
 Achsemenian Babylonian ; 
 
 { Medo- Assyrian, 
 
 Assyrian ; 
 
 Elymsean. 
 
 “ It is not my intention in this place to discuss the affinities of the 
 respective alphabets. They all possess a great number of signs in 
 common, but there are also certain characters peculiar to each 
 system, which, as they are constant in their respective localities, 
 can hardly be explained by the caprice or extravagance of the 
 artist. M. Botta has observed, that a person who can read the 
 Khorsabad inscriptions, can read every other species of the compli- 
 cated character ; and I consider his opinions entitled to the utmost 
 respect ; but the principle will certainly not hold good in an inverse 
 application, for my own acquaintance with the Achasmeniaii Baby- 
 lonian is of some extent, and yet I have not hitherto succeeded in 
 identifying a single name in the tablets of Van or Khorsabad. 
 
 “ I will now add a few remarks on the attempts which have 
 hitherto been made to decipher this interesting cliaracter. Ger- 
 many took the lead in the inquiry. In the Mines de V Orient^ vols. 
 IV., V., and VI. (I8I4-18I6), there are several elaborate papers on 
 the subject ; and I learn from Professor Grotefend’s Essay on the 
 cuneiform character, forming Appendix No. 2 to the second volume 
 of Heeren’s Researches (published in 1815), that his own labours 
 were either subsequent to, or cotemporary with, those of a host of 
 other arch90ologists. The names of Tychsen, Miinter, Kopp, Ee 
 Murr, Hager, Millin, and Wahl are particular!}" conspicuous among 
 the early inquirers ; but I do not perceive that any real advantage 
 resulted from their labours beyond the preliminary, but most neces- 
 sary, process of classifying the characters. This classification, I 
 
 A A 2 
 
85G 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 understand, has been carried to a much greater extent of latn 
 years in England by Mr. Cullimore, and it is probable that Signior 
 Mussabini’s work, w^hich I see announced for publication, may con- 
 tain some attempt at phonetic expression. The laborious task, 
 hew'ever, on wdiich M, Botta has been engaged during his excavation 
 of the Nineveh marbles, promises to be of greater importance to the 
 interpretation of the inscriptions than all preceding efforts. Having 
 an inexhaustible field of comparison, he has been employed in con- 
 structing a complete table of variants, the frequent repetition of the 
 same words with orthographical variations of more or less extent, 
 furnishing him with a l?ey to the equivalent signs ; and by these 
 means he has succeeded, as he informs me, in reducing the Assyrian 
 alphabet to some manageable compass. My own labours have been 
 restricted to the AchEemenian Babylonian, as I have found it at 
 Persepolis, Hamadan, and Behistun, and I have attempted nothing 
 further at present than the determination of the phonetic powers of 
 the characters. I have obtained a tolerably extensive alphabet from 
 the orthography of the followdng names : — Achsemenes, Cyrus, 
 Smerdis, Hystaspes, Darius, Artystone, Xerxes, Artaxerxes, Gomates, 
 Magus, Atrines, Naditabirus, Nabochodrossor, Nabonidus, Phraortes, 
 Xathrites, Cyaxares, Martius, O manes, Sitratachmes, Yeisdates, 
 Aracus, Phraates, Persis, Susiana, Margiana, and Oromasdes; but 
 I have left the grammar and construction of the language hitherto 
 untouched. 
 
 a* * * -g infer, from the peculiar form of cuneiform 
 
 writing, that in all ages and in all countries, it must have been con- 
 fined exclusively to sculptures and impressions. In Babylonia and 
 Assyria there was certainly a cursive character employed in a very 
 high antiquity, synchronously with the lapidary cuneiform. "We 
 meet with it occasionally on bricks and cylinders ; and if these relics 
 were insufficient to prove its authenticity, we might refer to the 
 squared Hebrew' which the Jews are believed to have adopted in 
 Babylonia, and to have first substituted for the old Samaritan when 
 they returned from the captivity with a language sensibly affected by 
 their long residence on the Tigris and Euphrates. It is probably, 
 however, the cuneiform character of Assyrian type to which Hero- 
 dotus and Diodorus allude under the titles of Syrian and Assyrian 
 writing: and the tablets of Acicarus, regarding which Clemens of 
 Alexandria has preserved so curious a notice, were inscribed, I should 
 imagine, with the same letters, but of the Achsemenian Babylonian 
 class. The latest monument upon which the ancient character is 
 preserved, is probably the inscription of Tarki, north of the Caucasus,, 
 
RAWLINSON, OPINION ON THE PEEIOD OF NIMROUD PALACE. o57 
 
 a relic that M. Eournouf has, with some plausibility, assigned to the 
 period of Arsacide dominion. In Babylonia Proper its employment 
 could hardly have survived the era of Alexander the Great, and as it 
 appears never to have been used in Persia, except in connexion with 
 a foreign language, and for the purpose of ministering to the pride of 
 the AchaBinenian monarchs, who claimed to have inherited the science 
 as w'ell as the wealth and glory of Babylon, it ceased, no doubt, to be 
 understood to the eastward of the mountains after the extinction of 
 that dynasty. Grecian civilisation then, as it is well kno\^m, replaced 
 for a while Semitic influence in the interior of Persia; and when the 
 Macedonians retired, they were succeeded by that tide of immigration 
 from the eastward which for many centuries imposed a Scythic cha- 
 racter on the usages, the religion, and perhaps also in some degree on 
 the language of the Parthian nation.” 
 
 The great feats of interpretation which such a man as Pawlinsoii 
 has accomplished, should not be suffered to blind us to the fact that 
 our materials for Assyrian history even now, after a partial elucida- 
 tion of such inscriptions as have been found, are extremely limited 
 and fragmentary, and in their present state convey little that is 
 positive in its results, at least so far as a chronological narrative is 
 concerned. The system of Assyrian writing is still extremely obscure, 
 and the language which it records is only partially intelligible through 
 the imperfect key of the Behistun inscriptions. Again, it should not 
 be forgotten, though valuable as are the annals we possess of indivi- 
 dual kings, and important as they may one day become as elements 
 of a complete series, they go but a very little w'ay towards filling up 
 the gap of sixteen hundred years, which must have intervened 
 between the age of Nimroud and the destruction of Nineveh by 
 Cyaxares. All that we can expect at present is, that the internal 
 evidence of the inscriptions may supply us with internal evidence 
 respecting the relative position of the different royal families, and 
 the probable interval which elapsed between them. Puture discoveries 
 of sculptures, and a further development of the alphabet, are to be 
 expected from the zeal of those inquirers now in the field, and to these 
 we must look for the more complete elucidation of the history of Assyria. 
 
 Pending this development, the date of the chief sculptures can only 
 be conjecturally assigned ; Colonel Bawlinson thinks tliat the Nim- 
 roud marbles now in the British Aluseum are of a very high antiquity, 
 and far more ancient than the period of the dynasties mentioned in 
 Scripture or in Herodotus. By a curious induction, too intricate to 
 be explained here, the Colonel has arrived at the conclusion that the 
 era of the building of the north-west palace at Nimroud, which was 
 
S58 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEjREES. 
 
 doubtless during the most flourishing time of the Assyrian empire, 
 must have followed closely upon the extinction of the nineteenth 
 dynasty in Egypt, a period which corresponds with the Argive colo- 
 nisation of Grreece, and the settlement of the Israelites in Palestine. 
 As the north-west palace appears, beyond all doubt, to have been the 
 oldest building in Nimroud, so, too, the inscriptions are the earliest 
 records in the cuneiform character which have been brought to light. 
 These Colonel Eawlinson attributes to a king whose name he reads 
 as Assar-adan-pal, and who he thinks may be identified with the war- 
 like Sardanapalus of Callisthenes. 
 
 But although this Sardanapalus is the first king of Assyria whose 
 annals have been brought to light, he was neither the first king, the 
 first founder of the city, nor the first great builder in Assyria. In 
 all his inscriptions, Sardanapalus names both his father and grand- 
 father, to each of whom he gives the title of King of Assyria ; and 
 when commemorating the building of the Palace of JSTimroud, he says 
 that the city was founded by Temeii-bar. Plow many kings reigned 
 in the interval between the two, it is impossible to say at present. 
 The name of the king who succeeded Temen-bar is read Ilernenk or 
 Ilenenk, a word which resembles the Evechius of the Glreek chrono- 
 logers, Avhich they say is the true Chaldsean designation of ISTimroud. 
 The name of the next king is represented by a group of characters, 
 which Bawlinson takes to mean “servant of Bar,” but to which he 
 cannot give any syllabic form. 
 
 We now come to the Assar-adan-pal, or Sardanapalus, author of 
 the inscriptions in the north-west palace at Kimroud. The formula 
 with which all these begin is, “ This is the palace of Sardanapalus, 
 the humble worshipper of Assarac and Beltis,” &c. After this intro- 
 duction, the inscription goes on to notice the exertions of the king 
 to establish the Assyrian worship ; and then follows, although the 
 connexion is not very obvious, what is taken for a long list of 
 geographical names of the nations then tributary to Kineveh. Could 
 these names be identified with certainty, we might be able to deter- 
 mine the extent of the Assyrian empire when they were engraved. 
 
 Thus has Bawlinson been sedulously engaged in applying his dis- 
 coveries to the inscriptions in the old north-west palace at TsTimroud . 
 He has read on the black obelisk, from the centre of that mound, a 
 record of the wars and history of thirty-one years of the seventh cen- 
 tury before the Christian era ; and it is not too much to expect, from 
 his talents and power of application, that, should his life be spared, a 
 most interesting chapter of the world’s history may yet be restored. 
 Ilis translation of this inscription is as follows. 
 
EAWLINSON^S READING OE THE OBELISK. 
 
 359 
 
 Colonel Eawlinson, after stating tliat tlie inscription on tlie obelisk 
 commences with an invocation to the gods of Assyria to protect the 
 empire^ goes on to say : “I cannot follow^ the sense of the Avhole 
 invocation, which takes up fourteen lines of writing, as well from the 
 obscurity of the titles appertaining to the gods, as from the lacunae 
 in the text, owing -to the fracture of the corner edge of the gradines ; 
 but I perceive, I think, tke following passages : — ‘The god Assarac, 
 the great lord, king of all the great gods; Ani, the king; I^it, the 
 powerful, and Artenk, the supreme god of the provinces ; Beltis, the 
 protector, mother of the gods.’ A few hues further on we have 
 ‘ Shemir (perhaps the Greek Semiramis), who presides over the 
 heavens and the earth’ (another god whose name is lost). ‘Bar,’ 
 with an unknown epithet ; then ‘ . . . Artenk, Lama, and Ilorus ;’ 
 and after the interval of another line, ‘ . Tal, and Set, the attend- 
 
 ants of Beltis, mother of the gods.’ The favour of all these deities, 
 with Assarac at their head, the supreme god of heaven, is invoked for 
 the protection of Assyria. Temen-bar then goes on to give his titles 
 and genealogy ; he calls himself king of the nations who worship 
 ITusi (another name for the god Shemir) and Assarac ; king of 
 Alesopotamia (using a term which was afterwards particidarly applied 
 to the Euphrates) ; son of Sardanapalus, the servant of Ilusi, the 
 Protector, who first introduced the worship of tlie gods among the 
 many peopled nations (the exact terms being here used, wdiich answer 
 to the ^ dah-ydwa paruwa-zana’’ of Persepolis). Sardanapalus, too, 
 is called the son of Katibar (or ‘ the servant of Bar ’), who was king of 
 Zahiri, which seems to have been one of the many names of A^-Ssyria. 
 
 “ Temen-bar then says : — 
 
 “ ‘ At the commencement of my reign, after that I was established 
 on the throne, I assembled the chiefs of my people and came down 
 into the plains of Esmes, where I took the city of Ilaridu, the chief 
 city belonging to JNTakharni. 
 
 “ ‘ In the first year of my reign, I crossed the Upper Euphrates, 
 and ascended to the tribes who worshipped the god Husi. My 
 servants erected altars (or tablets) in that land to my gods. Then I 
 went on to the land of Khamaua, where I founded palaces, cities, 
 and temples. I went on to the land of Alalar, and there I established 
 the worship (or laws) of my kingdom. 
 
 “ ‘ In the second year, I went up to the cit}^ of Tel Barasba, and 
 occupied the cities of Ah uni, son of TIateni. I shut him up in his 
 city. I then crossed the Euphrates, and occupied the cities of 
 Dabagu and Abarta, belonging to the Sheta, together with the cities 
 which were dependent on them. 
 
360 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 “ ‘ In the third year, Ahuni, son of Hateni, rebelled against me, 
 and having become independent, established his seat of government 
 in the city of Tel Barasb:i. The country beyond the Euphrates he 
 placed under the protection of the god Assarac, the Excellent, while 
 he committed to the god Riinmon the country between the Euphrates 
 and the Arteri, with its city of Either, which was held by the Sheta. 
 Then 1 descended into the plains of Elets. The countries of Elets, 
 Shakni, Dayini, Enein (?), Arzaskan, the capital city of Arama, king 
 of Ararat, Lazan, and ITubiska, I committed to the charge of 
 Detarasar. Then I went out from the city of Kineveh, and crossing 
 the Euphrates, 1 attacked and defeated Ahuni, the son of Hateni, 
 in the city of Sitrat, wliich was situated upon the Euphrates, and 
 which Ahuni had made one of his capitals. The rest of the country 
 I brought under subjection ; and xAhuni, the son of Hateni, with his 
 gods and his chief priests, his horses, his sons and his daughters, and 
 all his men of war, I brought away to my country of Assyria. 
 Afterwards I passed through the country of Shelar (or Kelar), and 
 came to the district of Zoba. I reached the cities belonging to ISukti, 
 and toolv the city of Yedi, wliere Nikti dwelt.’ [A good deal of this 
 part of the inscription I have been obliged to translate almost con- 
 jecturally, for on the obelisk the confusion is quite bewildering ; the 
 engraver having, as I think, omitted a line of the text which he was 
 copying, and the events of the third and fourth year being thus 
 mingled together; while in the bull inscription, wliere the date is 
 preserved, showing that the final action with Ahuni took place in the 
 fourth, and not in the third j^ear, the text is too much mutilated to 
 admit of our obtaining any connected sense. I pass on accordingly 
 to the filth year.] 
 
 “ ‘ In the fifth year, I w^ent up to the country of Abyari; I took 
 eleven great cities ; I besieged Akitta of Erri in his city, and received 
 his tribute. 
 
 “ ‘ In the sixth year, I went out from the city of Nineveh, and 
 proceeded to the country situated on the river Belek. The ruler of 
 the country having resisted my authority, I displaced him, and 
 appointed Tsimba to be lord of the district ; and I there established 
 the Assyrian sway. I went out from the land on the river Belek, 
 and came to the cities of Tel-Atak (?) and Habaremya. Then I 
 crossed the Upper Euphrates, and received tribute from the kings of 
 the ISiieta. Afterwards I went out from tlie laud of the Sheta and 
 came to the city of Umen (?). In the city of Umen (?) I raised 
 altars to the great gods. Ej om tlie city of Umen ( r ) I went out and 
 came to the city of Barbara. Then Hem-ithra of the country of 
 
IIAWLINSO^S READING OF THE OBELISK. 
 
 361 
 
 Atesli, and Arliulena of Hamatli, and the Idngs of the Sheta, and the 
 tribes which were in alliance with them, arose ; setting their forces in 
 batttle array, they came against me. By the grace of Assarac, the 
 great and powerful god, I fought with them and defeated them; 
 20,500 of their men 1 slew in battle or carried into slavery. Their 
 leaders, tlieir captains, and their men of war, I put in chains. 
 
 “ ‘ In tlie seventh year, I proceeded to the country belonging to 
 Khabni of Tel-ati. The city of Tel-ati, which was his chief place, 
 and the towns which were dependent on it, I captured, and gave up 
 to pillage. I went out from the city of Tehati, and came to the land 
 watered by the head-streams which form the Tigris. The priests of 
 Assarac in that laud raised altars to the immortal gods. I appointed 
 priests to reside in the land to pay adoration to Assarac, the great 
 and powerful god, and to preside over the national worship. The 
 cities of this region which did not acknowledge the god Assarac I 
 brought under subjection, and I here received the tribute of the 
 coimtry of Xaliiri. 
 
 “ ‘ In the eighth year, against Sut-Baba, king of Taha-Dunis, 
 appeared Sut-Bel-herat and his followers. The latter led his forces 
 against Sut-Baba, and took from him the cities of the land of Beth- 
 Takara. 
 
 “‘In the ninth year, a second time I went up to Armenia and 
 took the city of Luuanta. By the assistance of Assarac and Sut, I 
 obtained possession of the person of Sut-Bel-herat. In the city of 
 Umen ( r ) I P^it him in chains. Afterwards Sut-Bel-herat, together 
 with his cliief Ibllowers, I condemned to slavery. Then I went down to 
 Shinar, and in the cities of Shinar, of Borsippa, and of Ketika, I 
 erected altars and founded temples to the great gods. Then I went 
 down to the land of the Chaldees, and I occupied their cities, and I 
 marched on as far even as the tribes who dwelt upon the sea-coast. 
 Afterwards in the city of Shinar, I received the tribute of the kings 
 of the Chaldees, JIateni, the son of Dakri, and Baga-Sut, the son of 
 Ilukni, gold, silver, gems, and pearls. 
 
 “ ‘ In the tenth year, for the eighth time I crossed the Euphrates. 
 I took the cities belonging to Ara-lura of the town of Shalumas, and 
 gave them up to pillage. Then I went out from the cities of Shalumas, 
 and I proceeded to the country belougiDg to Arama, who was king 
 of Ararat. I took the city of Arnia, which was the capital of the 
 country, and I gave up to pillage one hundred of the dependent 
 towns. I slew the wicked, and I carried off the treasures. 
 
 “ ‘ At this time, Jlem-ithra, king of Atesh, and Arhulena, king of 
 Hamath, and the twelve kings of the tribes who were in alliance 
 
36£ 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 with them, came forth arraying their forces against me. They met 
 me, and we fought a battle, in which I defeated them, making 
 prisoners of their leaders, and their captains, and their men of war, 
 and putting them in chains. 
 
 “ ‘ In the eleventh year, I went out from the city of Nineveh, and 
 for the ninth time crossed the Euphrates. I took the eighty-seven 
 cities belonging to Ara-lura, and one hundred cities belonging to 
 Arama, and I gave them up to pillage. I settled the country of 
 Khamana, and passing by the country of Yeri, I went down to the 
 cities of Hamath, and took the city of Esdimak, and eighty-nine of 
 the dependent towns, slaying the wicked ones, and carrying off the 
 treasures. Again, Hem-ithra, king of Atesh, Arhulena, king of 
 Hamath, and the twelve kings of the tribes ’ [or in one copy, the 
 twelve kings of the Sheta] ^ who were in alliance with them, came 
 forth levying war upon me ; they arrayed their forces against me. 
 I fought with them and defeated them, slaying 10,000 of their men, 
 and carrying into slavery their captains, and leaders, and men of war. 
 Afterwards I went up to the city of Habbaril, one of the chief cities 
 belonging to Arama (of Ararat), and there I received the tribute of 
 Berbaranda, the king of Shetina, gold, silver, horses, sheep, and 
 oxen, &c., &c. I then went up to the country of Khamana, where I 
 founded palaces and cities. 
 
 “ Hn the twelfth year, I marched forth from Nineveh, and for the 
 tenth time I crossed the Euphrates, and went up to the city of 
 Sevarrahuben. I slew the wiclied, and carried off the treasures from 
 thence to my own country. 
 
 “ ‘ In the thirteenth year, I descended to the plains dependent on 
 the city of Assar-animet. I went to the district of Yata. I took the 
 forts of the country of Yata, slaying the evil-disposed, and carrying 
 off all the wealth of the country. 
 
 “ ^ In the fourteenth year, I raised the country, and assembled a 
 great army ; with 120,000 warriors I crossed the Euphrates. Then 
 it came to pass that Hem-ithra, king of Atesh, and Arhulena, king of 
 Hamath, and the twelve kings of the tribes of the upper and lower 
 country, collected their forces together, and came before me offering 
 battle. I engaged with them, and defeated them ; their leaders, and 
 captains, and men of war I cast into chains. 
 
 “ ^ In the fifteenth year, I went to the country of Nahiri, and esta- 
 blished my authority throughout the country about the head-streams 
 which form the Tigris. In the district of Akhabi I celebrated ’ [some 
 great religious ceremony, probably, which is obscurely described, and 
 which I am quite unable to render]. 
 
RAWLINSON^S READING OE THE OBELISK. 
 
 363 
 
 ‘ Afterwards I descended to the plains of Lanhuna, and devastated 
 the cities of Araina, king of j^.rarat, and all the country about the 
 head waters of the Euphrates ; and I abode in the country about the 
 rivers which form the Euphrates, and there I set up altars to the 
 supreme gods, and left priests in the land to superintend the worship. 
 Hasa, king of Eayini, there paid me his homage, and brought in his 
 tribute of horses, and I established the authority of my empire 
 throughout the land dependent on his city. 
 
 “ ‘ In the sixteenth year, I crossed the river Zab, and went against 
 the country of the Arians. Sut-Mesitek, the king of the Arians, I 
 put in cliains, and I brought his wives, and his warriors, and his gods, 
 captives to my country of Assyria; and I appointed Tanvii, the son 
 of Khanab, to be king over the country in his place. 
 
 “ ‘ In the seventeenth year, I crossed the Euphrates, and went up 
 to the country of Khamana, where I founded palaces and cities. 
 
 “ ‘ In the eighteenth year, for the sixteenth time, I crossed the 
 Euphrates. Khazakan of Atesh came forth to fight ; 1121 of his 
 captains, and 460 of his superior chiefs, with the troops they com- 
 manded, I defeated in this w^ar.^ 
 
 “ ‘ In the nineteenth year, for the eighteenth time, I crossed the 
 Euphrates. I w-ent up again to Khamana, and founded more palaces 
 and temples. 
 
 “ ‘ In the tw'entieth year, for the nineteenth time, I crossed the 
 Euphrates. I w'ent up to the country of Berahui. I took the cities, 
 and despoiled them of their treasures. 
 
 “ ‘ In the twenty-first year, for the twentieth time, I crossed the 
 Euphrates, and again w^ent up to the country of Khazakan of Atesh. 
 I occupied his territory, and wiiile there received the tribute from 
 the coinitries of Tyre, of Sidon, and of Gubal. 
 
 1 “It was to commemorate this campaign that the colossal bulls found in the centre of the 
 mound at Niinroud were set up. The inscription upon them recording the wars is, of course, 
 far more detailed than the brief summary on the obelisk, and 1 may as well, therefore, give 
 my reading of it. 
 
 “ It commences with a geographical catalogue : — ‘ The upper and lower countries of Nihiri, 
 the extensive land which worshipped the god Ilusi, Khamana and the Sheta, the countries 
 along the course of the Tigris, and the countries watered by the Euphrates, from Belats to 
 Shakni, from Shakni to Meluda, from Meluda to Dayani, from Dayani to Arzeskan, from 
 Arzeskan to Latsan, from Latsan to Ilubiska ; the Arians and the tribes of the Chaldees w'ho 
 dwell upon the sea-coast. 
 
 “ ‘ In the eighteenth year, for the sixteenth time I crossed the Euphrates. Then Khazakan 
 of Atesh collected his warriors and came forth ; these warriors he committed to a man of 
 Aranersa, who had administered the country of Lemnan. Him he appointed chief of his 
 army. I engaged with him, and defeated him, slaying and carrying into slavery 1 3,000 of 
 his fighting men, and making prisoners 1121 of his captains, and 460 superior otficers, with 
 their cohorts.’ ” 
 
364 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOYEUERS. 
 
 “‘Ill the twenty-second year, for the twenty- first time, I crossed 
 the Euphrates, and inarched to the country of Tubal. Then I 
 received the submission of the twenty-four kings of Tubal, and I 
 went on to the country of Atta, to the gold country, to Belui, and to 
 Ta-Esferem. 
 
 “ * In the twenty-third year, I again crossed the Euphrates, and 
 occupied the city of Huidara, the stronghold of Ellal of Meluda ; and 
 the Kings of Tubal again came in to me, and I received their tribute. 
 
 “ ‘ In the twenty-fourth year, I crossed the river Zab, and passing 
 away from the land of Kharkhar, went up to the country of the 
 Arians. Yaiivu, whom I bad made king of the Arians, had thrown 
 olF his allegiance, so I put him in chains. I captured the city of 
 Esaksha, and took Beth-Telabon, Beth-Everek, and Beth-Tsida, his 
 principal cities. I slew the evil-disposed, and jjlundered the treasures, 
 and gave the cities over to pillage, i then went out from the land of 
 the Arians, and received the tribute of the twenty-seven kings of the 
 Persians. Afterwards I removed from the land of the Persians, and 
 entered the territory of the Medes, going on to Katsir and Kharkhar; 
 I occupied the several cities of Kakhidra, of Tarzanem, of Irleban, of 
 Akhirablud, and the towns which depended on them. I punished 
 the evil-disposed. I confiscated the treasures, and gave the cities 
 over to pillage, and I established the authority of my empire in the 
 city of Kharkhar, Yanvu, the son of Khaban ’ [usually written 
 Khanab], ‘ with his wives and his gods, and his sons and daughters, his 
 servants and all his property, I carried away captive into my country 
 of Assyria. 
 
 “ ‘ In the twenty -fifth year, I crossed the Euphrates, and received 
 the tribute of the Icings of the ISheta. I passed by the country 
 of Khamaiia, and came to the cities of Akti of Berhui. The city 
 of Tabura, his stronghold, I took by assault. I slew those who 
 resisted, and plundered the treasures : and all the cities of the 
 country I gave over to pillage. Afterwards in the city of Bahura, 
 the capital city of Aram, son of Ilagus, I dedicated a temple to the 
 god liiininon, and I also built a royal palace in the same place. 
 
 “ ‘ In the twenty-sixth year, for the seventh time, 1 passed through 
 the country of Khamana. I went on to the cities of Akti of Berhui, 
 and I inhabited the city of Tanaken, which was the stronghold of 
 Etlak ; there I performed the rites which belong to the worship of 
 Assarac, the supreme god; and I received as tribute from the 
 country, gold and silver, and corn, and sheep, and oxen. 'J'hen I 
 went out from the city of Tanaken, and I came to the country of 
 Leman. The people resisted me, but I subdued the country by force. 
 
rtAT\'LINSON^S READING OF THE OBELISK. 
 
 865 
 
 I tool? the cities, and slew their defenders ; and tlie wealth of the 
 people, with their cattle and corn and moveables, I sent as booty to 
 my country of Assyria. I gave all their cities over to pillage. Then 
 I went on to the country of 'Methets, where the people paid their 
 homage, and I received cold and silver as their tribute. I appointed 
 Ahharriyadon, the son of Akti, to be king over them. Afterwards I 
 went up to Khamana, where I founded more palaces and temples ; 
 until at length I returned to my country of Assyria. 
 
 “ ‘ In the twenty-seventh year, I assembled the captains of my army, 
 and I sent Detarasar of Ittana, the general of the forces, in command 
 of my warriors to Armenia ; he proceeded to the land of Khamana, 
 and in the plains belonging to the city of Ambaret, he crossed the 
 river Artseni. Asiduri of Armenia, hearing of the invasion, collected 
 his cohorts and came forth against my troops, offering them battle ; 
 my forces engaged with him and defeated him, and the country at 
 once submitted to my authority. 
 
 “ ‘ In the twenty-eighth year, whilst I was residing in the city of 
 Calah, a revolt tool? place on the part of the tribes of Shetina. They 
 were led on by Sherrila, who had succeeded to the throne on the 
 death of Labarni, the former king. Then I ordered the general of 
 my army, Detarasa of Ittana, to inarch with my cohorts and all my 
 troops against the rebels. Detarasar accordingly crossed the Upper 
 Euphrates, and marching into the country, established himself in the 
 capital city, Kanala. Then Sherrila, who was seated on the throne, 
 by the help of the great god Assarac, I obtained possession of his 
 person, and his officers, and the chiefs of the tribes of the Shetina, 
 who had thrown off their allegiance and revolted against me, together 
 with the sons of Sherrila, and the men who administered affairs, and 
 imprisoned or punished all of them ; and I appointed xAr-hasit of 
 Sirzakisba to be king over the entire land. I exacted a great tribute 
 also from the land, consisting of gold and silver and precious stones, 
 and ebony, &c., &c., &c. ; and I established the national worship 
 throughout the land, making a great sacrifice in the capital 
 city of Kanala, in the temple which had been raised there to the 
 gods. 
 
 “ ‘ In the twenty-ninth year, I assembled my warriors and captains, 
 and I ascended with them to the country of the Lek. I accepted the 
 homage of the cities of the land, and I then went on to Shenaba. 
 
 “ ‘ In the thirtieth year, whilst I was still residing in the city of 
 Calah, I summoned Detarasar, the general of my arm, and I sent him 
 forth to war in command of my cohorts and forces. He crossed the 
 river Zab, and first came to the cities of Hubiska ; he received the 
 
366 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEEEES. 
 
 tribute of Daten of Hubiska ; and he went out from thence and came 
 to the country belonging to Mekadul of Melakavi, where tribute was 
 duly paid. Leaving the cities of Melakari, he then went on to the 
 country of Huelka of Minni. Huelka of Minni had thrown off his 
 allegiance and declared himself independent, establishing his seat of 
 government in the city of Tsiharta. My general therefore put him in 
 chains, and carried off his flocks and herds and all his property, and 
 gave his cities over to pillage. Passing out from tlie country of 
 Minni, he next came to the territory of Selshen of Kharta ; he took 
 possession of the city of Maharsar, the capital of the country, and of 
 all the towns which depended on it ; and Selshen and his sons he 
 made prisoners and sent to his country, dispatching to me their 
 tribute of horses, male and female. He then went into the country 
 of Sardera, and received the tribute of Artaheri of Sardera ; he after- 
 wards marched to Persia, and obtained the tribute of the kings of the 
 Persians ; and he captured many more cities between Persia and 
 Assyria, and he brought all their riches and treasures with him to 
 Assyria. 
 
 “ ‘ In the thirty-first year, a second time, whilst I abode in the city 
 of Calah, occupied in the worship of the gods Assarac, Hem, and 
 ISTebo, I summoned the general of my army, Detarasar of Ittana, and 
 I sent him forth to war in command of my troops and cohorts. He 
 went out accordingly, in the first place, to the territories of Daten of 
 Hubiska, and received his tribute ; then he proceeded to Enseri, the 
 capital city of the country of Bazatsera, and he occupied the city of 
 Anseri, and the thirty-six other towns of the country of Bazatsera ; 
 he continued his march to the land of Armenia, and he gave over to 
 pillage fifty cities belonging to that territory. He afterwards pro- 
 ceeded to Ladsan, and received the tribute of Hubu of Ladsan, and 
 of the districts of Minni, of Bariana, of Kharran, of Sharrum, of 
 Andi,’ [and another district of which the name is lost], ‘ sheep, oxen, 
 and horses, male and female. Afterward she went on to a district ’ [of 
 which the name is lost], ‘ and he gave up to pillage the cities Biaria 
 and Sitihuria, cities of consideration, together with the twenty-one 
 towns which were attached to them. And he afterwards penetrated 
 as far as the land of the Persians, taking possession of the cities of 
 Baiset, Shel-Khamana, and Akori-Khamana, all of them places of 
 strength, and of the twentj^-three towns which depended on them ; he 
 slew those who resisted, and he carried off the wealth of the cities. 
 And he afterwards moved to the country of the Arians, where, by the 
 help of the gods Assarac and Sut, he captured their cities, and 
 continued his march to the country of Kharets, taking and despoiling 
 
DR. GROTEFEND S READING OF THE OBELISK. 
 
 367 
 
 250 towns ; nntil at length he descended into the plains of Esmes, 
 above the country of Umen ( ? 
 
 Since the foregoing reading of the Nimroud Obelisk was published 
 by Colonel Eawlinson, a paper by Dr. Grotefend, “ On the age of the 
 Obelisk found at Nimrud,” has been presented to the Eoyal Society 
 of Gottingen (12th’ August, 1850), and printed in the Gottingesclien 
 Gelehrten Anzeigen, IS’o. 13, August 26th, 1850. A translation of this 
 paper by the Eev. Dr. Eenouard, was communicated by Dr. John 
 Lee of Hartwell, to the Syro-Egyptian Society, January 13th of the 
 present year, and we avail ourselves of Dr. Lee’s kind permission to 
 introduce a brief account of Dr. Grotefend’s Memom to our readers. 
 
 1 It is extremely difficult to distin^ish throughout these last two paragraphs between 
 the first and third persons. In fact, the grammatical prefixes which mark the persons are 
 frequently put one for the other even in the same sentence. From the opening clause of the 
 paragraphs, I certainly understand that the Assyrian general conducted both of these expe- 
 ditions into High Asia ; yet it would seem as if the king, in chronicling the war, wished to 
 appropriate the achievements to himself. 
 
 “ It remains that I should notice the epigraphs which are engraved on the obelisk above the 
 five series of figures. These epigraphs contain a sort of register of the tribute sent in by five 
 different nations to the Assyrian king ; but they do not follow the series of offerings as they 
 are represented in the sculpture with any approach to exactitude. 
 
 “ The first epigraph records the receipt of the tribute from Shehua of Ladsan, a country 
 which joined Armenia, and which I presume, therefore, to be connected with the Lazi and 
 Lazistan. 
 
 “ The second line of offerings are said to have been sent by Yahua, son of Hubiri, a prince of 
 whom there is no mention in the annals, and of whose native counti-y, therefore, I am 
 ignorant. 
 
 “ This is followed by the tribute of a country which is called Misr, and v'hich there are 
 good grounds for supposing to be Egypt, inasmuch as we are sure from the numerous indi- 
 cations afforded to the position of the inscriptions of Khorsabad, that Misr adjoined Syria, and 
 as the same name (that is, a name pronounced in the same manner, though written with 
 different phonetic characters) is given at Behistun as the Babylonian equivalent of the Persian 
 Mudraya. Misr is not once mentioned in the obelisk annals, and it may be presumed, there- 
 fore, to have remained in complete subjection to Assyria during the whole of Temen-bar’s 
 reign. 
 
 “ The fourth tribute is that of Sut-pal-adan, of the country of Shekhi, probably a Babylonian 
 or Elymaean prince, who is not otherwise mentioned ; and the series is closed by the tribute 
 of Barberanda, the Shetina, a Syrian tribe, which I rather think is the same as the Sharutana 
 of the hieroglyphic writing. 
 
 “ I cannot pretend at present to identify the various articles which are named in these 
 epigraphs ; gold and silver, pearls and gems, ebony and ivory, may be made out, I think, 
 with more or less certainty ; but I cannot conjecture the nature of many other of the 
 offerings ; they may be rare woods, or aromatic gums, or metals, or even such articles as glass 
 or porcelain. 
 
 “ With regard to the animals, those alone wdiich I can certainly identify are horses and 
 camels, the latter being, I think, described as ‘ beasts of the desert with the double back,’ 
 
 “ I do not think any of the remarkable animals, such as the elephant, the wild bull, the 
 unicorn, the antelope, and the monkeys and baboons, are specified in the epigraphs ; but it is 
 possible they may be spoken of as rare animals from the river of Arki and the country beyond 
 the sea.” 
 
368 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEERS. 
 
 He observes in the commencement, that though Eawlinson is able - 
 to make out the general meaning of the inscription, ve are yet so 
 far in the dark as to the proper value of some of the i^ssyrian 
 characters, that there is no security for the correct reading of the 
 proper names by which the periods could be determined ; and that he 
 himself is persuaded that the Assyrians distinguished the proper 
 names of their kings more by their signification than by their sound. 
 As, however, a knowledge of the general import of the inscription can 
 be of little use, unless Ave can determine the time at which the Obelisk 
 Avas erected, he has turned his attention to the events recorded on the 
 monument; and the conclusion he arrives at perfectly coincides with 
 our own views. The Professor is of opinion that irrespective of the 
 high state of civilisation which the arts and sciences must have 
 reached in Assyria, it is incredible that this nation could have made 
 the great conquests in western Asia chronicled on the Obelisk, Avith- 
 outsome report of them having reached contemporary writers in Holy 
 "Writ, or the inquiring Gr reeks of a later period, to whom the ancient 
 sources of information were accessible. He infers thence the im- 
 probability of the Obelisk being erected so early as the 12th or 13th 
 century before Christ ; and from certain lingual coincidences occur- 
 ring in chronological order, Avhich he copiously explains, that the 
 monument may be referred to the end, or reckoning backward, to the 
 beginning of the 8th century before Christ, when Shalmaneser was 
 continuing the conquests Avhich had been commenced by Pul and 
 Tiglath Pileser. After analysing the name of Shalmaneser, and 
 suggesting that Temenbar should be read Shalmanassar ; he considers 
 that the Assar-adan-pul and Kati Bar of EaAvlinson may be read so 
 as to accord with Tiglath-pileser and Pul ; he proceeds to investigate 
 his history, and shoAVS that Eawlinson’s reading of the Obelisk agrees 
 exactly Avith the time and events of the reign of Shalmaneser. “If, 
 however, it is believed that the last ten years recorded on the Obelisk 
 elapsed after the death of Shalmaneser, because we read in 2 Kings, 
 xviii. 13, &c., that Sennacherib, at that time King of Assyria, 
 took all the strong cities in Judsea; we may, on the other hand, 
 remark that he, as well as Sargon (Isaiah xx. 1) was only a subor- 
 dinate king, who made no scruple to take upon himself the title of 
 King of Assyria.” (A surmise supported by his reading of the 
 inscription on the Obelisk itself) Grotefend adds : “ That the re- 
 markable event by which the vast army under Sennacherib was 
 destroyed, should be Avholly unnoticed on the Obelisk, though 
 described in a fabulous manner by Jewish and Egyptian writers, Avill 
 occasion no surprise Avheu Ave consider the anxiety of the Assyrian to 
 
DR. HINCKS^ OPINION REGARDING THE DATE OF THE OBELISK. 369 
 
 publish nothing respecting himself but what redounded to his fame. I, 
 therefore, refer the account of the twenty-first year of the Assyrian 
 king’s reign, in which he took possession of the territory of Khazakhan 
 of Ateth, and there received the tribute from TjT:*e, Sidon, and By bins, 
 to the campaign mentioned by Isaiah (xx), and Hahum (iii. 8):” 
 
 “ In fine, as so much which the inscription on the Obelisk states 
 concerning the Ass^T’ian king, coincides with what we know from other 
 sources of the history of Assyria in the 8th century before the birth 
 of Christ, and as even the determination of the years agrees, no 
 essential contradiction is found ; it will therefore be the more readily 
 acknowledged that tlie Obelisk, whether we reckon backwards or 
 forwards, must have been erected at the close of that century, as 
 everything which Layard has observed respecting the remains of 
 Nineveh unites in corroborating that supposition, while much may 
 be recalled to mind which militates against the supposition of a 
 higher antiquity.” 
 
 Dr. Hincks makes out that the king on the second line of sculp- 
 tures on the Obelisk, is Jehu, King of Israel, and therefore that the 
 date of the relic is about 875 b.c., about one hundred years earlier 
 than Grrotefend’s view. (See Athenaeum, Dec. 27th, 1851). 
 
 The following most interesting paper by Colonel Eawlinson, which 
 establishes the identity of the king who built the palace at Koy- 
 ounjik with the Sennacherib of Scripture, is curiously corroborative 
 of Dr. Grrotefend’s opinions : — 
 
 “As the scientific societies of the metropolis are closed at the 
 present season, perhaps you wiU allow me to announce, in the columns 
 of the Athenaeum (August 23rd, 1851), the heads of a most inter- 
 esting and important discovery which I have made within these few 
 days, in connexion with Assyrian antiquities. 
 
 “ I have succeeded in determinately identifying the Assyrian kings 
 of the lower dynasty whose palaces have been recently excavated in 
 the vicinity of IMdsul ; and I have obtained from the annals of those 
 kings contemporary notices of events which agree in the most 
 remarkable way with the statements preserved in sacred and profane 
 history. 
 
 “ The king who built the Palace of Khorsabad, excavated by the 
 Drench, is named Sargina (the of Isaiah) ; but he also bears, in 
 some of the inscriptions, the epithet of Shalmaneser, by which title he 
 was better kno^vn to the Jews. In the first year of his reign he came 
 up against the city of Samaria (called Samarina, and answering to 
 the Hebrew and the tribes of the country of Beth-Homri 
 
 or ’Omri, being the name of the founder of Samaria, 1 Kings 
 
 B B 
 
370 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEREES. 
 
 xviii. 16, &c.). He carried off into captivity in Assyria 27,280 
 families, and settled in tlieir places colonists bronght from Babylonia, 
 appointing prefects to administer the country, and imposing the same 
 tribute which had been paid to former kings. The only tablet at 
 Khorsabad which exhibits this conquest in any detail (Plate lxx.) 
 is unfortunately much mutilated. Should Monsieur de Salcy, how- 
 ever, whom the Prench are now sending to Assyria, find a duplicate 
 of Shalmaneser’s annals in good preservation, I think it probable that 
 the name’ of the king of Israel may yet be recovered. 
 
 “In the second year of Shalmaneser’s reign he subjugated the 
 kings of Libnah (?) and Khazita (the Cadytis of Herodotus) who 
 were dependent upon Egypt ; and in the seventh year of his reign he 
 received tribute direct from the king of that country, who is named 
 Pirhu, probably for (Pharaoh), the title by which the kings of 
 Egypt were known to the Jews and other Semitic nations. This 
 punishment of the Egyptians by Sargon or Shalmaneser is alluded to 
 in the 20th chapter of Isaiah. 
 
 “ Among the other exploits of Shalmaneser found in his annals, are, 
 
 - — the conquest of Ashdod, also aUuded to in Isaiah xx. 1, and his 
 reduction of the neighbouring city of Jamnai, called Jabneh or 
 Jamneh in the Bible, Jamnaan, in Judith, and ’la/Ai/em by the G-reeks. 
 
 “ In conformity with Menander’s statement, that Shalmaneser 
 assisted the Cittgeans against Sidon, we find a statue and inscription 
 of this king, Sargina, in the island of Cyprus, recording the event ; 
 and, to complete the chain of evidence, the city, built by him, and 
 named after him, the ruins of which are now called Khorsabad, 
 retained among the Syrians the title of Sarghun as late as the Arab 
 conquest. 
 
 “ I am not sure how long Shalmaneser reigned, or whether he 
 made a second expedition into Palestine, His annals at Khorsabad 
 extend only to the 15th year ; and although the names are given of 
 numerous cities which he captured in Caelo-Syria and on the Euphrates 
 — such as Hamath, Bersea, Damascus, Bambyce, and Carchemish — I 
 am unable to trace his steps into Judgea Proper. On a tablet, how- 
 ever, which he set up towards the close of his reign in the Palace of 
 the first Sardanapalus at Nimroud, he styles himself ‘ conqueror of 
 the remote Judgea ;’ and I rather think, therefore, that the expedition 
 in which, after a three years’ siege of Samaria, he carried off the great 
 body of the tribes of Israel, and which is commemorated in the Bible 
 as liaving been concluded m the sixth year of Hezekiah, must have 
 taken place subsequently to the building of the Palace of Khorsabad. 
 
 “ Without this explanation, indeed, we shaU be embarrassed about 
 
RAWLIXSOTs^S FURTHER DISCOVERIES. 
 
 371 
 
 dates ; for I sliall presently show that we have a distinct notice of 
 Sennacherib’s attack upon Jernsalein in the third year of that king’s 
 reign; and we are thus able to determine an interval of eighteen 
 years at least to have elapsed between the last-named event and the 
 Samaritan campaign ; whereas in the Bible we find the great capti- 
 vity to date from the sixth year of Hezekiah, and the invasion of 
 Sennacherib from the fourteenth. 
 
 “ I now go on to the annals of Sennacherib. This is the king 
 who built the great Palace of Koyonnjik, which Mr. Layard has been 
 recently excavating. He was the son of Sargina or Shalmaneser ; and 
 his name, expressed entirely by monograms, may have been pro- 
 nounced Sennachi-riba. The events, at any rate, of his reign, place 
 beyond the reach of dispute his historic identity. He commenced his 
 career by subjugating the Babylonians, under their king Merodach- 
 Baladan, who had also been the antagonist of his father ; two import- 
 ant points of agreement being thus obtained, both with Scripture and 
 with the account of Polyhistor. The annals of the third year, how- 
 ever, of the reign of Sennacherib, which I have just deciphered after 
 the copy bf an inscription taken by Mr. Layard from one of the bulls 
 at the grand entrance of the Koyounjik Palace, contain those striking 
 points of coincidence which first attracted my attention, and which, 
 being once recognised, have naturally led to the complete unfolding 
 of all this period of history. In his third year, Sennacherib under- 
 took, in the first instance, an expedition against Luliya, king of Sidon 
 (the ’EXovXmos of Menander), in which he was completely successful. 
 He was afterwards engaged in operations against some other cities of 
 Syria (which I have not yet identified) ; and, whilst so employed, 
 learned of an insurrection in Palestine. The inhabitants, indeed, of 
 that coiuitry had risen against their king Padiya, and the officers who 
 had been placed in authority over them, on the part of the Asspfian 
 monarch, and had driven them out of the province, obliging them to 
 take refuge with Hezekiah, king of Jerusalem, the capital city of 
 Judaea. (The orthography of these three names corresponds very 
 nearly with the Hebrew reading : Khazakiyahu representing ‘irr'plli, 
 Ursalirnma standing for and Tahuda for rrnrr’). The rebels 
 
 then sent for assistance to the kings of Egypt ; and a large army of 
 horse and foot marched to their assistance, under the command of 
 the king of Pelusium (?). Sennacherib at once proceeded to meet 
 this army ; and, fighting an action with them in the vicinity of the 
 city of AUaku (?), completely defeated them. He made many pri- 
 soners, also, whom he executed, or otherwise disposed of. Padiya 
 then returned from Jerusalem, and was re-instated in his government. 
 
 B B 2 
 
373 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 In the meantime, however, a quarrel arose between Sennacherib and 
 Hezekiah, on the subject of tribute. Sennacherib ravaged the open 
 country, taking ‘ all the fenced cities of Judah,’ and at last threatened 
 Jerusalem. Hezekiah then made his submission, and tendered to the 
 king of Assyria, as tribute, 30 talents of gold, 300 talents of silver, 
 the ornaments of the Temple, slaves, boys and girls and men-servants 
 and maid-servants for the use of the palacn. AH these things 
 Sennacherib received. After which he detached a portion of 
 Hezekiah’ s villages, and placed them in dependence on the cities 
 which had been faithful to him, such as Hebron, Ascalon, and 
 Cadytis. He then retired to Assyria. 
 
 “ How, this is evidently the campaign which is alluded to in 
 Scripture (2 Kings xviii. 13 — 17) ; and it is perhaps the same which 
 is obscurely noticed by Herodotus, lib. ii. c. 141, and which is 
 further described by Josephus, Ant. lib. x. c. 1. The agreement, at 
 any rate, between the record of the Sacred Historian and the con- 
 temporary chronicle of Sennacherib which I have here copied, extends 
 even to the number of the talents of gold and silver which were 
 given as tribute. 
 
 “ I have not yet examined with the care which it requires the 
 continuation of Sennacherib’s chronicle ; but I believe that most of 
 the events attributed to that monarch by the historians Polyhistor 
 and Abydenus will be found in the annals. His pretended conflict 
 with the Grreeks on the coast of Cilicia will, I suspect, turn out to 
 be his reduction of the city of Javnai, near Ashdod, — the mistake 
 having arisen from the similarity of the name of Javnai to that of 
 Javani, or lonians, by which the Greeks were generally known to 
 the nations of the East. At any rate, when Polyhistor says that 
 ‘ Sennacherib erected a statue of himself as a monument of his 
 victory (over the Greeks), and ordered his prowess to be inscribed 
 upon it in Chaldaean characters,’ he certainly alludes to the famous 
 tablet of the Koyounjik king at the mouth of the Hahr-el-Kelb, which 
 appears from the Annals to have been executed after the conquest of 
 the city of Javnai. 
 
 “ The only copy which has been yet found of Sennacherib’s annals 
 at Koyounjik is very imperfect, and extends only to the seventh year. 
 The relic known as Colonel Taylor’s cylinder dates from one year 
 later ; but I have never seen any account of the events of the latter 
 portion of his reign. His reign, however, according to the Greeks, 
 extended to eighteen years, so that his second expedition to Palestine 
 and the miraculous destruction of his army, must have occurred 
 fourteen or fifteen years later than the campaign above described. 
 
HAWLIXSOy^S FrETHEH DISCO^TIEIES. 
 
 373 
 
 Pending tPe discoTerr of a complete set of annals. I would not of 
 course set much store hj the Grreek dates ; but it may he remarked 
 that Hezekiah would hare been still living at the period of the 
 miraculous destruction of Sennacherib’s army, even if, as I have thus 
 conjectured, the second invasion of Judsea had occurred fourteen or 
 fifteen years later than the first ; for the earlier campaign is fixed to 
 the fourteenth year of his reign, and his entire reign extended to 
 twenty-nine years. 
 
 “ I will only further mention that we have upon a cylinder in the 
 British IMiiseum a tolerably perfect copy of the Annals of Esar- 
 Haddon, the son of Sennacherib, in which we find a further depor- 
 tation of Israelites Aom Palestine, and a further settlement of 
 Babylonian colonists in their place: — an explanation being thus 
 obtained of the passage of Ezra (iv. 2), in which the Samaritans 
 speak of Esar-Haddon as the king by whom they had been 
 transplanted. 
 
 “ Many of the drawings and inscriptions which have been recently 
 brought by Mr. Layard from ISTineveh refer to the son of Esar- 
 Haddon, who vrarred extensively in Susiana, Babylonia, and Armenia, 
 — though as his arms never penetrated to the westward, he has been 
 unnoticed in Scripture history : and under the son of this king, wlio 
 is named Saracus or Sardanapalus by the Grreeks, Hineveh seems to 
 have been destroyed. 
 
 “ One of the most interesting matters connected with tliis dis- 
 covery of the identity’ of the Asspdan kings is, the prospect, amounting 
 almost to a certainty, that we must have in the bas-reliefs of Ediorsabad 
 and Koyounjik representations from the chisels of contemporary 
 artists, not only of Samaria, but of that Jerusalem which contained 
 the Temple of Solomon. I have ah’eady identified the Samaritans 
 among the groups of captives portrayed upon the marbles of Khorsabad; 
 aod when I shall have accurately learnt the locality of the difierent 
 bas-reliefs that have been brought from Koyounjik, I do not doubt 
 but that I shall be able to point out the bands of Jewish maidens 
 wlio were delivered to Sennacherib, and perhaps to distinguish the 
 portraiture of the humbled Hezekiah. 
 
 H. C. RAWLIXSOX.” 
 
 London, August 19. 
 
 “P.S. It will be seen that in the above sketch I have left the 
 question of the Tapper Assyrian dynasty altogether untouched. The 
 kings whom I have identified, and who form what is usually called 
 the Lower Assyrian dynasty, extend over a period from about 
 710 to 600 B.c. Antecedent to Shalmaneser there must have been. 
 
374 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCO VEREES. 
 
 I think, an interregnnin. At any rate, although Shalmaneser’s father 
 seems to be mentioned in one inscription, there are no means of con- 
 necting his line with the Upper Assyrian dynasty. Of that dynasty 
 we have the names of about fifteen kings ; but I have never yet found 
 — nor indeed do I expect to find — any historical synchronisms in their 
 annals which may serve to fix their chronology. Implicitly as I 
 believe in the honesty, and admiring as I do the general accuracy, of 
 Herodotus, I should be inclined to adopt his limitation of 520 years 
 for the duration of the Assyrian Empire : — a calculation which would 
 fix the institution of the monarchy at about 1126 b.c., and would 
 bring down the date of the earliest marbles now in the Museum to 
 about 1000 B.c. But, at the same time, I decline without further 
 evidence committing myself to any definite statement on this subject.” 
 
 At the meeting of the British Association in 1850, a paper on the 
 language and mode of writing of the ancient Assyrians, was read by 
 the Bev. Hr. Hincks of Belfast, to whose indefatigable labours we are 
 indebted for much light upon cuneatic writings, especially for the 
 discovery of the numerals, and more recently of the name of Nebu- 
 chadnezzar on some Babylonian bricks, and of that of Sennacherib on 
 some of the inscriptions of Koyounjik. 
 
 In this paper the author began by observing that the language and 
 mode of writing of the Assyrians are themselves two important 
 ethnological facts. The language of the Assyrio-Babylonian inscrip- 
 tions is generally admitted to be of the family called Semitic. It 
 is in many respects strikingly like the Hebrew, but has some pecu- 
 liarities in common with the Egyptian, the relationship of which to 
 the Semitic languages has been already recognised. The mode of 
 writing of the Assyrians differed from that of the Hebrew and other 
 Semitic languages, and agreed with the Egyptian in that it was 
 partly ideographic. Some words consisted entirely of ideographs ; 
 others were written in part phonetically, but had ideographs united 
 with the phonetic part. As to the part of the writing which consisted 
 of phonographs. Dr. Hincks maintained, in opposition to all other 
 writers, that the characters had all definite syllabic values ; there 
 being no consonants, and consequently no necessity or liberty of 
 supplying vowels. This use of characters representing syllables, he 
 considered to be an indication that though the language of the 
 Assyrians was Semitic, their mode of writing was not so. A second 
 proof that the mode of writing was not Semitic, he derived from the 
 absence of distinct syllables to represent combinations of the peculiar 
 Semitic consonants, Koph and Ain. Erom these facts he inferred 
 
SYSTEMS OE EAV/LINSON AND HINGES. 
 
 375 
 
 that the Assyrio-Bahylonian mode of writing was adopted from some 
 Indo-European nation who had probably conquered Assyria ; and he 
 thought it likely that this nation had intercourse with the Egyptians, 
 and had in part, at least, derived their mode of writing from that 
 most ancient people. 
 
 This paper having been read. Colonel Eawlinson observed that 
 Dr. Hincks had stated that he considered the difference between 
 the two systems adopted by Colonel Eawlinson and himself of inter- 
 preting the inscriptions to be, that the one took the signs for letters, 
 and the other for syllables. Now he (Colonel Eawlinson) by no 
 means admitted that he did take the signs altogether for letters. He 
 believed them all to have once had a syllabic value, as the names of 
 the objects which they represented, but to have been subsequently 
 used — usually its initial articulation — to express a mere portion of a 
 syllable. He could adduce numerous instances where the cuneiform 
 signs were used as hondjide letters ; but, at the same time, the tw^o 
 systems of interpretation might now be said to be very nearly 
 identical : so far, indeed, as he understood Dr. Hincks’s paper, there 
 appeared to be only about halt a dozen out of a himdred letters 
 on the phonetic powers of which they were not agreed. Certain 
 inscriptions were found in various parts of Persia engraved in three 
 different languages and alphabets, aU of which were originally unknown. 
 
 The first of these that was deciphered, very nearly resembled the 
 Sanscrit. The language of the second class of cunefic inscriptions 
 was found to be closely allied to the Sanscrit, being in fact the 
 language of the aborigines. This tongue was of the same sort as the 
 Mogul and Tartar, and he believed it to have been spoken by tlie 
 greater part of the aboriginal inhabitants of Persia. At any rate, it 
 was the native language of the Parthians and the other great tribes 
 who inhabited the north of Persia. Coming to the Assyrian and 
 Babylonian languages, we were first made acquainted with them as 
 translations of the Persian and Parthian documents in the above- 
 noticed trilingual inscriptions of Persia ; but lately we had had an 
 enormous amount of historical matter brought to light in tablets of 
 stone written in these languages alone. The languages in question he 
 certainly considered to be Semitic. He doubted whether they could 
 trace at present in any of the buildings or inscriptions of Assyria and 
 Babylonia the original primitive civilisation of man — that civilisation 
 which took place in the very earliest ages. He was of opinion that 
 civilisation first showed itself in Egypt after the immigration of the 
 early tribes from Asia. He thought that the human intellect first 
 germinated on the Nile, and that then there was, in a later age, a 
 
*376 
 
 KINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEUERS. 
 
 reflux of civilisation from the Nile back to Asia. He was quite satis- 
 fied that the system of witing in use on the Tigris and Euphrates 
 was taken from the Nile ; but he admitted that it was carried to a 
 much higher state of perfection in Assyria than it had ever reached 
 in Egypt. The earliest Assyrian inscriptions were those lately dis- 
 covered by Mr. Layard in the north-west palace at Nimroud, being 
 much earlier than anything found at Babylon. Now, the great 
 question was the date of these inscriptions. Mr. Layard himself, 
 when he published his book on Nineveh, believed them to be 2500 
 years before the Christian era ; but others, and Dr. Hincks among 
 the number, brought them down to a much later date, supposing 
 the historical tablets to refer to the Assyrian kings mentioned in 
 Scripture (Shalmaneser, Sennacherib, &c.). He (Colonel Bawlinson) 
 did not agree with either one of these calculations, or the other — he 
 was inclined to place the earliest inscriptions from Nimroud between 
 1350 and 1200 before the Christian era ; because, in the first 
 place, they had a limit to antiquity ; for, in the earliest inscriptions, 
 there was a notice of the sea-ports of Phoenicia, of Tyre and Sidon, 
 of Byblus, Arcidus, &c., and it was well known that these cities were 
 not founded more than 1500 years before the Christian era. We find 
 again certain tribes (the Khita, the Sherutena, and others) mentioned 
 in these inscriptions, which are only to be found in the Egyptian 
 inscriptions of a particular date, that is, during the eighteenth 
 and nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth dynasties. 
 The earliest of the Assyrian inscriptions were, in his opinion, about 
 synchronous with the close of the eighteenth dynasty, and none of the 
 documents which he had yet seen were so late as the twenty-second 
 dynasty. As another proof of the antiquity of the records at Nimroud 
 and Khorsabad, Colonel Bawlinson referred to the cities in Lower 
 Chaldsea, and stated that numerous cities had been lately visited in 
 those parts where traces were found of a series of kings extending 
 from 717 before the Christian era to 600 ; but in all these cities and 
 in all these inscriptions they had never found any trace of the names 
 by which the cities were designated in the earlier records. This 
 showed that the names of these cities and countries had all been 
 changed during the period which elapsed between the Assyrian and 
 Babylonian periods, and consequently placed the former period long 
 before the era of Nabonassar, or 74*7 b.c. He could not admit the 
 hypothesis of Dr. Hincks with regard to the Indo-European origin of 
 the Assyrians, for their language was as much Semitic as the 
 Hebrew or Chalda?an, and the mode of writing was much more 
 Egyptian than Indo-European ; the Assyrians he believed to have 
 
SYSTEMS OE RAWLIXSON AXD HIXCKS. 
 
 377 
 
 hardly come in contact with Indo-European tribes. They certainly 
 knew nothing of India — their arms never penetrated eastward of the 
 Caspian Sea. Of course, they came in contact with many Scythian 
 tribes, and more especially with the Cymri ; but whether this last 
 tribe had anything to do with our Celtic Cymri he could not under- 
 take to say ; his own opinion was, however, that they had not. 
 He rather believed that the Celts aj)plied specifically to themselves 
 the name of Cymri, which was a generic name for Homades, as a 
 Mogid tribe named themselves Eluth, from Eelyant, the generic 
 name of the wandering tribes of Persia. Colonel Eawlinson added, 
 that we had every prospect of a most important accession to our 
 ethnological materials, for every letter he got from the countries now 
 being explored announced fresh discoveries of the utmost importance. 
 In Lower Chaldsea, Mr. Loftus, the geologist to the commission 
 appointed to fix the boundaries between Turkey and Persia, had 
 visited many cities which no European had ever reached before, and 
 had everywhere found tlie most extraordinary remains. At one 
 place, Senkereh, he had come on a pavement, extending from half an 
 acre to an acre, entirely covered Avith writing which was engraA^ed 
 upon baked tiles, &c. At AVurka (or Hr of the Chaldees) whence 
 Abraham came out, he had found innumerable inscriptions ; they 
 Avere of no great extent, but they were exceedingly interesting, 
 giving many royal names previously unknowm. AYurka (Hr or 
 Orchoe) seemed to be a holy city, for the Avhole country for miles 
 upon miles, Avas nothing but a huge necropolis. In none of the 
 excavations in Assyria had coffins ever been foimd, but in this city 
 of Chaldaea there were thousands upon thousands. The story of 
 Abraham’s birth at A\mrka did not originate Avith the Arabs, as had 
 sometimes been conjectured, but Avith the JeAvs ; and the Orientals 
 had numberless fables about Abraham and Himroud. Mr. Layard, in 
 excavating beneath the great pyramid at Nimroud, had penetrated a 
 mass of masonry, Avithin wliich he had discoA’ered the tomb and 
 statue of Sardanapalus, accompanied by full annals of the monarch’s 
 reign engraved on the wMls. He had also found tablets of all sorts, 
 all of them being historical ; but the croAvning discovery he had yet to 
 describe'. The palace at Nineveh, or Koyounjik, had evidently been 
 destroyed by fire, but one portion of the building seemed to have 
 escaped its influence ; and Mr. Layard, in excavating in this part of 
 the palace, had found a large room fiUed Avith what appeared to be 
 the arcliAes of the empire, ranged in successive tablets of terra-cotta, 
 the Avritings being as perfect as when the tablets were first stamped. 
 They Avere piled in huge heaps from the floor to the ceiling ; and he 
 
378 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVERERS. 
 
 wrote to him (Colonel Itawlinson), stating that he had already filled 
 five large cases for despatch to England, hut had only cleared out one 
 corner of the apartment. Erom the progress already made in reading 
 the inscriptions, he believed we should be able pretty weU to under- 
 stand the contents of these tablets — at aU events, we should ascertain 
 their general purport, and thus gain much valuable information. A 
 passage might be remembered in the book of Ezra, where the Jews 
 having been disturbed in building the Temple, prayed that search 
 might be made in the house of records for the edict of Cyrus per- 
 mitting them to return to Jerusalem. The chamber recently found 
 might be presumed to be the house of records of the Assyrian kings, 
 where copies of the royal edicts were duly deposited. "When these 
 tablets had been examined and deciphered, he believed that we should 
 have a better acquaintance with the history, the religion, the philo- 
 sophy, and the jurisprudence of Assyria 1500 years before the 
 Christian era, than we had of Greece or Eome during any period of 
 their respective histories. 
 
 The Athenaeum of Sept. 8th and 20th ; October 25th, December 
 27th, 1851, and January 3rd of the present year, contained some very 
 interesting contributions by Mr. Bosanquet of Claysmore, and 
 Dr. Hincks, relative to Assyrian chronology, and the cuneatic 
 writings. In Dr. Hincks’ s letter of January 3rd, he states that he 
 has found on the slabs of the south-western palace at Mmroud, a 
 name which he identifies as Menahem of Samaria, proving that the 
 slabs belonged to Pul (2 Kings xv. 19, 90,), and that the deportation 
 spoken of was that in the reign of Pekah, and attributed to Tiglath 
 Pileser, who was consequently the same as Sargon, the builder of 
 Khorsabad. 
 
 Stro-Egtptian. — Feh. 16. — Dr. J. Lee in the chair. A paper was 
 read ‘‘ On the Budders of the Palaces at Khorsabad and Koyounjik,” 
 by Dr. Grotefend, translated by the Bev. C. Eenouard. The names 
 of the builders ascertained by Colonel Bawlinson to be Arkotsin, Bel- 
 a-donim-sha, and Assar-adan-assar, have little security. Dr. Grotefend 
 argues, for having been correctly read. The first would appear to 
 have reigned between the times of Cyaxares and Cyrus, and to have 
 conquered a king of Egypt whose name Colonel Bawlinson reads 
 Biarka, or Biarku, but Dr. Grotefend reads Pharaoh Kechoh, — 
 and who held his court at Babek or Heliopolis. (Mr. Sharpe re- 
 marked that Thebes was a Babek, or “city of the sun,” as well as 
 Heliopolis, and the more likely seat of empire). Erom this circum- 
 stance, and the details of the other campaigns of the same king, as 
 described by Colonel Bawlinson, Dr. Grotefend thinks that the builders 
 
DR. GROTEPEND ON THE BUILDERS OF THE PALACE. 
 
 379 
 
 of Kliorsabad may be identified witb tbe Biblical Nabopolassar and 
 his son Nebuchadnezzar, — and the builder of Koyonnjik with the 
 Biblical Evil-Merodach, a Jewish distortion of Abil-Beredam. Dr. 
 Grrotefend’s opinion further communicated b}^ Mr. Sharpe with regard 
 to the north-west palace at Nimroud is, that that palace was built by 
 the father of the king who made the obelisk now in the British 
 Museum, and that it was plundered by his fourth successor, or the 
 builder of Khorsabad ; that is, that it was built by Tiglath, the father 
 of Shalman, and plundered by Nabopolassar. Secondly, that the south- 
 east building bears the name of the builder of Khorsabad, and also 
 that of his grandson, and also that of the Persian Cambyses. Thirdly, 
 that the south-west palace was built by the Babylonian builder of 
 Khorsabad, and his two successors, and had additions made to it by 
 Cambyses. Thus, Dr. Glrotefend is of opinion that the interesting 
 monuments lately discovered at Nineveh were the work of three 
 periods, the Assyrian, the Babylonian, and the Persian, — that the 
 earliest was made by Tiglath and the latest by Cambyses. (See 
 AthensBum, Feb. 21, 1852.) 
 
 Fig. 233.— ARAB TENT, FROM A SKETCH BY HE. ROilAINE. 
 
Fig. 234.— VIEW IN THE EXCAVATIONS, FKOM A SKETCH BY MR. ROMAINE. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 LATEST PKOCEEDINGS AND DISCOVEKIES IN ASSYRIA. 
 
 Intelligence of the more recent movements and discoveries oi 
 Layard, Rawlinson, and others, finds a place from time to time in the 
 newpapers and literary jonrnals of the day. In the columns of the 
 Athemenm a short paragraph every now and then reports progress, 
 leading ns to anticipate the period when our national repositories 
 will he enriched by further spoils from Assyria. These reports of 
 progress may be here introduced verbatim, since they contain, in 
 truth, the latest news about the buried cities of the East. 
 
 July 28, 1849. “We have already referred to the niggardly grant 
 which the Government has made to Mr. Layard in furtherance of his 
 interesting researches at Nineveh ; and we are now glad to think that 
 the friends of this young, successful, and untiring antiquary are looking 
 
LATEST PROCEEDINGS IN ASSYRIA. 
 
 381 
 
 on tbe grant in the light in which it ought to be viewed — as one 
 unworthy of a great nation in a matter of such remarkable literary 
 interest, and are aiding him from their own private resources. The 
 trustees of the Museum have talked about an advance of 200/. on the 
 Government grant ; but this, we believe, has been rejected, and 
 Mr. Layard is by this time prosecuting his researches chiefly on the 
 profits of his valuable work, and on the assistance of his relations and 
 friends. When we reflect that the highly interesting and extensive 
 collection of Assyrian marbles and ivories now in the British Museum 
 were obtained by Government at a merely nominal price, and that 
 if sold at Sotheby and Wilkinson’s they would probably have 
 realised a very large sum — ten times, perhaps, what was given for 
 them (witness the recent purchase of the Stowe MSS. for 8000/.) — we 
 must confess to some surprise that Government should have been so 
 niggardly in its second advance. The fine English spirit of research 
 displayed by Mr. Layard, and his known unwillingness to profit in 
 pocket by his discoveries when the British nation is a purchaser, 
 should have been met by a nobler return than they have yet received 
 from the representatives of the British people.” 
 
 March 2, 1850. “ Dr. Layard is prosecuting his researches with 
 
 energy and success. By letters dated Nimroud, January 7, we learn 
 that he has effected an entrance into a room in the old Nimroud Palace, 
 containing an extraordinary assortment of relics : shields, swords, 
 paterae, bowls, crowns, cauldrons, ornaments in ivory and mother-of- 
 pearl, &c. The vessels are formed of a kind of copper, or rather bronze, 
 — some perfectly preserved, and as bright as gold when the rust is 
 removed. The engravings and embossing on them are very beautiful 
 and elaborate ; and comprise the same mythic subjects which are 
 found on the robes of the figures in the sculptures, — men struggling 
 with lions, warriors in chariots, and hunting scenes. IN'ow, a serious 
 question occurs to us : are these precious relics, when they arrive at 
 Busrah, to be entrusted to any ignorant and careless ship-captain 
 who may be ready to convey them to England ? We have not 
 forgotten the fate of the last cargo of curious ivories, glass, &c., which 
 suffered such wanton outrage on the voyage and at Bombay. If the 
 Government really feel an interest in Dr. Layard’ s proceedings, a 
 vessel should be sent from Bombay expressly to receive his consign- 
 ments ; but we fancy there is little chance of any such step being 
 taken. At Koyounjik, Dr. Layard has uncovered a very interesting 
 series of slabs, showing the process of building the mounds and 
 palaces.” 
 
 March 23r<7. “ Accomits are stated to have been received, within a 
 
382 
 
 NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 few days back, from Mr. Layard, in Assyria, giving intelligence of new 
 and important discoveries in tbe Nimrond mound. He has made fresh 
 and extensive excavations in parts of the eminence not yet explored ; 
 and the result is said to have been the finding of nothing less than 
 the throne on which the monarch, reigning about 3000 years ago, sat 
 in his splendid palace. It is composed of metal and of ivory, — the 
 metal being richly wrought, and the ivory beautifully carved. The 
 throne seems to have been separated from the state apartments by 
 means of a large curtain, the rings by which it was drawn and undrawn 
 having been preserved. Ho human remains have come to light, and 
 everything indicates the destruction of the palace by fire. It is said 
 that the throne has been partially fused by the heat.” 
 
 April 20tJi. “ Intelligence from Mosul to the 4th ult. states that 
 Mr. Layard and his party are still carrying on their excavations at 
 Himroud and Hineveh. A large number of copper vessels, beautifully 
 engraved, have been found in the former ; and, from the latter, a large 
 assortment of fine slabs illustrative of the rule, conquests, domestic life, 
 and arts of the ancient Assyrians, are daily coming to light, and are 
 committed to paper by the artist, Mr. Cooper, one of the Expedition. 
 Mr. Layard intends to make a trip to the Chaboor (the Chaboras of 
 the Eomans), and to visit Eeish Aina (the Eesen of Scripture), where 
 he hopes to find a treasure of Assyrian remains.” 
 
 October Wth, 1851. “ The funds placed at the disposal of Mr. 
 Layard, by the British Government, being exhausted, that gentleman 
 has been obliged to abandon several new excavations which he had 
 commenced at Himrond and at Hebbi Tunis, and which promised to 
 lead to historical discoveries of the utmost importance. Lie has now 
 proceeded to Babylonia, for the purpose of examining the various 
 ancient sites that are scattered over that extensive country, and with 
 a view of ascertaining the spots most favourable for excavation. 
 
 “Among the votes of money recently passed by the Erench 
 Assembly, we notice a grant for the resumption of the suspended 
 excavations of Hineveh — the renewed excavations to be directed by 
 M. Place, the successor of M. Botta as Erench consul at Mosul; 
 another for fitting out a scientific expedition to be despatched into 
 Assyria to complete the discoveries recently made in that part of the 
 world. 
 
 “ It is said that the recent discoveries of Colonel Eawlinson, in 
 relation to the inscriptions on the Assyrian sculptures, have awakened 
 the Government to the great historical value of those monuments, 
 and that a sum of 1500Z. has been placed at his disposal, to assist 
 towards the prosecution of excavations and inquiries in Assyria. 
 
LATEST PEOCEEDINGS IN ASS Till A. 
 
 383 
 
 Colonel Eawlinson will, it is understood, proceed immediately to 
 Bagdad ; and from thence direct his explorations towards any quarter 
 which may appear to him likely to yield important results. The sum 
 advanced by Grovernment is not a large one, nor likely to carry 
 labours of the kind to any great extent ; but as it recognises the 
 importance of these researches, it may be presumed that further 
 advances will not be wanting should Colonel Eawlinson’ s immediate 
 proceedings exhibit proof that they can be profitably expended.” 
 
 February 12th, 1852. The “Globe” contains the gratifying 
 amiouncement that Mr. Layard, so well known for his discoveries at 
 Nineveh, has been appointed Ender-Secretary of State for Eoreign 
 Affairs. 
 
 February IZth. The “Times” announced the arrival, in St. 
 Katherine’s Docks, of the remainder of Mr. Layard’ s collection of 
 antiquities from Nineveh ; among which there is one piece of sculp- 
 ture far exceeding in size any brought home upon a former occasion. 
 It weighs fifteen tons. 
 
 “ Eotal Asiatic Society, Mar eh Qth. — Professor H. H. "Wilson 
 in the chair. The Assistant- Secretary read a letter, which he had 
 received by the last overland mail from Colonel Eawlinson, who has 
 resumed his official labours at Bagdad, after a few busy weeks at 
 the ruins of Nineveh. This letter is confirmatory of the discoveries 
 promulgated by Dr. Hiucks at the close of the last and beginning of 
 the present year ; and the coincidence of two independent discoveries, 
 placed thousands of miles apart, will be a strong confirmation of the 
 truth of their reading to those who are unable to investigate for 
 themselves ; and an evidence of the value of Colonel Eawlinson’ s 
 Indiscriminate List of Assyrian characters, published in the December 
 number of the Society’s journal. The Colonel says, ‘ I am now satis- 
 fied that the black obelisk dates from about 860 b.c. The tribute 
 depicted in the second compartment upon the obelisk comes from 
 Israel : it is the tribute of Jehu. The names are Tahua, the son of 
 Khumriya, or the son of Jehu is usually called, in the 
 
 Bible, the son of Nimshi (altliough Jehoshaphat was his actual father, 
 2 Kings, ix. 2) ; but the Assyrians, taking him for the legitimate 
 successor to the throne, named as his father (or rather ancestor) 
 ’Omri, the founder of the kingdom of Samaria, ’Omri’s name being 
 written on the obelisk as it is in the inscriptions of Shalmaneser, 
 where, as you already know, the kingdom of Israel is always called 
 the country of Beth ’Omri. If this identification of name were the 
 only argument in favour of Jehu, I sliould not so much depend on it ; 
 but the King of Syria is also named on the obelisk Kliazail, which is 
 
NINEVEH AND ITS DISCOVEEEES. 
 
 38-i 
 
 exactly the (2 Chron. xxii. 6), Hazael of Scripture, who was 
 
 the contemporary of Jehu ; and in the inscriptions of the obelisk king’s 
 father (whom I have hitherto called Sardanapalus, but whose real name 
 must be read Assur-akh-baal). There is also a notice of Ithbaal, 
 king of Sidon, who was the father of Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, and 
 a contemporary of Jehu. These three identifications constitute a 
 synchronism on which I consider we may rely, especially as all the 
 collateral evidence comes out satisfactorily. The tributes noted on 
 the obelisk are all from the remote nations of the west ; and what 
 more natural than that the tribute of Israel should thus be put next 
 to the tribute from Egypt ? There was no Assyrian campaign at this 
 period against either Egypt or Israel ; but the kings sent offerings, 
 in order to keep on good terms with their eastern neighbour. I have 
 not yet had time to go throngh the very elaborate history, of ‘ Assur- 
 akh-bal,’ contemporary with the prophet Elijah ; but I expect to find 
 several other synchronisms, which will set the chronological question 
 at rest for ever.’ The line in which the name of Jehu appears was 
 read by Colonel B-awlinson, in his ‘ Commentary,’ published in May, 
 1850, ‘ Yahua, the son of Hubiri,’ (p. 47) : the alteration of the h to 
 um^ in the second syllable of Hnbiri, is given in the Indiscriminate 
 List above mentioned. We are now fairly entitled to expect the 
 discovery of more synchronisms when the mass of inscriptions already 
 published shaU be examined, with the aid of Colonel E-awlinson’s 
 alphabet and analysis, by the many English and foreign savants, who 
 are thus put in possession of the key to their contents .” — Literary 
 Gazette, March \%th. 
 
 Fig. 235.— GROUP OF .4RAB.<3. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abana, river of Damascus, 236. 
 
 Abbott, Dr,, of Cairo ; Egyptian Bom- 
 mereng in collection of, 136. 
 
 Abdullah, Sultan, Tomb of, 100. 
 
 Abednego, 182, 200, 
 
 Aberdeen, Earl of; Inscribed stone 
 belonging to, 128, 352, 
 
 Abou Simbal, Temple of, 232. 
 
 Abu Jawari, village of, 100. 
 
 Abu Serai, the presumed site of Ker- 
 kisyah, 41. 
 
 Accad, or Accur, third city of Nimrod, 
 39, 41, 42. 
 
 Achsemenian Dynasty, 346 ; writings, 
 355, 356, 357. 
 
 Adrammelech, son of Sennacherib, 220. 
 
 iEschylus, 333, 
 
 African on Sculptures, 178. 
 
 Agag, King of the Amalekites, 248, 
 
 Ahasuerus’ Feast to great and small, 
 212 ; couches to recline on at 
 feast of, 188 ; cups used at feast of 
 
 187. 
 
 Ahaz, King of Judah, sends messengers 
 to Tiglath-Pileser, 46, 294, 
 
 Ain Es-soufra, 96. 
 
 Ainsworth, Mr, William Francis. Ex- 
 cursion in the neighbourhood of the 
 Tigris and Nineveh, 27 ; discovered 
 foundations of walls, 92; conglome- 
 rate of which the walls of Nineveh 
 were built, 92 ; journey to Kalah 
 Shergat and Al-Hadhr, 99, 106, 165. 
 
 Akkerkuf, site of Accad, 41, 110. 
 
 Akthamar, Sea of. Lake Van, 124, 350, 
 352. 
 
 c c 
 
386 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Albania, Layard’s travels in, 26. 
 
 Aleppo, 35. 
 
 Alexander, 106, 340, 357. 
 
 Al-Hadhr, ruins of, visited by Layard, 
 27 ; by Ainsworth, 27 ; visited, 99, 
 103, 104 ; Eilievi, 104. 
 
 Al-Hambra, decorations on walls, 235. 
 
 Al-Heimar, 106. 
 
 Altars, 200 ; in high places, 173, 199, 
 326, 363. 
 
 Amalekites, 248. 
 
 Ammun Ea, 78. 
 
 Ammianus Marcellinus mention of 
 cities, 40. 
 
 Amos, Prophet, 42, 171, 236, 257- 
 
 Amram Ibn Ali, mound of, 105 ; iden- 
 tical with western Palace of Babylon, 
 106. 
 
 Amraphel, King of Shinar, 43, 61. 
 
 Animals decorated for the sacrifice, 291. 
 
 Anquetil du Perron, 349. 
 
 Arabia, brothers of Nimrod settled in, 
 40, 179. 
 
 Arabs — Arabians, 32, 138, 179, 241 ; 
 language related to Chaldee, 154, 294. 
 
 Aras, or Araxes, river, 47, 70. 
 
 Arbaces the Mede takes Nineveh, 64, 
 65, 69. 
 
 Arched chamber discovered by Layard 
 at Nimroud, 32. 
 
 ArganaMaaden, mines of, nearDiarbeker, 
 325. 
 
 Arian, 106, 333. 
 
 Arioch, King of Ellasar, 43, 61. 
 
 Armenia, country of, 61, 105, 124 ; 
 Heykab, King of, 62 ; boats of, 239, 
 361, 373. 
 
 Arpad,King of, conquered byAssyria,209. 
 
 Arsacenian Eace, 120. 
 
 Artaxerxes, 341 ; Ochus, 352. 
 
 Artificial mounts employed in sieges, 
 275, 277. 
 
 Asaphim, wise men, 164. 
 
 Ascalon, Semiramis born at, 59, 372. 
 
 Ashdod, 370. 
 
 Ashpenaz, Prince of the Eunuchs of 
 Nebuchadnezzar, 144. 
 
 Asia Minor, Layard’s travels in, 26, 333. 
 
 Asordanius, Esarhaddon, 51. 
 
 Asphalte, pure springs of, 100. 
 
 Assault of a city and impalement of 
 prisoners, 190. 
 
 Assembly, Court of, 132. 
 
 Assarac, an Assyrian god, 358, 361. 
 
 Asser-Hadan-Pul, perhaps Sardanapalus, 
 69. 
 
 Asshur, Assyria, Greek derivative from, 
 42 ; his kingdom, 42 ; founded mo- 
 narchy of Assyria, 57, 59 ; governed 
 in the same way as Nimrod, 43; 
 dispersed his people, 43 ; its mer- 
 chants, 333. 
 
 Assyria and Mesopotamia, 38 ; palaces 
 of, 129, 216 ; called Zahiri, 359 ; 
 analogy with Egypt, 139 ; king of 
 held possession of part of the coast 
 of the Mediterranean, 209 ; took 
 Manasseh to Babylon, 166 ; mer- 
 chants of, 333. 
 
 Assyrian Antiquities and Inscriptions, 6 ; 
 kings, 69; destruction of Assyrian 
 army, 49 ; monarchy founded by 
 Asshur, 57 ; United Empire founded 
 by Ninus, 59 ; sketch of Assyrian 
 History, by S. Sharp,Esq.,69 ; Ancient 
 Assyrian Empire, 38, 56; character of 
 mounds on which Asssyrian palaces 
 stood, 205 ; first Assyrian monument 
 brought to England 125 ; Assyrian 
 monuments in British Museum, 216; 
 lion, 118, 260 ; Architecture, 106, 
 318; Assyrian Bommereng, 135; 
 Assyrian Hercules, 135; ornaments, 
 142 ; ships, 146 ; cruelties of the As- 
 syrians, 190; musical instruments, 
 187, 220, 251, 257 ; construction of 
 palaces, 209 ; chariots, 223 ; Assyrian 
 Art intermediary between Grecian 
 and Egyptian, 315 ; dress, 319 ; 
 warlike weapons, 320 ; beards, 322 ; 
 earrings, 142, 323; bracelets, 323, 
 324 ; working of metals, 325 ; vases, 
 187, 318; furniture, 198, 199, 202, 
 
 318. 
 
 Astarte, Assyrian Venus, 269. 
 
 Astyages, grandfather of Cyrus, 256, 
 262 ; painted face and false hair, 
 
 319. 
 
 Athenaeum, 217, 369, 378, 380—389. 
 
 At Meidan, Obelisk of, 62. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 887 
 
 Attack of an advanced fort, 178; of 
 cities, 185, 186, 194. 
 
 Audience, Chamber of, 181. 
 
 Australian Bommereng compared with 
 Assyrian, 135, 136. 
 
 Avicenna the Philosopher, tomb of, 121. 
 Awnings to cover courts, 212, 327. 
 Azariah, 66. 
 
 Azerbijan, 124. 
 
 Azotus, City of, 71. 
 
 B. 
 
 Baal, 252 ; symbols, 253 ; Egyptian 
 symbol, 253 ; Persian, 253 ; Elijah 
 apostrophises, 253, 289, 302, 334. 
 
 Baalim, 306. 
 
 Baalbec, Heliopolis of the Greeks, 78. 
 
 Babel, first city of Nimrod, 39 ; Tower 
 of, 39; original of Babylon, 40. 
 
 Babylon, size of, compared with Nineveh 
 and London, 45, 66 ; walls of, 97, 
 105 ; the Kasr, 106 ; representa- 
 tions on walls of, 206 ; bricks, 130 ; 
 governors over provinces of, 182; 
 Darius impaled 3000 of the nobility 
 of, 190, 333, 351 ; king of, di^dn^ng, 
 226. 
 
 Babylonian cylindrical seals, 78 ; roofs? 
 211 ; writing, most ancient, 350. 
 
 Bab-el-hadeed, a gate of Cauo which 
 Mohammed Ali never went out 
 by, 158. 
 
 Bactria, ancient name of part of Persia, 
 60; camel, two-humped species of, 
 289, 294. 
 
 Baghdad, Rich East India Company’s 
 Resident at, 2 ; seals brought from, 
 8 ; sculptures arrived at, 25, 36, 
 100 ; information supplied by mer- 
 chant of, 328, 349. 
 
 Balaam, his parable, 44. 
 
 Banqueting Chamber, 185. 
 
 Banquets, 172, 187,188, 189. 
 
 Barker, Mr., information furnished 
 by, 97. 
 
 Battering Rams, 161, 179, 181. 
 
 Battle scenes, 160, 177, 178, 185, 190, 
 192, 193, 194, 196, 197. 
 
 Basalt Temple, 207. 
 
 Basaltic Statue, 99, 287. 
 
 Bassora, 25. 
 
 Bazani and Bashika, 96 ; within boun- 
 dary of Nineveh, 95. 
 
 Beardless Divinities, 268, 308 ; figures, 
 eunuchs, 141. 
 
 Beards, extreme care of, 322 ; of chiefs 
 long, 150, 201, 261, 297. 
 
 Behistun, or Besithun, inscription of, 
 122, 342 ; difficulties of decipher- 
 ment, 343, 349, 356, 357. 
 
 Belesis, Governor of Babylon, 64. 
 
 Belshazzar, vision of, 219. 
 
 Beltezhazzar, name given to the Prophet 
 Daniel, 284. 
 
 Berlin, 127. 
 
 Berosus, historian, 58, 74, 75, 148. 
 
 Bennett, Mr., transactions of Zoological 
 Society, 245. 
 
 Besithun, 105 ; described by Diodorus, 
 121; tablets at, 122; Sir R. Ker 
 Porter’s description, 122 ; perfection 
 of writing, 123 ; siliceous varnish on 
 rock, 124. 
 
 Beyrout, 5, 125, 354. 
 
 Bh-ch, Mr. Samuel, observations on 
 hieroglyphical inscriptions on the 
 Obelisk of the At Meidan at Con- 
 stantinople, and on the Tablet of 
 Karnak, 62. 
 
 Birds of prey, trained to accompany 
 the Persian army in battle, 231 ; on 
 sculptures at Nimroud, 225, 230, 
 231, 233, 234, 279, 305. 
 
 Birs Nimroud, supposed temple of 
 Belus, 40, 101 ; measurements com- 
 pared with other mounds, 102 ; size 
 of, 105, 351. 
 
 Black Sea, 209, 335. 
 
 Bommerengs, Assyrian, Egyptian, Aus- 
 tralian, South African, Bishareen, 
 and Central African, 135, 136. 
 
 Bones and gold leaf, found by Layard 
 under stones in great hall, 254. 
 
 Bonn, 339, 340, 342, 350. 
 
 Bonomi, I., on Nahr al Kelb Monu- 
 ment, 125; brought monument to 
 England, 127. 
 
 Borsippa, Birs Nimroud, 102. 
 
 c c 2 
 
388 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Bosanquet, Mr., 378. 
 
 Botta, appointed Consul at Mosul, 7 ; 
 researches and disappointments, 8 ; 
 opens mound at Kouyounjik, 11 ; 
 at Khorsabad, 12; publication of 
 discoveries, 12, 13; grants of funds 
 from the French Government, 13, 
 17 ; difficulties with the Pasha, 13; 
 excavations stopped, 14; Turkish 
 official delinquencies, 15 ; excava- 
 tions resumed, 18, 20 ; purchases 
 village of Khorsabad, 18, 19 ; 
 
 relics sent to Paris, and difficulties 
 of removal, 23, 25, 326 ; opinion on 
 destruction of Khorsabad Palace, 
 213, 264 ; opinion on inscriptions, 
 353, 356. 
 
 Boundary of Nineveh, 95. 
 
 Bournouf, M., discoveries in the Assy- 
 rian inscriptions, 341, 349, 357. 
 
 Bowmen, 195, 281 ; Parthian, 254. 
 
 Bows, arrows, and quivers, 321, 
 
 Bracelets, the kind termed Phatil, 323 ; 
 and others, 324, 142, 
 
 Brazier, 228, 229. 
 
 Bricks at Nineveh not available for 
 building, 9 ; sun-dried and kiln- 
 burnt, 9 ; rarely used in modern 
 buildings at Mosul, 10; Pasha ob- 
 tained them from Botta to build an 
 oven, 11 ; no straw in bricks at 
 Khorsabad, 88; radiated, 102; di- 
 mensions of, 130; inscribed, 130, 
 350 ; painted, 317 ; uninscribed in 
 pavement, 165, 353, 
 
 British Association, 374. 
 
 British Museum, monument of Bhamses 
 IV. in, 139 ; Bommereng, 135 ; As- 
 syrian sculptures in, 32,197, 216 — 
 314, 335. 
 
 Bronze lions, 212, 286 ; weights, 286. 
 
 Bull-hunt, 246 ; return from, 251, 252. 
 
 Burning besieged city, 192. 
 
 Burnt clay idols, Teraphim, 156, 158, 
 203, 204. 
 
 Byblus, 369, 376. 
 
 Byzantine art, 313. 
 
 Byzantium, Chronicles in temples of, 
 193. 
 
 C. 
 
 Cairo, illustrations of customs of, 199, 
 211, 235. 
 
 Caillou de Michaud, inscribed stone in 
 the Louvre, 5, 173. 
 
 Calah, city built by Asshur, 42 ; identi- 
 fied with Kalah Shergat, 43, 70, 98, 
 99, 305. 
 
 Callisthenes, 358. 
 
 Calmet, 39, 149. 
 
 Camels, 150, 281, 293. 
 
 Canning, Sir Stratford, volunteers to 
 assist Layard, 29, 33 ; obtained mar- 
 bles from Halicarnassus, 31. 
 
 Captives, led by a ring in the lips, 
 169, 170; and spoil, 179; heading 
 procession of tribute-bearers, 258. 
 
 Caramania, people of, 260. 
 
 Caspian Sea, 47, 69, 70, 73, 209, 335, 377. 
 
 Cassus, Mount, wood from the forests 
 of, 209. 
 
 Caucasus, Mount, falcons of, 231, 356. 
 
 Cavalry, 231, 254, 279, 280, 282. 
 
 Cavities under the pavement containing 
 Teraphim, 156. 
 
 Celts, bronze chisels at the end of poles, 
 234 ; Mr. James Yates’s account of, 
 234. 
 
 Chairs, 199; wheeled, 198. 
 
 Chaldaeans, 66; origin of, 165; four or- 
 ders of, 206; hero, 126; tablets, 126. 
 
 Chaldseo-Baby Ionian empire, 67. 
 
 Chalnah, fourth city of Nimrod, 39 — 42. 
 
 Chamber of J udgment, 1 70 ; of Audience. 
 181; Divinities, 267 ; inscribed, 267 ; 
 Chamber in thickness of the walls, 
 268 ; Private Council, 184 ; Ketiring, 
 196 ; Divining, 204. 
 
 Charchemish, 41, 66, 370. 
 
 Chardin, Sir John, travels of, 104, 
 158, 231, 339. 
 
 Chariots, 180; wheels of, 201; Egyp- 
 tian, 222 ; Assyrian, 223, 305, 330. 
 
 Chartumim, enchanters and diviners 
 of the Chaldooans, 164. 
 
 Chasdim, Chaldasan magicians, 164, 165. 
 
 Chased son of Nahor, from whom the 
 Chaldseans, 165. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 389 
 
 Cherubim, 133 ; guardians of entrances, 
 133 ; of paradise, of the tabernacle, 
 of the temple, of the Assyrian 
 palaces, 133, 300. 
 
 Chesney, Colonel, 40, 41, 43, 57, 58, 
 80, 92, 98, 121, 241. 
 
 Child, carried on shoulders of women, 
 179. 
 
 China, great wall of, 97. 
 
 Chinese language compared, 344. 
 
 Chronological chart of Mr. S. Sharpe, 76. 
 
 Chushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopo- 
 tamia, 44 ; Israelites served, 44 — 61. 
 
 Chyniladan, king of Assyria, 73. 
 
 Cilicia, 180 ; Oppianus, native of, 280, 
 301, 372. 
 
 Circular-headed tablets, 5, 120, 124, 125, 
 128, 194. 
 
 Cisterns and subterranean aqueducts at 
 Persepolis, 116. 
 
 Citians, a people of Citium, 127, 370. 
 
 Citium, the modern Larnaka, a town of 
 Cyprus, 127. 
 
 Clasp on dress of Milyse, 182. 
 
 Claw, in lion’s tail, 246. 
 
 Coffins found at Werka, 377. 
 
 Colossal figures, list of, 308 — 310. 
 
 Colour on sandals, 197 ; on figures, 206, 
 317. 
 
 Comparative size of cities — Nineveh, 
 Babylon, and London, 45. 
 
 Constantinople, orders from, 14, 15, 32 
 37 ; ornaments, 235, 268. 
 
 Construction of Assyrian palaces, 205. 
 
 Convent of St. George, within boundary 
 of Nineveh, 95. 
 
 Cory’s fragments, 138, 148, 274. 
 
 Costume, 312. 
 
 Courts of Assembly, 132; reception, 
 153 ; inner, 197. 
 
 Cronus, same as Ilus god of the Phoe- 
 nicians, 138, 306. 
 
 Ctesiphon, 41. 
 
 Culinary operations, 228, 229. 
 
 Cullimore, Mr., 356. 
 
 Cuneiform writing, 337 ; Babylonian 
 the most ancient form of, 350. 
 
 Cup-bearers, 181, 182, 186, 211,234, 250, 
 284 ; to the King of Khorsabad, his 
 portrait, 297. 
 
 Cups, divining, 265 ; drinking, 264 ; of 
 brass and silver, 265 ; embossed cups 
 found by Layard, 265 ; Babylon 
 a golden cup, 266 ; of Jemshid, 266. 
 
 Curvetto moulding of Egypt and As- 
 syria compared, 205. 
 
 Cush, grandson of Noah and father of 
 Nimrod, 39. 
 
 Cyaxares, son of Phraortes the Mede, 
 took Nineveh, and subdued the As- 
 syrians, 54, 65, 73, 356, 357. 
 
 Cylinders, Babylonian, 3, 5, 8, 78, 351, 
 356. 
 
 Cyprus, 105; Assyrian monumental, 
 127 ; Lepsius’ information, 127, 209, 
 220, 293, 370. 
 
 Cyrus takes Babylon, 67, 77 ; tomb of, 
 116, 118 ; in Egyptian head-dress at 
 Mourgaub, 117, 244, 250 ; as cup- 
 bearer, 262 ; chariots, 305, 356. 
 
 D. 
 
 Dagon, god of the Phoenicians, 138, 148. 
 
 Damascus, 47, 236, 370. 
 
 Daniel, prophet, tomb of, 28, 66, 67, 
 
 150, 151, 153, 164, 218, 144, 150, 
 
 151, 152, 153, 154, 167, 182, 200, 
 206, 290. 
 
 Darius, Hystaspes, tomb of, 118 ; sym- 
 bol of divinity on tomb of, 119 ; 
 castle of, 121 ; impaled 3000 of the 
 nobility of Babylon, 190 ; tribute 
 raised by, 294, 341, 349, 356. 
 
 Dash-Tappeh, Assyrian inscription at 
 128, 353. 
 
 Date trees, not productive in Samaria> 
 278. 
 
 David, 44. 
 
 Dedan, precious clothes for chariots, 324. 
 
 D’Herbelot’s travels, 106. 
 
 Deified men, 255, 274. 
 
 Deioces, collected the Medes into a 
 nation, and attacked Nineveh, 65. 
 
 Demons, hero gods, 306. 
 
 Denham and Clapperton’s travels, 135, 
 136. 
 
 Diarbekir, town on the Tigris, 325. 
 
 Dickenson, Mr., on the fate of the ten 
 tribes of Israel, 48. 
 
390 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Didymus, of Alexandria, early commen- 
 tator, 245. 
 
 Difficulty of removing sculptures, 23. 
 
 Diodorus, Siculus, 60, 64, 96, 97, 107, 
 121, 190, 356. 
 
 Divination, Hall of, 262. 
 
 Divining Chambers, 164 ; cups, 265 ; 
 arrows, 266. 
 
 Divinities, Chamber of, 267; Hall of, 
 272 ; with four wings Hus or Cronus, 
 137, 138; with four wings and 
 beardless, 268 ; with two wings 
 and egg-shaped cap, pine-cone, and 
 basket, 255, 273; with eagle head, 
 
 155, 256; with human head, eagle’s 
 wings, and body of bull, 132 ; with 
 human head, eagle’s wings, and body 
 of lion, 219; ditto, with arms, 254; 
 Baal, 252, 253, 289, 334. 
 
 Dogs, and other animals, trained for the 
 battle-field, 305, 331, 339; paw, 315. 
 
 Doors, destroyed by fire, 155 ; mode of 
 fastening and keeping them open, 
 149, 151. 
 
 Doorways, inscribed pavements in, 157, 
 162, 165; how guarded, 133 ; images, 
 Teraphim secreted at the entrance, 
 
 156, 158, 203 ; opposite each other 
 at Khorsabad, diifering from those at 
 Nimroud, which are irregular, 217. 
 
 Drains, found by Layard at Mmroud, 
 33, 116, 129. 
 
 Dress, of King, 1 40, 222, 270 ; of Eunuch, 
 141 ; Sacerdotal, 206 ; Nisroch, 219, 
 256; Sagartii, 151; Nysians, 159; 
 Milyse, 182 ; Sultan Medinet, 150. 
 
 Drinking-cups, Assyrian and Greek, 
 187; of brass and silver, 265. 
 
 Dromedaries, 281, 282. 
 
 Dujeil, river, the lesser Tigris, 57. 
 
 Dura, image set up in the plains of, 150, 
 333. 
 
 E. 
 
 Eagle-headed divinity at Khorsabad, 
 short dress, 155. 
 
 Earrings, 142, 323. 
 
 Eastern side of mounds of Khorsabad, 90. 
 
 Ecbatana, ancient city of, 121 ; tombs 
 
 of Esther and Mordecai at, 121 ; 
 castle of Darius at, 121, 124. 
 
 Edomites, 47. 
 
 Egg-shaped head-dress. Divinity with, 
 273; inscribed stones, 5. 
 
 Egypt, visited by Botta, 7 ; Hoshea 
 seeks aid from, 47 ; tablets, 126 ; 
 sculptors and painters of Assyria 
 and Egypt, 206, 265, 323, 358. 
 
 Egyptian, Assyrian, and Grecian Art 
 compared, 315 ; symbols of life, and 
 analogous representations in As- 
 syrian remains, 139 ; head-dress, on 
 Cyrus at Mourgaub, 117 ; ship, 147 ; 
 chariot, 222 ; curvetto moulding of 
 buildings, 205 ; temples, 210, 305, 
 316; tribute, 333; writing, 375. 
 
 El-Assayah, site of Erech, 41. 
 
 Eli, the Prophet, fell off a high seat 
 and was killed, 189. 
 
 Ellasar, El-Asar, Arioch, king of, 43. 
 
 El-Madair, site of Calnah, 41. 
 
 El-m-^rhama, the embroidered napkin 
 for the mouth, carried by cup- 
 bearers, 250, 262. 
 
 El-Seramum, 99. 
 
 Elulseus, King of Tyre, 127. 
 
 Elward, Mount, 7 5 ; inscribed stone on, 
 120 ; ancient road across, 121, 347. 
 
 El- Yemen, visited by Botta, 7, 201. 
 
 Endogenous, plants of the date and 
 cocoa-nut tribe, that do not increase 
 by external concentric additions to 
 their bulk, 279. 
 
 Enemessar, Shalmaneser, 47, 71, 127. 
 
 Entrances of Palaces, how guarded, 
 133, 156, 158, 203. 
 
 Erech, Irak, or Werka, second city of 
 Nimrod, 39, 40, 42, 351. 
 
 Esarhaddon, King of Assyria, son o 
 Sennacherib, 51, 72, 373. 
 
 Esther, sepulchre of, at Hamadan, 
 anciently Ecbatana, 121, 212, 154, 
 186, 187, 188, 189, 208. 
 
 Es-Selem, Bommereng of the Desert be- 
 tween the Nile and the Bed Sea, 136. 
 
 Etruscans, 264. 
 
 Eunuchs, 141 ; dress of, 141 ; cooking, 
 228, 229 ; in battle, 230; at Court of 
 Babylon, 284. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 391 
 
 Euphrates, river, 41, 42, 84, 228 ; rafts 
 and boats on, 24, 33, 240, 359. j 
 Evacuation, of a city, 277. j 
 
 Evil eye, superstition of the, 158. j 
 Eyes, of captive put out by King of As- i 
 Syria, 169. j 
 
 Ezekiel, 39, 168, 171, 206, 235, 257, 266, ! 
 
 275, 289, 316. j 
 
 Ezra, prophet, 184, 378. j 
 
 F. 
 
 Faber, Dr., on cherubim and hero- 
 gods, 306. I 
 
 Facades, sculptures on. 12, 131. j 
 
 Fayoum. district of Egvpt, Obelisk of, ! 
 
 2S7, ■ I 
 
 Feasts, 187, 188. I 
 
 Fergusson, Mr. James, 131 ; his restora- ' 
 tions of the palaces, 213. I 
 
 Ferouher of Persians, on tomb of Darius ! 
 Hystaspes, 119; like Assyrian and' 
 Egyptian symbols, 253. | 
 
 Fettered prisoners, 166, 169, 170. j 
 Figueroa, European traveller, 339. 
 Fir-cone held by divinities, 155, 173 ; 
 presented at entrances, 139; analogy 
 -Rith Egyptian symbol of life, 139. 
 Flandm, M., arrives at Mosul, IS, 20 ; 
 firmness dm'ing a riot, 21 ; retmars 
 to Paris, 22 ; opinion respecting 
 coloirr on slabs, 317; opirdon re- 
 specting constrnrction of roof, 214. | 
 
 Flaying prisoner, 167. ! 
 
 Fly-flaps, 142, 143. | 
 
 Foresters of the king, 175. 1 
 
 Four kinds of magicians mentioned by i 
 
 Daniel, 164. | 
 
 Four-vringed beardless divinity, 268. 
 Fom’-winged divinity Plus or Cronus, 
 137, 138, 183. 
 
 Funereal mars in tombs, 329. 
 
 G. I 
 
 Gable roofs, 212. ! 
 
 Gako, mount, 65. i 
 
 Galilee, people of, subdued by Tiglath | 
 
 Pileser, 47. j 
 
 Gauzanitis, country mentioned by Pto- 
 lemy, and identical with Gozan, 48. 
 
 Gazelle, priest with, 291. 
 
 Gebel Makloub, the overturared moun- 
 tain bounding the plains of Nineveh, 
 94, 95, 96, 97. 
 
 Gedaberaiyah, the khazanadar or trea- 
 surer of the king's household, 151. 
 
 Gesenius, 39. 
 
 Gibbor, mighty one, 39. 
 
 Gibborin, mighty men, always attached 
 to the comd or arany, and in attend- 
 ance upon the king, 200, 202. 
 
 Girbeh, Ghirab, or water-skins, 179, 318. 
 
 Gold leaf and bones found by Layard 
 under slab in Great Hall, 254. 
 
 Gomer, 168. 
 
 Gottingen, Eoyal Society of, 340. 
 
 Governors of lairal districts, and go- 
 vernors of provinces, inferred from 
 the insignia which they carry, 152. 
 
 Gozan, river of, 47, 209, 278. 
 
 Gozartes, 122. 
 
 Grecian art compared with that of 
 Assyi'ia and Egypt, 315 ; drinking- 
 cup, 187; lyi’e, 251. 
 
 Grotefend, Dr., deciphers cuneatic in- 
 scriptions, 339, 340, 355 ; his read- 
 ing of the Obelisk, 367, 352, 378. 
 
 Gypsum and limestone casing of the 
 mounds, 130, 370. 
 
 H. 
 
 Habor, city to which the Israelites 
 were sent captive, 47. 
 
 Hachemich village, near Khorsabad, 82. 
 
 Hagar, Dr., on inscriptions, 339, 355. 
 
 Hair ; care with which the Assyrians 
 dressed the, 142. 
 
 Hakims, wise men of Babylon, 153, 175; 
 governors, 182. 
 
 Halah, city to which the Israelites were 
 sent captive, 47. 
 
 Hall; of Judgment, 165; of Historical 
 Records, 175; Great, 218; of Xis* 
 roch, 261 ; of Divination, 262 ; of 
 the Oracle, 266 ; of Divinities, 272 ; of 
 Insciiptions, 272; Banqueting, IS 5, 
 
392 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Hamadan, ancient Ecbatana, 120; in- 
 scription at, 121, 349, 352, 356. 
 
 Hamath, a country including great part 
 of the coast of Phoenicia, 209, 362, 
 370. 
 
 Hammam Ali, visit to, 100. 
 
 Hananiah, 66. 
 
 Haram, or blanket seen on the Assyrian 
 sculptures, and worn by the modern 
 Arabs, 179. 
 
 Haran, 209. 
 
 Hareem, of Jamshid, 118. 
 
 Hareemlik, upper apartments of an 
 eastern palace, 250. 
 
 Harut, and Marut, names given by the 
 Arabs to the Mujallibah, 106. 
 
 Havilah, a brother of Nimrod, 40. 
 
 Head-dreiises, 319, 320. 
 
 Hebrew language, allied to the Assyrian, 
 343. 
 
 Hector, Mr., his contributions to the 
 British Museum, 192, 217, 295, 298. 
 
 Heeren, M., 335, 340, 348, 355. 
 
 Helmets of leather, 182 ; of brass, 321 ; 
 of iron, 321. 
 
 Herodotus, 40, 49, 50, 57, 63, 65, 73, 
 97, 110, 159, 165, 168, 182, 190, 
 193, 197, 239, 242, 294, 321, 334, 
 335, 356, 357, 370, 374. 
 
 Heykab, king of Armenia, conquers 
 king of Assyria, 62. 
 
 Hewing a figure to 'pieces, 163. 
 
 Hezekiah, king of Judah, 48 ; renders 
 tribute, 49, 149, 171, 209, 371. 
 
 Hillah, village on the Euphrates, near 
 Babylon and the Birs Nimroud, 40. 
 
 Hilly country represented on sculp- 
 tures, 191, 192. 
 
 Hincks, Dr., discovers the cuneatic 
 numerals, 374 ; reading of certain 
 names, 369, 374; system differs 
 from that of Bawlinson, 374 ; recent 
 discoveries, 378, 383. 
 
 Historical, chambers in palace of Khor- 
 sabad, 158. 
 
 History, profane silent respecting Nim- 
 rod and Asshur, 43. 
 
 Holes in pavement for the spears of 
 the guards, 145 ; for the Teraphim, 
 166. 
 
 Holofernes, 54. 
 
 Holwan, 354. 
 
 Hoods, worn by a people with whom 
 the king of Assyria is at war, 178, 
 179. 
 
 Horace, Odes of, 254, 
 
 Horses, as tribute, 152, 390 ; caparisons, 
 202, 290, 299 : grooming, 228, 366. 
 
 Horus, Egyptian god, 139. 
 
 Hosea, the prophet, 46, 71, 173. 
 
 Hoshea king of Israel, renders tribute 
 to Shalmaneser, 47 ; seeks alliance 
 with So, king of Egypt, 47 ; is im- 
 prisoned by Shalmaneser, 47, 294. 
 
 Hunga Munga, the Bommereng of 
 Southern Africa, 136. 
 
 Hunts, and hunting scenes, 174, 175, 
 245, 246; return from the bull, 251, 
 252; and from the lion, 249. 
 
 I. 
 
 Illustrated London News, 217. 
 
 Ilus, or Cronus, four-winged divinity, 
 137 ; god of the Phoenicians, 138 ; 
 Allah of the Arabians, 138, 183, 
 302. 
 
 Imam-Fadlah of Rich, Fadlieh, 81 ; 
 within boundary of Nineveh, 95. 
 
 Impalement of prisoners, 190 ; Darius 
 impaled 3000 before the walls of 
 Babylon, 190. 
 
 India, expedition of Semiramis against, 
 60. 
 
 India, appendage to chariots analogous 
 to that seen on Assyrian sculptures, 
 225, 303. 
 
 Inflated skins to support rafts and 
 swimmers, 24, 238, 241. 
 
 Inner chamber, 161. 
 
 Inner presence chamber, 183; court, 
 197. 
 
 Inscribed slabs in pavement, 157, 162, 
 165 ; stone of Sir Harford Jones, 5, 
 352; chambers, 267. 
 
 Inscriptions at Shikaiti Salman, 27 ; 
 Persepolis, 113; Mt. El wand, 120; 
 Behistun, 123; Keli Shin, 124; 
 Lake Van, 125; Khorkhor, 125; 
 
INDEX. 
 
 393 
 
 Nahr al Kelb, 126 ; Cyprus, 127; in 
 the Desert, at Dash Tappeh, at 
 Mel Amir, on the obelisk at Susa, 
 on the banks of the Euphrates, and 
 belonging to the Earl of Aberdeen, 
 128, 352 ; across the sculptures at 
 Nimroud, 305, 337 ; Persepolitan, 
 340. 
 
 Ionic pillars seen on Assyrian sculp- 
 tures, 172. 
 
 Isaiah, his prophetic message, 49, 149, 
 171, 209, 236, 241, 248, 257, 275, 313. 
 
 Ismail Pasha, 31. 
 
 Iron known to the Assyrians, 325. 
 
 Ivories found at Nimroud, 77 ; ivory 
 benches of Tyrian galleys, 334. 
 
 J. 
 
 Jamb of door at Khorsabad, 130. 
 Jamshid, Hareem of, 118 ; cup of, 266. 
 Jareb, name assigned to Sennacherib, 71. 
 Jebel Khanukah, 101. 
 
 Jehennem, village of, 100. 
 
 Jehu, King of Israel, 269, 383. 
 Jehoshaphat, valley of, 196. 
 
 Jeremiah, 236, 266. 
 
 Jeroboam, 44. 
 
 Jerome, 164, 165. 
 
 Jerusalem, 47 ,' siege of, 196, 371. 
 
 Jews, 75, 171. 
 
 Jonah the Prophet, 44, 55, 311. 
 
 Jones’, Sir Harford, slab, 352. 
 
 Jordan, river, 44. 
 
 Joseph, Patriarch — stratagem, 265. 
 Josephus, 43, 372. 
 
 Josiah, Edng of Judah, 74. 
 
 Judah, 168. 
 
 Judea led captive, 53, 66, 370, 371. 
 Judgment, Hall of, 165 ; Chamber of, 170. 
 Judith, 53, 370. 
 
 Jupiter, 122, 313. 
 
 Justin, 59, 313. 
 
 K. 
 
 Kalabshe, Temple of, in Nubia, 152, 
 176, 209. 
 
 Kalah Shergat, 5, 27 ; statue found at, 
 34 : ruins identical with Calah, 43 ; 
 visit to, 99 ; remains of wall of hewn 
 stones, 101 ; measurement of mound 
 compared with others, 102 ; remains 
 not noticed by Mr. Ross, 102 ; radi- 
 ated bricks, 102; basaltic statue, 287. 
 
 Kala Tul, 27. 
 
 Kara-kojah, plain south of Mosul, 99. 
 
 Kara Kush, 96; meaning of, 96; within 
 boundary of Nineveh, 95. 
 
 Karamles, 91 ; within boundary of 
 Nineveh, 81, 94, 95; north of Nim- 
 roud, 98. 
 
 Karnak, example of roof in temple of, 
 210; obelisk of, 334. 
 
 Karun, the river, 27, 29. 
 
 Kasr, or terraced palace of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, size of, 102, 106. 
 
 Kata, partridge, common in the East, 
 175. 
 
 Kedron, the brook, 196. 
 
 Keli Shin, monument at, 124, 353. 
 
 Kelleks, rafts used to navigate the Ti- 
 gris and Euphrates, 24 ; mode of 
 construction, 24, 33, 240. 
 
 Kenites, Highlanders to the east of the 
 Jordan, 44. 
 
 Kermanshah, 121, 346. 
 
 Kirkesyah, Abu-Serai, the father of 
 palaces, 41, 48. 
 
 Kiz Fukra, within boundary of Nineveh, 
 95. 
 
 Khabur, a tributary of the Euphrates, 
 41. 
 
 Khauser, river, 4, 80 ; ruins on, 88. 
 
 Khorkhor, on lake Van, 125. 
 
 Khorsabad, Botta’s excavations and 
 success, 12 ; insalubrity of place, 13; 
 village purchased by Botta, 18 ; ex- 
 cavations completed, 24 ; few small 
 articles found, 8 ; description of 
 mounds of, 80 — 90 ; name, 81; 
 roads to, 82 ; low ground on which 
 it stands, 83 ; dimensions of double 
 mound, 84, 97, 98, 130 ; description 
 of palace, 129 ; sculptures in Louvre, 
 129 ; plan of palace, 132 ; descrip- 
 tion of sculptures, 130 — 215 ; Palace 
 of Khorsabad compared with that 
 
394 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 of Nimroud, 301 ; construction of 
 palaces, 209 ; inscriptions on people 
 and cities, 304 ; tribute voluntary, 
 302 ; palace older than Nimroud, 
 303—307. 
 
 King’s Court, or Court of Eeception, 
 153, 207; porch for the throne, 153; 
 gate, 154. 
 
 King’s House, 207. 
 
 King, The Great, 139, 271 ; bas-relief 
 of, and court, 140; dress, 140, 222; 
 giving audience, 181 ; putting out 
 eyes of captive, 169 ; drinking or 
 divining in presence of the divinities 
 of Assyria, 263; divining, 265; be- 
 fore Baal, 252 ; in battle, 221, 230, 
 235, 243 ; in triumph, 225 ; crossing 
 a river, 238 ; hunting, 173, 245, 246 ; 
 returning from the chase, 249, 251, 
 252; receiving prisoners, 166; re- 
 ceiving tribute, 140, 181 ; forming 
 League, or Treaty of Peace, 248. 
 
 Kiosk, or pleasure-house, 172. 
 
 Kir, or Kur, a river tributary to the 
 Araxes, 47, 70. 
 
 Kitchen, royal, and culinary operations, 
 229. 
 
 Kizlar Aga, keeper of the women’s 
 apartments in an eastern household, 
 250. 
 
 Klaproth, M., 348. 
 
 Knef, Egyptian god, horns of, in head- 
 dress of Cyrus at Persepolis, 77. 
 
 Kohl, or alkohl, black pigment, use of, 
 322. 
 
 Koran, 197. 
 
 Koum, Roum, or Tel, synonymous with 
 hill, 96, 97. 
 
 Kouyunjik Tepe, 4, 29, 32 ; dimensions, 
 as measured by Rich, 3 ; compared 
 with others, 102; Botta’s excava- 
 tions, 11, 25 ; large bricks joined 
 with bitumen, 3, 11 ; situation of 
 mound, 11, 80; signification, 96; 
 size, 93, 95, 98, 334. 
 
 Kufah, or round basket-boat, 240. 
 
 Kurdistan, 73, 325. 
 
 Kurds, 20, 70; same as Chaldseans, 73. 
 
 Kursi, high seats, 199. 
 
 Kut Amarah, 106. 
 
 L. 
 
 Laban’s gods, the Teraphim, 157. 
 
 Labynites, King of Babylon, probably 
 Nabopolassar, or Ahasuerus, 66. 
 
 Lake Van, in Armenia, 124; inscriptions 
 at, 125. 
 
 Lamlum marshes, near Babylon, 106 ; 
 tombs of kings in, 106; boats of, 
 242. 
 
 Landseer, Mr. J ohn, opinion respecting 
 Babylonian cylinders, 219. 
 
 Larissa, El Resen of Scripture, 92. 
 
 Larnaka, ruins of Citium, in Cyprus, 
 127. 
 
 Lassen, Professor, suggestions respecting 
 Assyrian inscriptions, 340, 342, 350. 
 
 Latest proceedings and discoveries in 
 Assyria, 380. 
 
 Layard, Mr. A. H., his labours in Assy- 
 ria, 26; travels, 26 ; excursions with 
 Ainsworth and Mitford, 27, 99 ; 
 visits Ispahan, 27; the Murgasht, 
 Kala Tul, Mel Amir, Susan, Gebr 
 Daniel, Akbar, and Khuzistan, 27, 
 28 ; returns to Mosul, 29 ; is assisted 
 by Sir Stratford Canning, 30 ; esta- 
 blishes himself at Haifa, and then at 
 Salamiyah, 30 ; commences exca- 
 vations at Himroud, 30 ; difficulties, 
 31 ; discovery of colossal head, 32 ; 
 excavations stopped, 32 ; visits 
 Tunnel of Hegoub, and discovers 
 vaulted chamber, 32 ; discoveries 
 despatched to Europe, 32 ; tubular 
 and other drains, 33 ; grant of funds, 
 33 ; prepared raft, and sent further 
 sculptures to Europe, 33 ; visited 
 Kalah Shergatand discovered statue, 
 34 ; difficulties in conveying the 
 large sculptures, 36 ; bull and lion 
 despatched, 36 ; leaves Mosul for 
 Europe, 37 ; contributions to the 
 British Museum, 216 — 295 ; his 
 boundary to Nineveh not sustained, 
 98 ; coincides with Botta respecting 
 destruction of palaces, 215, 217, 
 369, 371, 373, 376, 377, 381, 382; 
 appointed Under-Secretary of State 
 for Foreign Affairs, 383. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 393 
 
 Lee, Dr., of Hartwell, 78 ; mummy case 
 in collection of, 78, 367, 378. 
 
 Lead known to the Assyrians, 325. 
 Lepsius, Dr., information respecting 
 monument at Cyprus furnished by, 
 127. 
 
 57, 97 ; writing, 123 ; robes, 293, 
 319, 320 ; court, 319. 
 
 Medinet Haboo, Temple of at Thebes, 
 146 ; ships resembling the Assyrian 
 depicted on the walls, 146, 147, 
 268. 
 
 Linant, M., information respecting in- 
 scriptions in the desert supplied by, 
 128. 
 
 Lock of wood to doors, 149, 151. 
 Louvi’e, sculptures of Khorsabad in 
 the, 25, 129, 216, 299. I 
 
 Lichtenstein on inscriptions, 339. ; 
 
 , Lion hunts, 245, 252 ; claw in tail, 246 ; 
 
 weight, 286; winged, 218, 219, 254. 
 List of Assyrian sculptures in the 
 British Museum, 308. 
 
 Literary Gazette,” 384. ' 
 
 Loftus, Mr., the geologist, 377. 
 
 Lucan, 245. | 
 
 Lucian, 269. | 
 
 Lycus, the modern Nahr A1 Kelb, 125. j 
 Lyre, Assyrian, 188. [ 
 
 I 
 
 M. I 
 
 I 
 
 Maadex, (mine) Argana, 325. 
 
 Machpelah, cuiTent money paid by 
 Abraham for cave of, 150. 
 
 Magi, magicians, 116, 164, 165. 
 
 Manasseh, King of Judah, 52, 72, 166. | 
 Map of Nineveh and the surrounding 
 countiy, facing page 1. i 
 
 Map of Assyria and Mesopotamia, 38. j 
 Mar Daniel, on the Gebel Makloub, 95. ; 
 Mar Elias, 95. j 
 
 Mar Shimoun, Patriarch of Nestorian 
 Christians, 20. 
 
 Mar Matteh, 81. 
 
 Maritime subject, building a fort, 147. 
 Mattei, M., Prussian Consul at Cyprus, 
 127. 
 
 Mayadin, town of, on the Euphrates, 
 43 ; ruins called Rehob oth, near to, ! 
 
 Mediterranean Sea, 146, 300. 
 
 Mel Amir, ruins and inscriptions in the 
 plains of, 27, 128. 
 
 Melek, a king, 249. 
 
 Melzar, steward or dispenser, in the 
 
 , household of Assyrian sovereigns, 
 144. 
 
 Memnonium at Thebes, 210. 
 
 Menahem, King of Israel, 43, 64, 378. 
 
 Menander, 71, 127, 371. 
 
 Merodach Baladan, 51, 72. 
 
 Meshach, 182, 200. 
 
 Mesopotamia, Naharaim, the country 
 between the two rivers, 40 ; cha- 
 racter of the plain, 56, 57, 80 ; of 
 Scripture, 38 ; of Classical writers, 
 56, 97. 
 
 Mespila, of Xenophon, 92. 
 
 Metals, 265, 325. 
 
 Metaphor in Psalms illustrated, 264 ; 
 in Isaiah, 171 ; Micah, 43. 
 
 Mighty Hunter, 39, 135, 245, men, 200. 
 
 Milyse, a people of Cilicia, 180, 182. 
 
 Minasha, or hy-flap, 264. 
 
 Mitford, Mr., accompanied Layard, 
 Ainsworth, and Rassam in excur- 
 sion, 103. 
 
 Mohammed Ali, 4, 19, 27 ; super- 
 stition, 158, 297. 
 
 Mohammed Pasha, 14; duplicity, 15; 
 death, 16, 27, 30. 
 
 Mohammed Taki Khan, 28, 29. 
 
 Mohammedans ; law respecting landed 
 property, 18 ; leave tuft on the top 
 of the head, and for what purpose, 
 191. 
 
 Mohl, M., assists Botta, 7, 12, 13, 16, 
 214, 349. 
 
 Montenegro, Layard’s travels in, 20. 
 
 4.3. 
 
 Medes revolted from Assyi’ia, 64. 
 
 Media not separated from Assyria, 47, 
 54, 105. 
 
 Median wall, Chain, or Sid Nimroud, 
 
 Moorish buildings, 234. 
 
 Mordecai, tomb of at Hamadau, 121, 
 154. 
 
 Moriah, Mount, 196. 
 
 Moses Choronensis, 123. 
 
396 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Moslem, 301. 
 
 Mosul, permanent part of bridge built 
 with stones found between Kouy- 
 unjik and Nebbi Younis, 4 ; people 
 of, rise against the Christians, note 
 21 ; Botta appointed Consul to, 7 ; 
 Mohammed Pasha governor of 
 province of, 14 ; situation, 80, 99. 
 
 Mo’tammid, atrocious barbarity, 29. 
 
 Mourgaub, valley of, 116. 
 
 Mujellibeh, 40, 101 ; measurement com- 
 pared, 102 ; size, 105 ; ancient tra- 
 dition, 106. 
 
 MUller, Dr., 350. 
 
 Mummers dancing, 227. 
 
 Mungasht mountains, 27. 
 
 Miinter of Copenhagen, examines inscrip- 
 tions, 339, 355. 
 
 Musical instruments, 188, 226, 227, 
 251. 
 
 Mussabini, Professor, 350. 
 
 Mylitta, Assyrian Venus, 269. 
 
 N. 
 
 N A AM AN ibn Naouch, assistant of Botta, 
 25. 
 
 Naaman paid pieces of gold for his 
 cure, 150. 
 
 Nabopolassar, 54, 73, 77. 
 
 Naharaina, Mesopotamia, 62. 
 
 Nahr al Kelb, monument at, 5 ; de- 
 scribed, 125, 193, 209, 220, 289, 354, 
 372. 
 
 Naifa, Layard at, 30. 
 
 Naksh-i-Roustam, 107 ; sepulchres at, 
 108, 112, 116, 122. 
 
 Neb lord, Nebo god, 77. 
 
 Nebbi Younis, the tomb of Jonah, 3, 4? 
 9, 11, 80, 93, 95, 311. 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar, 66, 74, 75, 77, 144, 153, 
 167, 200, 333, 374, 379. 
 
 Nebuchodonossor, 52. 
 
 Negoub, tunnel of, 32. 
 
 Nestorians, 19, 20 ; employed to remove 
 the sculptures, 24; employed by 
 Layard, 31, 35, 36. 
 
 Niebuhr, 2, 3, 41, 81, 339, 349. 
 
 Nile, 128, 375. 
 
 Nimrod, founder of the earliest post- 
 diluvian cities, 39 ; mighty hunter, 
 39 ; brothers of, 40 ; sovereignty of, 
 42 ; shown on walls of Khorsabad, 
 134, 137 ; bommereng in the hand 
 of, 135. 
 
 Nimroud Tepasse, Tel Nimroud, 41 ; 
 excavations commenced by Layard, 
 30, 31 ; discoveries, 32, 34 ; mound 
 of, 80 ; dimensions of mound, 92 ; 
 Resen of Scripture, 92, 98, 99 ; no 
 grand portal to palace, 217 ; absence 
 of uniformity of plan, 217 ; winged 
 lions, 218 ; description of sculptures 
 from, 218 — 295 ; palace of Nimroud 
 compared with that of Khorsabad, 
 301 ; sculptures adapted from former 
 building, 302, 303 ; royal and sacred 
 character of palace of, 302 ; inscrip- 
 tions across sculptures, 394 ; no labels 
 on individuals or cities, 305; palace 
 of Nimroud intermediate between 
 Khorsabad and Persepolis, 307. 
 
 Nineveh, the buried city discovered, 2, 
 79 ; site examined by Rich, 3, 8 ; 
 Botta’s researches, 7 ; ruins unlike 
 those of Babylon, 9 ; bricks not 
 available for building, 9 ; of the 
 Bible, 38 ; Diodorus’s account of 
 taking of, 64; founded, 58; Scrip- 
 ture account of the fall of, 51 ; walls 
 of, 98, 357, 362. 
 
 Niniouah, village of, 9, 82, 98. 
 
 Ninus, descendant of Asshur, 58 ; his 
 wars, 59 ; marries Semiramis, 59 ; 
 death, 60, 
 
 Ninyas, son of Ninus and Semiramis, 
 60; same as Chedorlaomer of Scrip- 
 ture, 61. 
 
 Nisroch, eagle-headed divinity at Nim- 
 roud, 219; derivation of name, 220, 
 51, 72, 256, 261, 262, 265, 272. 
 
 Nitocris, queen of Nebuchadnezzar, 66. 
 
 Northumberland, Duke of, presented 
 Nahr al Kelb monument to the 
 British Museum, 127. 
 
 Nubia, musical instruments of, 188, 251. 
 
 Nubian harp, 251. 
 
 Nysians, Lydians from Mount Olympus, 
 seen on Assyrian sculptures, 159. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 397 
 
 0 . 
 
 Oaxes, Dagon, 148. 
 
 Obelisk, 91, 233 ; described, 287 ; Eaw- 
 linson’s reading of, 359 ; Grotef end’s 
 reading, 367 ; Dr. Hincks’ reading, 
 369. 
 
 Oben Ea, same as Ammun Ea, 77, 78. 
 
 Olives, Mount of, 197. 
 
 Olympus, Mount, 159. 
 
 Opj)ianus, a Greek poet of Cilicia, 280. 
 
 Oracle, Hall of the, 266 ; the, 267. 
 
 Orcboe, the Ur of tlie Chaldees, 101. 
 
 Orientals, pertinacious adherence to 
 ancient customs, 158. 
 
 Ormazd, 121, 347; Eabban, 81. 
 
 Ornaments, 142, 272, 319. 
 
 Orontes, Elwand, river and Mount, 75, 
 
 120 , 121 . 
 
 Otanes, a Persian prince, presented with 
 Median dress, 294. 
 
 Ouranus, 138. 
 
 P. 
 
 Pachayatha, or Pasha, Governor of a 
 Pi’ovince, 182. 
 
 Painted, beams, 211 ; bricks, 317 ; 
 figures, 206, 316. 
 
 Palestine, people of, 166, 171. 
 
 Papusch, slipper, 260. 
 
 Parthian, bowmen, 254; language of the 
 nation, 357, 375. 
 
 PasargadjB, castle of, 116. 
 
 Passage chamber, 148 ; double lines of 
 processions in, 149. 
 
 Pastoral people, clad in sheep and leo- 
 pard skins, 152; Sagartii, 167, 170, 
 209. 
 
 Pathil or Phatil, wire bracelets, 323. 
 
 Peechabeur, river, 79. 
 
 Pekah, the usurper of the Government 
 of Israel, 46. 
 
 Persepolis, figure of Cyi’us on monu- 
 ment near, 77 ; Palace, 106, 107, 
 108 ; sculptures, 109 ; stairs, 110 ; 
 columns. 111 ; sculptures, 113 ; 
 excavated tombs, 115; plan of 
 ruins, 115, 138, 213. 
 
 Persia, mode of training the kings, 39, 
 190 ; superstitions in, 158. 
 
 Persian, Gulf, 25, 148, 334 ; empire 
 arose out of the ruins of Assyria, 
 106 ; poets, 266, 315 ; architecture, 
 316. 
 
 Pharphar, river of Damascus, 236. 
 
 Pharaoh-Xecho, King of Egypt, op- 
 poses Xebuchadnezzar, 66, 150. 
 
 Phidias, 315. 
 
 Philistines, 47, 148. 
 
 Phoenicians, 138. 
 
 Phoenicia, over-run by Shalmaneser, 
 127, 209; tribute, 152. 
 
 Phraortes, son of Deioces, killed in an 
 excursion against the Assyrians, 65 ; 
 Arphaxad, 66. 
 
 Phrygian head-dress, 290. 
 
 Phul, Pul, first Assyrian King who ap- 
 peared west of the Euphrates, 46, 
 70, 75, 368. 
 
 Pietro de la Valle, 339. 
 
 Plan of mounds of Khorsabad, 79; of 
 platform on which the palace stood, 
 85; of Persepolis, 115 ; of Palace of 
 Khorsabad, 132. 
 
 Pliny, 116, 246, 334. 
 
 Pomegranates in hands of divinities, 
 priests, and king, 155, 269. 
 
 Pompeii, secret chambers in temples 
 of, 268. 
 
 Population of Xineveh, 44. 
 
 Portals at Persepolis, 109 ; at Khorsa- 
 bad, 131, 137, 154. 
 
 Porter, Sir Eobert Ker, Travels, 107 — 
 113, 116—18, 122, 315, 349. 
 
 Praxiteles, 315. 
 
 Precious metals, tribute of, 151, 
 247. 
 
 Preservation of the sculptures, mode 
 recommended, 307. 
 
 Priest, wuth gazelle as sacrificial offer- 
 ing, 155, 206. 
 
 Prisoners before king, 166. 
 
 Private Council Chamber, 184. 
 
 Processions, 145, 149, 183, 198, 199, 
 202, 225, 237, 247, 258 ; on obelisk, 
 288. 
 
 Psammeticus, King of Egypt, 73. 
 
 Ptolemy, 40, 48, 72, 73, 316. 
 
398 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Psalms, 253, 264. 
 
 Punishment of chiefs of five different 
 nations recorded in the Scriptures, 
 169. 
 
 E. 
 
 Raamah, a brother of Nimrod, 40. 
 Rabban-Ormuzd, 81. 
 
 Rab-Saris, chief of the eunuchs, 149, 
 175, 181, 197, 209. 
 
 Rab-Shakeh, the chief cup-bearer, 149, 
 181, 209, 335. 
 
 Rab-Signeen, chief of the princes or 
 governors, 143, 153, 169, 170, 171, 
 175, 184, 185, 197, 242, 252. 
 Rab-Tabachiyeh, chief of the slayers, 
 
 167. 
 
 Rafts on Tigris and Euphrates, 24, 33, 
 240. 
 
 Ras, El-Ain, within boundary of 
 Nineveh, 95. 
 
 Rask, Professor, 346. 
 
 Rassam, Mr., 103, 104. 
 
 Rawlinson, Colonel, 27, 121, 123, 124, 
 236, 342, 343, 350, 351, 352, 342— 
 357 ; on the period of the Nimroud 
 Palace, 357 ; on the obelisk, 359 ; 
 identity of king who built Kouy- 
 unjik, 369 ; difference between his 
 and Dr. Hincks’ systems, 375; 
 grant to, 382; latest communication, 
 383. 
 
 Reception, Court of; the King’s Court, 
 
 153. 
 
 Rehoboth, city built by Asshur, 42 ; 
 near the town of Mayadin, 43, 
 353. 
 
 Relationship, between the ancient 
 Chaldee and the modern Arabic, 
 
 154. 
 
 Rennel, Major, 3. 
 
 Resen, city built by Ashur, 42 ; iden- 
 tical with Nimroud, 43, 92, 98. 
 Reservoir, communicating with cistern 
 at Persepolis, 116. 
 
 Retiring chamber, 196. 
 
 Rezin, king of Damascus, 236. 
 
 Rhamses 11., king of Egypt, Sesostris, 
 
 records of his conquests, 77, 125, 
 153, 290. 
 
 Rhamses IV., entering his tomb, 139. 
 
 Rhinoceros, 290. 
 
 Rich, Mr,, 2 ; his examination of site 
 of Nineveh, 3, 8 ; account of Nebbi 
 Younis, 4 ; chambers, passages, and 
 inscriptions, 4, 9 ; inscribed slabs 
 with bitumen on under sides, 5 ; 
 notice of Birs Nimroud, 40, 81, 92, 
 93, 94, 350, 352, 354. 
 
 Rimmon, the god of Damascus, 236, 
 269, 360, 364. 
 
 Rings in pavement to secure awnings 
 over courts, 21 2 ; in backs of lions, 
 286, 327 ; in lower lip of captives, 
 169, 170, 330. 
 
 Rollers to harden roofs of Syrian houses, 
 211 ; also found in the ruins of 
 Khorsabad, 211. 
 
 Romaine, Mr., sketches by, 128, 216, 
 240, 241, 311, 318, 337, 370, 380, 
 385. 
 
 Roman walls, 97 ; bas-reliefs, 189. 
 
 Rome, spiked balls on race horses of 
 the Corso, 221. 
 
 Roofs, structure of, 209 ; supported by 
 pillars, 211; gable, 212; timber 
 for, 211. 
 
 Rosetta stone, 339. 
 
 Ross, Mr., 30, 101, 102, 106. 
 
 Roumelia, Layard’s travels in, 26. 
 
 Roustam Nakshi, the sculptures of, 
 107. 
 
 Royal mount at Persepolis, 107; cup- 
 bearer, 140, 250 ; sword-bearer, 257 ; 
 treasurer, 151; sceptre-bearer, 24 9; 
 standard-bearers, 224, 225, 232, 237; 
 door-keepers, 184, 210. 
 
 Russia, Layard’s visits, 26. 
 
 S. 
 
 Sabtah and Sabtechah, brothers of Nim- 
 rod, 40. 
 
 Sacks carried by tribute-bearers, 180, 
 183. 
 
 Sacerdotal dress, 206. 
 
 Sacred edifice, 162 ; doors, 177. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 399 
 
 Sagartii, a people described by Herodo- 
 tus, seen on the sculptures, 151 ; 
 identical with the Togarmah of 
 Scripture, 168, 170, 209. 
 
 Saint Martin, M., 346, 348, 349. 
 
 Sais, a groom, derived from the Hebrew 
 word for horse, 202. 
 
 Salamlik, lower or reception apartments, 
 250. 
 
 Samaria, invaded by Shalmaneser, 47, 
 294, 370 ; the date tree not produc- 
 tive in, 278. 
 
 Samaritans, 171, 373. 
 
 Samuel (1 and 2), 148, 157, 189, 199, 
 248. 
 
 Sanconiatho, 138. 
 
 Sandals, 141, 179. 
 
 Sanscrit language cognate dialects, 
 342. 
 
 Saracenic architecture, ornaments re- 
 sembling, 235. 
 
 Sardanapalus, 58, 64, 358, 359. 
 
 Sardocheus, King of Nineveh, 72. 
 
 Sarut, 106. 
 
 Scales for weighing the spoil, 163, 286. 
 
 Sceptres, 143, 208, 244, 321, 322. 
 
 Sceptre -bearers, Cyrus had 300 in his 
 army, 244, 249. 
 
 Schlegel, Professor, 342. 
 
 Schulze, M., copies inscriptions at Lake 
 Van, 5, 125. 
 
 Scribes, 161 ; taking account of the 
 spoil, 163. 
 
 Sculptures of Khorsabad described, 130; 
 Nimroud, described, 218 ; colour on, 
 31 7 ; adapted, 303 ; mode of pre- 
 serving, 307. 
 
 Scythians, 73, 209. 
 
 Seals, Babylonian, 78, 351. 
 
 Seat of Judgment, 199; high, 199. 
 
 Seba, a brother of Nimrod, 40. 
 
 Seleucia,- 75 ; Seleucidse, 68. 
 
 Selikdar, or sword-bearer, 182, 183, 197, 
 257. 
 
 Sellem, the bommereng of the Bishareen 
 desert, 136. 
 
 Semiramis, 59; at Behistun, 121, 124; 
 mountain road ascribed to, 121 ; 
 garden, 121, 359. 
 
 Sennaar, visited by Botta, 7, 150, 179. 
 
 Sennacherib, 48, 71, 74, 171, 208, 209; 
 slain, 220, 368, 371, 372. 
 
 Sepharvaim, King of, conquered by King 
 of Assyria, 48, 209. 
 
 Serdab, underground apartments, note, 
 10 . 
 
 Sesostris, Ehamses, II., 59 ; in Temple 
 of Abou Simbal, 232. 
 
 Shadrach, 182, 200. 
 
 Shah of Persia, 206. 
 
 Shalmaneser, King of Assyria, leads 
 Israel captive, 47, 71 ; overruns 
 Phoenicia, 127, 294, 368, 369, 370. 
 
 Sharbetgee, sherbet-maker, cup-bearer, 
 250. 
 
 Sharezer, son of Sennacherib, 220. 
 
 Sharpe, Mr. S., sketch of Assyrian 
 history, 62, 69, 378, 379. 
 
 Shatt el Arab, the Euphrates, 57. 
 
 Siddim, demonia, hero gods, 306. 
 
 Sidon, 363, 369, 370, 376, 384. 
 
 Sheikhs, chiefs of tribes, 199. 
 
 Sheikh Amir, within boundary of 
 Nineveh, 95. 
 
 Shemiramgerd, city of Semiramis on 
 Lake Van, 124, 125. 
 
 Shen Si, province of China, 97. 
 
 Shields, 320 ; curved off, 177, 320 ; tall, 
 moveable, 183. 
 
 Shinar, land of, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 350, 
 361. 
 
 Ships, Assyrian and Egyptian, 146, 147. 
 
 Shooting at target, 174. 
 
 Shuckford’s Sacred and Profane History 
 connected, 61. 
 
 Sidek, town and district of, 124. 
 
 Siliceous varnish upon inscribed rock 
 at Behistun, 124. 
 
 Silken vests, Median robes, 293. 
 
 Sinjar mountains, 41, 141. 
 
 Skins, inflated, to support rafts and 
 swimmers, 24, 238, 241, 242. 
 
 Slabs, with oblong depressioji, to receive 
 the blood of the sacrifice, 164, 254. 
 
 So, King of Egypt, 47, 294. 
 
 Stable, 228. 
 
 Staff, 197. 
 
 Stairs, grand flights at Persepolis, 110, 
 112 ; none found at Khorsabad or 
 Nimroud, 211. 
 
400 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 Standard-bearers of tbe King, 224, 225, 
 232, 237. 
 
 Stirling, Mr. of Sheffield, Khorsabad 
 sculptures consigned to, 295. 
 
 Strabo, 120, 163, 197, 211. 
 
 Sultan Medinet, Governor of province, 
 145, 150, 182, 183. 
 
 Sunt tree, Mimosa Nilotica, 136. 
 
 Superstitions ; influence of evil eye, 
 158 ; respecting going out and 
 coming in, in Persia, 166. 
 
 Susan, Susa of ancient geographers, 
 27, 128, 188, 352. 
 
 Swords, 322. 
 
 Symbolic tree, 159, 262, 267. 
 
 Symbols of the divinity, 253 ; Egyptian, 
 of life, 139. 
 
 Syria, visited by Botta, 7, 269, 323. 
 
 T. 
 
 Taacht e Taoosht, Hareem of Jamshid, 
 in the valley ofMourgaub, 118. 
 
 Taautus, Thoth, the Ibis-headed 
 divinity of Egypt, 138. 
 
 Tablets, Karnak, 62 ; Nahr al Kelb, 
 125 ; Cyprus, 127 ; Lake Van, 124 ; 
 Mt. El wand, 120 ; Behistun, 123 ; 
 Persepolis, 113 ; Keli Shin, 124 ; 
 the Desert, 128 ; Khorkhor, 125 ; 
 represented on sculptures, 194, 
 359. 
 
 Tally far Pasha, Governor of Mosul, 32, 
 
 Tamboura, guitar of modern Syrians, 
 seen on the Assyrian sculptures, 227. 
 
 Tarki, inscription of, 301, 356. 
 
 Tarsus, built by Sardanapalus, king of 
 Assyria, 209. 
 
 Tartan, an officer of Sennacherib, 71 ; 
 chief of tribute in the household of 
 the king of Assyria, his insignia of 
 office a double wand, 149, 152, 171, 
 183. 
 
 Tank Kesra, the Wliite Palace of the 
 Persian Kings, among the ruins on 
 the site of Calnah, 41. 
 
 Taylor, Col., on site of Erech, 40, 354, 
 372. 
 
 Teheran, town of Persia, 348. 
 
 Tels, all indicate artificial mounds, 96 ; 
 Tel Billa, 97 ; Tel Gilla, 95, 96 ; 
 examples in Scripture, 94, 
 
 Tel el Minar, hill of Minarets, Chehel 
 Minar, Palace of forty columns 
 at Persepolis, 107, 109, 112 j Tel 
 Kaif, 95, 96. 
 
 Tel Nimroud, hill of Kimroud, 41 • 
 Tel Heimar, 106 ; Tel Barasba, 360. 
 
 Temmen-bar, 358, 359. 
 
 Temple, 207 ; of Kalabshe in Kubia, 
 152, 176. 
 
 Tent, cabin on Kellek, 241. 
 
 Teraaia, or door-keepers, 184, 210; 
 derivation and definition, 184. 
 
 Teragn-gate, the king’s gate, 153. 
 
 Teraphim, Laban’s gods, found in cayi- 
 ties under the pavement, 156, 158, 
 203, 204. 
 
 Terowa, 95. 
 
 Teutamus, king of Assyria, sends as- 
 sistance to the Trojans, 63. 
 
 Tharthar, river, 103. 
 
 Thebes, city in Egypt, 146, 147, 268, 
 334, 378. 
 
 Thelasar, people of, 209. 
 
 Thothmes, king of Egypt, 62. 
 
 Tiara, Assyrian, 139; painted, 173, 319. 
 
 Tiglath Pileser, assists Ahaz, 46, 70 ; 
 his name, 77, 368, 378. 
 
 Tigris, river, Nineveh on the, 1, 24, 27, 
 33, 84, 228, 240. 
 
 Timber, for roofs, 211 ; from Mount 
 Cassus, 209. 
 
 Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, marches to 
 aid the Jews, 72. 
 
 Tobit, 47, 54, 66. 
 
 Togarmah, Sagartii, a people of Scythia, 
 who traded in horses, 168. 
 
 Tombs of Assyrian kings, 106 ; outside 
 the walls of city, 192, 329. 
 
 Tom-Tom, Indian drum, seen on Assy- 
 rian sculptures, 226. 
 
 Tower of living men, 29. 
 
 Trained birds of prey, 231, 305, 339. 
 
 Tribute -bearers, 144, 145, 149; from 
 the extremities of the empire, 152 ; 
 analogous representation in Temple 
 of Kalabshe, 152, 176. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 401 
 
 Tribute caparisoned horses^ 152, 390, 
 399 ; manufactured articles, 152, 
 333 ; precious metals, 151 ; cups, 
 sealed bags, gold dust, wire, 150; ele- 
 phants’ tusks, 247 ; precious woods, 
 247 ; embroidered stuffs, 247 ; mon- 
 keys, 259 ; on obelisk, 287 ; human- 
 headed baboons, 290 ; bars of metal, 
 290; elephants, 290, 294; mon- 
 keys, 294 ; baskets of fruit, 294 ; 
 Bactrian camels, 293 ; ebony, 294 ; 
 fringed cloths or robes, 290 ; bags 
 and baskets, 290, 294 ; vases, 290 ; 
 voluntary at Khorsabad, 305 ; obli- 
 gatory at Nimroud, 305, 333, 362, 
 364, 365, 372. 
 
 Trombash, the bommereng of central 
 Africa, 136. 
 
 Troy, a dependent on the Assyrian 
 empire, 63, 305. 
 
 Turcomania, country between the Black 
 and the Caspian Seas, 168. 
 
 Turkey, custom of educating youths for 
 offices in the government, as in the 
 time of Daniel, 144. 
 
 Tyre, 168, 324, 333, 363, 369. 
 
 Tyschen of Rostock on inscriptions, 
 339, 340, 355. 
 
 U. 
 
 Umbrella, 323. 
 
 Umbrella-bearers, 173, 225, 348, 251. 
 Ur, land of, 165 ; Orchoe, 101. 
 Urumiyeh, lake, 124. 
 
 V. 
 
 Van, lake. Sea of Akthamar in Armenia, 
 6, 124, 350, 352, 353. 
 
 Varnish on inscribed rock at Behistun, 
 . 124. 
 
 Vases, containing skeletons, 329. 
 
 Vedas, Sanscrit writings so called, 
 342. 
 
 Vulture leaving the field of battle, 
 279. 
 
 W. 
 
 Wall, of Babylon, 97, 105 ; China, 97 ; 
 Median, 57, 97 ; Roman, 97 ; Nineveh, 
 98 ; section of Khorsabad, 210 ; 
 thickness of at Khorsabad and 
 Nimroud, 91, 210, 301. 
 
 Walking-staff, 197, 334. 
 
 Wanghay, the Yellow Sea, 97. 
 
 Wanton destruction of ancient ruins, 
 (note) 4. 
 
 War-engines, 161 ; wicker, 186, 243, 320. 
 
 Waxing the sculptures advised, in order 
 to preserve them from damp, 307. 
 
 Weasel, foot-prints on brick, 287. 
 
 Weights, weighing, 163, 286. 
 
 Werka, same as Erech, 40, 377; coffins 
 found at, 377. 
 
 Wicker shields and war-engines, 186. 
 
 Wigs, 319. 
 
 Wine-strainer, 264. 
 
 Wine-vase, 186, 187. 
 
 Winged bulls, 132 ; cherubic animals, 
 133 ; lions, symbol of the Assyrian 
 empire, 218, 260 ; divinity, 273. 
 
 Women, led into captivity, 179, 235, 
 277 ; on walls, 237, 
 
 X. 
 
 Xenophon, account of taking of Babylon, 
 39, 67, 92, 110, 111, 221, 244, 262, 
 305, 319, 293. 
 
 Xerxes, 68, 168 ; name deciphered 
 341, 350. 
 
 Y. 
 
 Yarumjeh, mound of, 91. 
 
 Yatagan, sword like modern, 176, 322. 
 Yates, Mr. James, on instrument called 
 celt, 234. 
 
 Yemen, province of, 7, 201. 
 
 Yezd, people of, 349. 
 
 Young persons educated in the court of 
 Babylon in the time of Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, 144. 
 
 D D 
 
402 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 Z. 
 
 Zab, river, 19, 71, 92, 363, 365. 
 Zahiri, a name of Assyria, 359. 
 Zedekiah, bound by fetters of 
 167; fate of, 168. 
 
 brass, 
 
 Zend, language, 340, 342, 349. 
 Zepbaniah, 46. 
 
 Zikr, Ismail, 91. 
 
 Zikru-l-awaz, dyke of solid masonry 
 the Tigris, 91. 
 
 Zoroaster, King of the Bactrians, 59. 
 
 LONDOX ; 
 
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