SUMMER MEETING AT BROOKFIELD. 171 



ship, the Median princess, Amytis, was married to the seventeen-year- 

 old son of the Babylonian king. 



The new kingdoms flourished. Babylon was already a rich and 

 powerful city when the conquering king died and was succeeded by his 

 son Nebuchadnezzar. 



Possessed of marvelous energy, the new king began at once to 

 enlarge and secure the boundaries of his domain. Jerusalem was cap- 

 tured, Egypt was overrun, and Tyre was subdued ere the ambitious 

 monarch was content with his realm. 



But the king was more than a great warrior ; he was a great builder, 

 whose fame as an architect long outlived that of the conqueror. He 

 began at once to rebuild and restore every temple and city in his 

 country, so enriching his capital that Babylon became the largest and 

 most magnificent city of the ancient world. 



Turn for a moment to the Orient, for a glimpse of the beautiful city 

 as it stood in the days of the great king, Nebuchadnezzar. 



Remember, first, that the country of Babylonia was a vast alluvial 

 plain, watered principally by the river Euphrates, a land of quickly 

 maturing crops and scorching heat, of surpassing fertility, but little 

 natural beauty. 



Hemming in the city on either side was a protecting wall of such 

 large dimensions as to be the wonder of the whole world. It was built 

 in form of a perfect square, which some historians affirm measured four- 

 teen miles on each side, was ninety-three feet thick and three hundred 

 and seventy-three feet high. Other authorities reduce the dimensions, 

 giving a total length of forty miles and a height of less than one hun- 

 dred feet. The latter estimate is probably nearer correct, but even this 

 gives an enclosed area of one hundred square miles, a territory much 

 larger than that covered by the modern city of London. 



There can be no doubt that the walls were of great height, for when 

 Alexander the Great marched to Babylon they still stood over seventy 

 feet high after the wear and tear of centuries. 



One hundred massive gates of solid brass, twenty-five on each side, 

 pierced the huge masonry, while almost as far up as the eye could 

 reach, at the summit of these perpendicular heights, two hundred and 

 fifty towers were studded. 



Within there were no buildings for the space of a quarter of a mile. 

 Beyond this wide and vacant border, fields, orchards and gardens, alter- 

 nated by tall buildings, enhanced the beauty of the capital. 



The entire city was laid out in large squares, the streets or roads 

 crossing at right angles, one street running straight to each of the one 

 hundred gates. 



